Guide · Agent skill
How to use the International SEO Hreflang Auditor agent skill
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
The seo-hreflang skill gives an AI agent a checklist and rules for auditing and generating hreflang tags, which tell search engines which language or regional version of a page to show to which users. It is aimed at SEO specialists, developers building multi-language sites, and agencies reviewing a client's international setup. After this guide you will know what the skill does, how to install it, how to ask for it in plain language, and where it fits or does not.
International SEO Hreflang AuditorAgriciDaniel/claude-seo · MIT Download the skill Quick start
- 1Download the ZIP. Download the seo-hreflang skill's ZIP file from our page.
- 2Unzip into a skills folder. Unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use, or into .claude/skills/ inside a project.
- 3Or upload in the Claude apps. In the Claude apps, go to Settings → Capabilities → Skills and upload the ZIP.
- 4Gather the markup. Collect the hreflang tags, HTTP headers, or sitemap content you want reviewed.
- 5Ask in plain language. Request an audit or generation using a trigger phrase such as 'hreflang' or 'international SEO'.
- 6Review the findings. Work through the issues by severity, starting with Critical and High items, and verify each fix yourself.
What an agent skill is and what this one does
An agent skill is a folder containing a SKILL.md file of instructions that an AI agent loads when a task matches the skill's description. This skill covers hreflang and international SEO: validating existing hreflang implementations and generating correct ones for HTML, HTTP headers, or XML sitemaps.
Once installed, the agent checks for common mistakes such as missing return links, invalid language or region codes, non-canonical URLs, and mixed HTTP/HTTPS. It also notes region-specific search features where relevant.
- Self-referencing tags: every page should include an hreflang tag pointing to itself.
- Return tags: if page A points to page B, page B must point back to page A.
- x-default: designates the fallback page for unmatched languages or regions.
- Language and region codes: checks ISO 639-1 language codes and ISO 3166-1 Alpha-2 region codes, for example flagging 'eng' instead of 'en' and 'en-uk' instead of 'en-GB'.
- Canonical alignment and protocol consistency: hreflang belongs only on canonical URLs, and all URLs in a set should use the same protocol.
Install the seo-hreflang skill in Claude
Download the skill's ZIP file from our page. Then either unzip it into your personal skills folder at ~/.claude/skills/, or unzip it into a project's .claude/skills/ folder if you want the skill available only inside that project.
Alternatively, if you use the Claude apps, upload the ZIP under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
- Personal install: unzip into ~/.claude/skills/
- Project install: unzip into .claude/skills/ inside your project
- Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills, then upload the ZIP
Trigger the skill with natural requests
The skill's description lists trigger phrases: 'hreflang', 'i18n SEO', 'international SEO', 'multi-language', 'multi-region', and 'language tags'. You do not need a special command. Describe the task in plain words that include one of these ideas.
The skill accepts an optional URL argument (its argument hint is [url]). The listing states that the skill does not use the network, so paste the markup, headers, or sitemap content you want checked rather than expecting the agent to fetch a live site.
- Audit this page's hreflang tags for missing return links.
- Check the language and region codes in this sitemap for errors.
- Generate hreflang tags for these English, French and German pages.
- Our site has multi-region variants. Review the international SEO setup in this HTML.
Choose where the hreflang tags go
The skill supports three implementation methods. HTML link tags suit smaller sites. HTTP headers suit non-HTML files such as PDFs. An XML sitemap is recommended for large sites, cross-domain setups, or sites with 50 or more pages.
The skill's example of HTML link tags looks like this:
- HTML link tags: best for sites with fewer than 50 language or region variants per page.
- HTTP headers: best for non-HTML files, set through server configuration or CDN rules.
- XML sitemap: best for large sites and cross-domain setups, but not visible on the page itself.
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-US" href="https://example.com/page" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-GB" href="https://example.co.uk/page" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="fr" href="https://example.com/fr/page" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://example.com/page" />Understand what the agent reports
The skill ranks issues by severity. Missing self-referencing tags and missing return tags are rated Critical. Invalid language codes and invalid region codes are rated High. Missing x-default, HTTP/HTTPS mismatches, and trailing slash inconsistencies are rated Medium.
The skill also treats hreflang as a hint, not a directive. Its guidance is based on documented rules, so treat its output as a checklist for your own verification rather than a promise of ranking changes.
- Critical: missing self-referencing tag, missing return tags
- High: invalid language code, invalid region code, hreflang on a non-canonical URL
- Medium: missing x-default where fallback is needed, HTTP/HTTPS mismatch, trailing slash inconsistency
- Low: hreflang in both HTML and sitemap, language without region where needed
Check safety and requirements before you rely on it
The listing says the skill requires nothing beyond the skill itself, runs no scripts, and uses no network access. Its files are LICENSE.txt, SKILL.md, and four reference documents on content parity, cultural profiles, locale formats, and machine translation QA. The skill is MIT licensed.
Because it runs no scripts and makes no network calls according to the listing, it works from the content you provide. Review the files yourself if your organisation requires it before installing any skill.
- Requirements: none listed
- Scripts: none (per listing)
- Network use: none (per listing)
- Licence: MIT, see LICENSE.txt
What people use it for
- Auditing a multi-country e-commerce site for missing return tags between its English, German and French pages.
- Generating a hreflang sitemap for a large multi-language site with many variants per page.
- Catching invalid codes such as 'en-uk' or 'jp' in an existing template before they spread across pages.
- Reviewing an agency client's international search setup and noting where regional search features may change results.
Frequently asked questions
Is the seo-hreflang skill free?
The skill is released under the MIT licence, as stated in its LICENSE.txt and metadata. The listing does not mention any price, so check the source page for any terms beyond the licence.
What do I need to run the seo-hreflang skill?
The listing says nothing is required beyond the skill itself. It runs no scripts and uses no network access, so you provide the markup or sitemap content to check.
How do I install the seo-hreflang skill?
Download the ZIP from our page and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ or a project's .claude/skills/ folder. In the Claude apps, you can instead upload the ZIP under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
Can the skill check a live website by itself?
The listing states that the skill does not use the network. Paste the page markup, headers, or sitemap content into your request so the agent can check it.
Does hreflang guarantee better rankings?
No. The skill's documentation treats hreflang as a hint, not a directive, and the skill makes no promise of ranking changes. Use its findings to fix errors in the markup.
Should I use this skill for a site in only one language?
Probably not. The skill adds little value for sites with one language and no regional versions, which is noted as a poor fit in the listing.
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Our verdict
This skill suits SEO specialists, developers building multi-language sites, and agencies auditing international setups, because it turns hreflang rules into a repeatable checklist. Skip it if your site has only one language and no regional versions, or if you expect it to guarantee ranking gains.
Download the skill