Hreflang for Costa Rica: Spanish-English Setup Guide

If your Costa Rican website is bilingual, you may have noticed a frustrating problem: Google sometimes shows the wrong language page to users, or your Spanish and English pages compete against each other in search results. This is a common SEO issue for websites targeting multiple languages or countries. The solution? Hreflang implementation.

In this guide, we’ll explain what hreflang is, how it works, and how to properly set it up for Spanish-English Costa Rican websites. We’ll also cover tools, plugins, XML sitemaps, and monitoring tips to ensure your international targeting works flawlessly.

What is Hreflang and Why It Matters?

Hreflang is an HTML tag (or HTTP header) that tells search engines which language and regional version of a page should be shown to users. For Costa Rican websites targeting both Spanish and English audiences, proper implementation ensures:

• Spanish pages appear for Spanish-speaking users in Costa Rica or other Latin American countries.
• English pages show for English-speaking audiences, such as tourists, expats, or international clients.
• Avoidance of duplicate content issues caused by identical content in multiple languages.

Example scenario:

A Costa Rican eco-tourism company offers both Spanish and English pages. Without hreflang, someone searching “Costa Rica tours” in Spanish might see the English page first, confusing users and increasing bounce rates.

Common Hreflang Mistakes to Avoid

Even experienced webmasters sometimes misconfigure. Here are the most common mistakes:

1. Duplicate Content Confusion
   If Spanish and English pages are similar but not tagged, Google may rank only one page or mix them up.
2. Incorrect Hreflang Tags
   Each page must reference all language versions, including itself. Using incorrect language codes (es vs es-CR) or omitting a page breaks the setup.
3. Conflicting Canonical URLs
   Canonicals should point to the same language version, not across languages.
4. Missing Language or Region Codes
   Using only es for Spanish without specifying Costa Rica (es-CR) may cause Google to serve the wrong regional content.
5. Ignoring Technical Testing
   Failing to validate in Google Search Console or with online tools can leave errors unnoticed.

Pro Tip: Keep a spreadsheet of all pages and hreflang URLs for reference and updates.

Spanish-English Setup for Costa Rican Websites

Here’s a step-by-step approach to implement hreflang:

Step 1: Choose a URL Structure

• Subdirectories: example.com/es/ and example.com/en/
• Subdomains: es.example.com and en.example.com
• Separate domains: example.com (English) and example.cr (Spanish)

For most Costa Rican businesses, subdirectories are easiest to manage and SEO-friendly.

Step 2: Add Hreflang Tags

Add the following tags in theof each page:

<!– Spanish page for Costa Rica –>
<link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”es-CR” href=”https://www.example.com/es/” />

<!– English page (default) –>
<link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”en” href=”https://www.example.com/en/” />

<!– Fallback for unspecified languages –>
<link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”x-default” href=”https://www.example.com/en/” />

Notes:

• es-CR targets Costa Rican Spanish
• en targets English globally
• x-default serves as a fallback

Step 3: WordPress Implementation

• Install WPML or Polylang plugin
• Configure primary and secondary languages
• Let the plugin generate hreflang automatically
• Verify tags in Google Search Console

Pro Tip: Even with plugins, perform a manual check for accuracy.

Step 4: Manual vs Automated Implementation

• Manual: Insert tags in HTML (small sites)
• Automated: Use plugins or sitemap-based methods (larger sites)

Step 5: Testing Your Hreflang

• Google Search Console: International Targeting → Hreflang errors
• Online Tools: Merkle Hreflang Tool, TechnicalSEO.com
• Ensure each page references all versions, including itself

Tools and Plugins

Pro Tip: Combine automated tools with manual spot-checks to avoid mistakes.

International Targeting Strategies

1. Content Localization:
   Translate and adapt content for Costa Rican Spanish, include local references.
2. URL Best Practices:
   Use consistent subdirectories (/es/, /en/) and avoid mixing languages.
3. Geo-targeting in Google Search Console:
   Target Spanish pages for Costa Rica; leave English pages un-targeted or multi-country.
4. Keyword Research:
   Optimize meta titles, headings, and content separately for each language.
5. CDN Considerations:
   Serve both language versions efficiently for international visitors; configure caching by region.

Monitoring and Maintaining Hreflang

• Regular Audits: Check GSC monthly
• Site Updates: Update tags for new pages
• Redirects: Ensure language-specific URLs are not misdirected
• Analytics Tracking: Monitor language traffic in Google Analytics

Metrics to watch: impressions, clicks, bounce rate, and language-specific rankings.

Case Study: Costa Rican Bilingual Website

A Costa Rican eco-tourism company implemented hreflang for English and Spanish pages:

1. Setup: Subdirectories /es/ and /en/
2. Verification: Google Search Console validation

Result:

• Spanish pages dominate Costa Rican searches
• English pages rank in US, UK, and Canada
• Bounce rate dropped by 18%

Hreflang Implementation FAQs

1. How to implement hreflang in WordPress Costa Rica?
   A: Use WPML or Polylang to generate automatically, then verify in Google Search Console.
2. What’s the difference between es and es-CR?
   A: es targets all Spanish users, while es-CR is specifically for Costa Rican Spanish, helping Google serve the right regional content.
3. How long does hreflang take to work?
   A: Google usually takes a few days to a few weeks to index and serve the correct language version.
4. Can hreflang prevent duplicate content issues?
   A: Yes, proper hreflang setup signals to Google which page to show, reducing the risk of duplicate content penalties.

Conclusion & Next Steps

Implementing hreflang for Costa Rican Spanish-English websites ensures the right content reaches the right audience, avoids duplicate content issues, and improves international SEO visibility.

If you want to simplify the process and get professional results, contact Valde Media
for expert bilingual website SEO and international targeting.

Pro Tip: Combine implementation with content localization, sitemap updates, and regular monitoring for maximum results.