Content and entities
hreflang
hreflang is markup that tells search engines which language and region each version of a page serves. A valid cluster names every version including itself, so readers are sent to the right one.
In more detail
A cluster that points at a translation which does not exist is invalid, and engines discard the whole cluster rather than the bad entry. Listing only the languages a page genuinely has is what keeps it working.
Guides that cover this
Related terms
Canonical URL
A canonical URL tells search engines which version of a page is the one to index when the same content is reachable at several addresses. It consolidates signals onto a single address instead of splitting them.
Sitemap
A sitemap is an XML file listing the URLs a site wants crawled, with optional hints about change frequency and language alternates. It is how a crawler discovers pages that navigation alone might not surface.
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