[Resolved] 2,376 hreflang conflicts within page source code
This thread is resolved. Here is a description of the problem and solution.
Problem: The client is experiencing hreflang conflicts when auditing their site with SEMRush, specifically issues with missing self-referencing hreflang tags and incorrect hreflang attributes for pages created with custom code. They are using WPML and SEOPress Pro. Solution: We recommended ensuring that the option to display alternative languages in the HEAD section is checked and set to 'as early as possible' in WPML->Languages->SEO options. This setting helps WPML to manage hreflang tags automatically. For more detailed guidance on managing hreflang with WPML, visit General Documentation on WPML & Hreflangs. If these settings do not resolve the issue, or if the hreflang tags need specific adjustments due to custom-coded pages, we may need to investigate further by requesting temporary access to the site to diagnose the issue directly.
Please note that the solution provided might be outdated or not applicable to your specific case. We highly recommend checking related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming that you have installed the latest versions of themes and plugins. If the problem persists, please open a new support ticket.
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Background of the issue:
When doing an audit with SEMRush, I have thousands of hreflang conflicts within page source code. I'm using WPML and SEOPress Pro as SEO plugin.
Symptoms:
No self-referencing hreflang (If your page doesn’t contain a self-referencing hreflang in its set of hreflang attributes, those attributes may be ignored or interpreted incorrectly. Include this page’s URL and language code in your set of hreflang attributes.)
Questions:
How can I solve the hreflang conflicts within the page source code using WPML and SEOPress Pro?
Please go to WPML->languages-> SEO options-> Display alternative languages in the HEAD section.=> make sure it's checked and set to as early as possible.
I have already the setting as "As early as possible" and the checkbox above checked.
I tried unchecking and switching to the other option and revert back to what is is, but now I don't have any alternate at all, just <meta property="og:locale:alternate" ...> is this normal?
I would like to request temporary access (wp-admin and FTP) to your site to test the issue.
(preferably to a test site where the problem has been replicated if possible)
**Before we proceed It is necessary to take FULL BACKUP of your database and your website. Providing us with access, you agree that a backup has been taken **
I often use the Duplicator plugin for this purpose: http://wordpress.org/plugins/duplicator/
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The information you enter is private which means only you and I have access to it.
NOTE: If access to the live site is not possible and the staging site does not exist please provide me with a duplicator package created with the duplicator plugin.
Thank you for providing me with the export file, unfortunately it get stuck at around 18% and will not finish.
Also, migrating the site to our cloudways environment is impossible due to it's size (40Gb), as well as creating a duplicator package even when removing uploads, etc to lower the size.
Is it possible for us to do some tests on the live site? A recent backup would be required, or do you happen to have a staging site available.
My theory is that a third party plugin is causing this issue but to locate it we need to test by activating/deactivating plugins and see which one is the offender.
Sorry I thought I replied to you, the pro version is uploaded on your sandbox since couple of days.
Regarding the missing alternate, it was because those page were in noindex in SEOPress, it's solved now.
So the main issue is still on, I want to solve all those ahrefs warning, how can I do that?
Let me know please.
For example, for this URL: hidden link
No self-referencing hreflang (If your page doesn’t contain a self-referencing hreflang in its set of hreflang attributes, those attributes may be ignored or interpreted incorrectly.
Include this page’s URL and language code in your set of hreflang attributes.)
Do I need to update the self-referencing hreflang to be the permalink with URL parameter so the warning is gone? If so, what can I use for hooks and filters from WPML to do it?
I'm glad to hear the issue with the missing alternate tags, due to pages being set to noindex in SEOPress, has been resolved. This should also clear up the warnings you were receiving from Ahrefs.
I conducted a quick check using the Ahrefs Chrome tool, and everything appears to be in order now. The check is passing, and the source code looks correct, which wasn't the case previously for all secondary languages due to missing hreflangs.
Regarding the page hidden link it shows correctly except for English. Could English possibly be set to noindex? (Please refer to the screenshot provided.)
For the URL hidden link, you might see some warnings because it doesn’t reference back due to the parameter, even in French, which is the default language. This suggests that the issue persists regardless of WPML's presence.
This situation likely relates to how additional content is loaded. I'm unsure if this type of URL, which loads more content, needs to be indexed by Google—for example, the URL mentioned above.
Note: When visiting this URL (hidden link) the source code will not reference the parameter so it looks like the main URL is actually failing the check but it is not.
There is this hook you might find useful https://wpml.org/wpml-hook/wpml_alternate_hreflang/ , but I will note again that this is something that would happen even without WPML present and is not related to WPML or its code.
I would recommend reaching out to the theme or plugin developers regarding this parameter structure and ahref warning.
WPML is the one output the alternate tag in all languages, no?
So WPML doesn't put the right x-default and doesn't take into account URL parameters, so I would have to do it myself, it's not an issue if you provide the hook.
I removed completely the alternate tags whenever I'm on a page with WPGB facets, since a page 2 of the blog post page of IT for example, is not equal to the page 2 of the blog post index page in other languages.
Since each languages have their own posts I don't think it's right to have alternate on those pages.
