Does Odoo add hreflang and x-default to multilingual pages?

Definition: Yes. Odoo's Website SEO documentation says it automatically includes hreflang and x-default tags in the code of multilingual website pages. In HTML, these annotations identify alternate language or regional URLs and a fallback URL for languages that are not explicitly listed.

Key facts

• Odoo says it automatically includes hreflang and x-default in the code of multilingual pages. Odoo's SEO documentation describes both as HTML attributes for a page's language and geographical targeting.
• Google's localized-page documentation describes hreflang as the signal for variations of the same localized content. It says page language is determined with algorithms.
• Google defines x-default as the value that matches a language not explicitly listed by an hreflang tag, which makes it suitable for a fallback page.

What does Odoo add to multilingual HTML?

Odoo's SEO documentation states that the annotations are included automatically in the code of a website's multilingual pages. The statement covers both hreflang and x-default, so the documented behavior includes a language or regional alternate set and a default alternate.

The documentation does not describe a manual field for entering these annotations. It presents them as part of the generated page code and links to Odoo's translations documentation for related configuration.

How do the annotations work in the page head?

Google's localized-page documentation describes the HTML method as link elements in the page header. The documented form is:

<link rel="alternate" hreflang="lang_code" href="url_of_page" />

Each language version lists itself and the other language versions. The same set of links is used on every version of the page. Google also requires alternate URLs to be fully qualified, including http or https, and says the alternate URLs may use different domains.

For an Odoo website, the practical check is the delivered HTML source of each multilingual URL. The relevant elements should be inside a well-formed <head> section, with one link element for each page variant, including the page being inspected.

What is the role of x-default?

Google documents x-default as a catchall value for a language that is not explicitly listed by another hreflang annotation. The documentation recommends a fallback page for unmatched languages, especially for a language or country selector and for an automatically redirecting home page.

The example syntax is:

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

The x-default link is one member of the alternate set. It does not replace the language-specific links, which still identify the pages intended for explicitly listed languages or regions.

Related terms

• hreflang
• How do I mark a language selector page with x-default?

FAQ

Does Odoo add these annotations automatically?

Yes. Odoo's SEO documentation explicitly says that it automatically includes hreflang and x-default in the code of multilingual pages.

Is x-default a language or region code?

Google documents x-default as a fallback value for languages that are not explicitly listed by an hreflang tag. Language and regional alternatives remain separate annotations in the same HTML set.

Where should you look for the annotations?

Look in the HTML <head> for link elements with rel="alternate", an hreflang value, and a fully qualified URL. Compare the set across language versions, including the self-reference.

Sources

1. Odoo, "Search Engine Optimization (SEO)", undated
2. Google Search Central, "Localized Versions of your Pages", updated 21 September 2026

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