Do your page and sitemap hreflang agree?
Google accepts hreflang on the page or in the sitemap, but not inconsistently. This reads both and reports which method you use and whether they conflict.
Reads hreflang from the page head and from the sitemap. Nothing is stored.
Not connected. Sign in and Connect Search Console to read Google's own verdict for this page. The check below still runs from public signals without it.
How this check works
Shipwork reads the hreflang alternates in your page head and the xhtml:link entries in your sitemap, then reports which method you use and whether the two sets disagree. Declaring both inconsistently is worse than one.
What the hreflang sitemap check compares
The check reads hreflang in two places. From the page it collects link elements that declare rel=alternate and carry an hreflang value. From /sitemap.xml it collects xhtml:link entries that carry an hreflang value. It then counts each set and compares the languages they declare.
If both are present, it reports the languages that appear in one set but not the other. It reads the site's root sitemap and the one page you submitted; it does not follow a sitemap index into child files, and it does not check that each alternate URL exists or links back. Reciprocity is the job of the hreflang check.
How to read the comparison
If only the page declares alternates, the result is informational: page-level hreflang is enough when it is reciprocal. If only the sitemap declares them, the same applies in reverse. Neither is wrong on its own. When both are present and the sets differ, the result is a warning, because two conflicting declarations are worse than one consistent one.
A clean result means both places declare the same languages, or that only one method is used. It does not confirm that the values are valid language tags or that the URLs are correct. The check compares the set of language codes; a pair that shares a code but points at different URLs is not caught here. It also reads only the single page you submitted, so run it on a representative template such as a product page or a home page.
Common causes and why they matter for search
A site can add page tags through a theme and sitemap tags through an SEO app, and the two drift as new languages are added. A migration may leave the old set in one place. Search engines expect one clear set, and conflicting signals can cause the whole cluster to be ignored.
Hreflang tells search engines which language or regional version to show. If the declarations disagree, the wrong version can be served or the alternates can be dropped, which splits international traffic. The check reads declarations, so it cannot see whether a visitor actually receives the intended page.
How to fix a page and sitemap conflict
Choose one method and make it the source of truth. If you keep page tags, remove the sitemap alternates or bring them into line; if you keep sitemap hreflang, keep the page clean. Use the generator to build the entries and ensure every version points at every other version, including itself.
Fix the generator or template that produces the set so new languages are added in one place. After changes, verify the rendered head and the sitemap agree, then run the check again. For a single missing return link, see the reciprocal hreflang fix.
When to use related hreflang checks
Use hreflang check for reciprocity and page-level correctness, and this check for page versus sitemap agreement. Use the sitemap check if the sitemap itself does not fetch.
If you are building the cluster for the first time, the hreflang generator produces both formats. On a large site, keep sitemap hreflang and leave the page head clear, and confirm the child sitemaps are the ones search engines actually read. Whatever method you choose, add every new language version to the same set as it launches.
Questions
Page tags or sitemap, which is better?
What does a conflict look like?
Does this check reciprocity?
How do I generate the sitemap hreflang entries?
How do I check hreflang in my sitemap?
Should hreflang go on the page or in the sitemap?
Does this check hreflang reciprocity?
Why do my page and sitemap hreflang sets differ?
Does the check read child sitemaps?
Keep reading
What this reads
- Compares the hreflang set on the page with the one in your sitemap.
- Names every hreflang that appears on one side only.
- Reads the public page and sitemap; no account is needed.
Cool, just ran an audit and got some insights! Let’s see if I can fix them :)
Whoah! this site is crazy, nothing to roast at all
cool as heck, tried it on my blog and the insights it gave are helpful and not bluff.