Hreflang for NL and BE: the 3 most common mistakes

If you have an online store targeting both the Netherlands and Belgium, hreflang is essential. But it's also one of the most error-prone technical SEO implementations.

Mistake 1: Wrong language-region codes

The correct codes are:

• nl-NL for the Netherlands
• nl-BE for Belgium (Dutch-speaking)
• fr-BE for Belgium (French-speaking)

Many stores only use "nl" without a region, so Google doesn't know which version is intended for which country.

Mistake 2: Missing return links

Hreflang must work in both directions. If page A links to page B, page B must also link back to page A. A missing return link invalidates the entire implementation.

Mistake 3: No x-default

The x-default tag tells Google which page to show when no specific language-region combination matches. Without x-default, Google may show the wrong version.

How ScanLytics helps

Our audit automatically checks all hreflang tags, detects missing return links and validates language-region codes. So you know exactly what needs to be fixed.