Hreflang Tool Pro

Hreflang x-default

x-default is the “everyone else” line in a hreflang set: the URL Google shows when a searcher's language matches none of your versions.

<link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://example.com/" />

Google introduced x-default in 2013 for international home pages that redirect visitors or show a country selector. Its current documentation describes it as the value for unmatched languages: when no hreflang value in the set fits the user's browser settings, the x-default URL is the one to show.

x-default vs. a language catch-all

These two are easy to confuse, and they fill different gaps:

  • hreflang="en" catches English speakers in any country you haven't listed separately (you have en-GB, but someone searches from Ireland).
  • hreflang="x-default" catches speakers of languages you don't serve at all (a Japanese speaker on a site with only English and German).

Try it: switch x-default off and pick the Japanese or Italian searcher. Then switch plain en off and choose the Australian one.

Your versions (toggle them)

Google sends them to

x-default example.com/

No version in ja, so the x-default fallback is shown.

Where x-default should point

  • A language or country selector. The textbook case: a page with no language of its own that helps the visitor choose.
  • An auto-redirecting home page. If example.com/ sends visitors on to /de/ or /fr/ based on their settings, annotate that root as x-default. The localized targets themselves should not redirect.
  • Your most broadly useful version. For many sites that's the English page, so x-default and en share a URL. That's perfectly valid.

Common x-default mistakes

  • Writing it differently. It's exactly x-default; default, x_default or xx are invalid.
  • Only on the home page's own head. x-default belongs in the identical set on every version, like any other line.
  • More than one x-default URL in a set. Pick one.
  • Pointing it at a page outside the set's content, such as the home page for a product page's cluster. Point to the equivalent page or selector for that content.

Generate a set with x-default in the hreflang generator (it's included by default), or check whether a live page has one with the hreflang checker.

x-default questions

What does hreflang x-default mean?

x-default is a reserved hreflang value for the page Google should show when the searcher’s language and region match none of your other hreflang values. It usually points to a language selector or a global version.

Is x-default required?

No. Google recommends it, especially for language or country selectors and auto-redirecting home pages, but a set without x-default is still valid.

Can x-default point to the same URL as another hreflang value?

Yes. It is common for x-default and en to share the English URL. One URL can carry several hreflang values.

Do I need x-default if I already have hreflang="en"?

They do different jobs. hreflang="en" catches English speakers in any country you have not listed. x-default catches everyone whose language you do not serve at all.

Should every page in the set include the x-default line?

Yes. x-default is part of the set, so it appears in the identical block on every version, just like the language codes.