Hreflang and Multilingual SEO for Indian Websites: Hindi and Regional Versions

On this page

1. What hreflang does, and what it doesn't
2. Choose a URL structure
3. Getting hreflang tags right
4. Research keywords in each language
5. Translation quality matters more than tags
6. Translate the whole experience
7. Check that it's working

A Hindi, Marathi or Tamil version of your website can reach customers who would rather read in their own language. But translated pages only help if Google understands which version to show to whom, and if the translation is good enough for people to trust. This guide covers the SEO side: URL structure, hreflang tags and translation quality. For whether you need a multilingual site at all and how the plugins work, start with multilingual WordPress websites.

What hreflang does, and what it doesn't

Hreflang is a small piece of code that tells Google "this page also exists in these other languages, at these addresses". Google uses it to show a Hindi-speaking searcher your Hindi page and an English-speaking searcher your English page, instead of treating the versions as competitors.

What it doesn't do:

• It doesn't boost rankings on its own; it helps Google choose the right version
• It doesn't translate anything or detect a visitor's language
• It can't fix a page that isn't really in that language. Google says it works out a page's language from its visible content, so a "Hindi" page that is mostly English will be treated as English

Choose a URL structure

Each language version needs its own URL. Avoid showing different languages at the same address based on cookies or browser settings, because Google may only ever see one version.

Structure	Example	Notes
Subfolder	example.in/hi/	Simplest for most Indian businesses: one site, one hosting account, one domain building strength
Subdomain	hi.example.in	Works, but needs more setup and is managed more like a separate site
Separate domain	examplehindi.in	Rarely worth it; more cost and more to maintain
URL parameter	example.in/?lang=hi	Not recommended by Google; avoid if you can

For slugs on the Hindi version you can use Devanagari or Roman-script words. Google handles both, but Devanagari URLs turn into long strings of percent-codes when copied into WhatsApp or email, so many sites keep slugs in Roman script. Whatever you choose, be consistent. And don't automatically redirect visitors by IP address or browser language; offer a clear language switcher instead.

Getting hreflang tags right

Most multilingual plugins, such as WPML, Polylang, TranslatePress and Weglot, add hreflang automatically once pages are linked as translations of each other. You still need to know the rules to spot mistakes:

• Use the right codes. Language codes are two letters: hi Hindi, en English, mr Marathi, ta Tamil, te Telugu, bn Bengali, gu Gujarati, kn Kannada, ml Malayalam, pa Punjabi. You can add a country after the language, as in en-IN or hi-IN, but a country code on its own isn't valid.
• Every version lists every version, including itself. If the English page points to the Hindi page but the Hindi page doesn't point back, Google may ignore the pair.
• Point to the final, indexable URL: not a redirect, a noindexed page or a 404.
• Each language version is its own canonical. Setting the Hindi page's canonical to the English page tells Google to ignore the Hindi one. See canonical tags explained.
• Add x-default for the page Google should show when no language matches, usually the English version or a language-choice page.
• Only pair true equivalents. If a service page exists only in English, don't point its hreflang at the Hindi homepage.

Hreflang can go in the page head, in HTTP headers or in the XML sitemap. Pick one method; mixing them makes errors harder to spot.

Research keywords in each language

A translated page targets whatever words the translator happened to choose, which may not be what people type. Indians search in several ways at once:

• Hindi or regional script: "घर के लिए सोलर पैनल"
• Hinglish in Roman script: "ghar ke liye solar panel"
• English with local terms: "rooftop solar subsidy Pune"

Decide which page should serve Hinglish searches. Because they're typed in Roman script, a Devanagari page may not match them well, so some businesses add natural Hinglish phrasing or FAQs to the English page. Check Google's autocomplete in each language, and once pages are live, filter Search Console's Performance report by the /hi/ folder to see real queries and which version Google chooses. See keyword research for small businesses for the method.

Translation quality matters more than tags

Perfect hreflang won't rescue a poor translation. Readers notice stiff, word-for-word Hindi immediately, and in medical, legal, religious or financial content a mistranslation can mislead. Google's spam guidelines have also long listed text translated by an automated tool without human review as an example of low-value, automatically generated content.

• Use native speakers for the pages that matter most: homepage, key services or products, pricing and contact
• If you start with machine translation, have a fluent reviewer edit every page before it's published
• Write the way your customers speak. Very formal Hindi can feel distant; everyday Hindi with familiar English words like "booking" or "online payment" is often clearer
• Localise examples, units, festivals and phone formats, not just words
• Keep versions in sync. An outdated Hindi price or opening time is worse than no Hindi page

Translate the whole experience

A Hindi page with an English menu, English form labels and English error messages feels half-finished. For each language, check:

• SEO title, meta description and image alt text
• Menus, buttons, footer, cookie notice, form labels and form messages
• Pre-filled WhatsApp messages and thank-you pages
• Schema markup and details like business hours
• The lang attribute on each page, which browsers and screen readers rely on
• Fonts that display Devanagari and other scripts correctly and load efficiently; see web fonts and website speed

Check that it's working

1. View the source of an English and a Hindi page and confirm each lists the other, itself and x-default
2. Run an SEO crawler that reports hreflang errors such as missing return links, wrong codes or non-canonical targets
3. In Search Console, confirm both versions are indexed and compare queries by folder
4. Search in Hindi on a phone set to Hindi and see which version appears

Search Console's old International Targeting report has been retired, so crawler checks and spot checks are now the main way to catch hreflang mistakes.

Planning Hindi or regional versions of your site? See WordPress SEO services, or WordPress website development if you're building a multilingual site from scratch.