Google's John Mueller explained that just because you use hreflang tags on your pages, it doesn't mean those pages will be indexed and/or ranked in Google Search. He said on Bluesky, "hreflang doesn't guarantee indexing."
He added that in some cases, not all the hreflang variations are indexed. He said, "it can also just be that not all variations are indexed. And, if they are the same (eg fr-fr, fr-be), it's common that one is chosen as canonical (they're the same)."
He also said, "but I suspect this is a "same language" case where our systems just try to simplify things for sites. Often hreflang will still swap out the URL, but reporting will be on the canonical URL."
Here are those posts:
I'm not sure what you're trying to show with the screenshot, but hreflang doesn't guarantee indexing, so it can also just be that not all variations are indexed. And, if they are the same (eg fr-fr, fr-be), it's common that one is chosen as canonical (they're the same).
— John Mueller (@johnmu.com) May 9, 2025 at 5:02 AM
I'm happy to take a look if you send me examples, but I suspect this is a "same language" case where our systems just try to simplify things for sites. Often hreflang will still swap out the URL, but reporting will be on the canonical URL.
— John Mueller (@johnmu.com) May 9, 2025 at 5:03 AM
I should note, that Google has said that hreflang is not even processed until the page is indexed, so yea.
Forum discussion at Bluesky.
