In short. Google recommends separate URLs for language versions, connected with hreflang annotations and links that let visitors choose a language.
Definition: As of 17 October 2026, Google recommends a separate URL for each language version of a page. Each translation has a distinct web address, rather than sharing an address whose language changes through cookies or browser settings.
Key facts
- Google's multilingual site guidance recommends distinct language URLs and links that let visitors choose another language.
- Google's locale-adaptive crawling documentation explains that Googlebot sends requests without the language-preference header
Accept-Language. - Google's localized versions documentation supports hreflang annotations, which identify language or regional alternatives, through HTML, HTTP headers or sitemaps.
Does each language need a separate domain?
Separate URLs can share a domain. Google's URL structure guidance lists these options:
| Structure | Google's example | Documented consideration |
|---|---|---|
| Subdirectory | example.com/de/ | It shares a host and requires little maintenance. |
| Subdomain | de.example.com | It allows sites to be separated easily. |
| Country-specific domain | example.de | It provides clear country targeting and requires more infrastructure. |
Language and country targeting serve different purposes. The same guidance defines a multilingual website as one offering several languages, while a multi-regional website targets people in different countries. A country-specific domain therefore introduces a geographic signal; a translated page can use a subdirectory on the existing domain.
Why can changing the language at one URL cause problems?
A locale-adaptive page changes content according to a visitor's perceived country or preferred language. Google's crawling guidance explains that some versions may remain uncrawled, unindexed or absent from rankings. Googlebot's default IP addresses appear US-based, and its requests omit Accept-Language. Google also documents crawling from IP addresses outside the US.
The documented recommendation is separate locale URLs with annotations connecting the alternatives. For sites that adapt content by location, the same documentation requires consistent robots.txt and robots meta rules across locales. It also says to treat Googlebot like any other visitor from the country its address represents.
How should translations connect to each other?
Google's localized versions guide requires each language version to list itself and its alternatives. For HTML annotations, the links belong in the page's <head>. This example adapts Google's English and German example URLs to a site with those language versions:
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en"
href="https://en.example.com/page.html" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="de"
href="https://de.example.com/page.html" />
The same set belongs on both pages. Check that each href is a full URL, including https://, and that the alternatives link back to each other. Google ignores tags between pages that lack reciprocal links. The alternatives may be on different domains.
The guide treats HTML annotations, HTTP headers and sitemap annotations as equivalent methods. It says implementing all methods offers no additional Search benefit and can make maintenance harder.
Related terms
- hreflang
- HTML lang attribute
- How do I check reciprocal hreflang links between translations?
- Can automatic language redirects prevent Google from seeing translations?
FAQ
Must I translate the words in the URL?
Google's language-specific URL guidance permits localized words in URLs. If you use them, follow its UTF-8 encoding and URL escaping guidance.
Does translating only the menu create a separate translated page?
Google's localized versions documentation says localized pages count as duplicates when their main content remains untranslated. Translating navigation alone leaves that main content unchanged.
Should I automatically redirect visitors to their presumed language?
The multilingual site guidance advises avoiding these redirects because they can prevent visitors and search engines from accessing every version. You can provide links to the other language versions instead.
Sources
- Google Search Central, "Managing multi-regional and multilingual sites", 10 December 2025
- Google Search Central, "How Google crawls locale-adaptive pages", 10 December 2025
- Google Search Central, "Tell Google about localized versions of your page", 21 September 2026
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