If you’ve ever managed hreflang tags during a global site migration, you know it can get messy fast—especially when those tags point to URLs that 301 redirect. 

This week, Google’s Search Advocate John Mueller weighed in on the topic, giving us a bit of clarity (and a gentle warning) on how to handle it in 2025.

The conversation kicked off on Mastodon when [SEO expert Matt Coughlan](https://mastodon.social/@mcoughlan) asked Mueller if it’s still necessary for hreflang tags to point directly to pages with a 200 status code, referencing guidance Mueller had shared way back in 2018. 

Matt’s team had recently completed a large-scale migration and noticed that many of their hreflang tags were linking to pages that now [redirect with a 301](https://www.stanventures.com/blog/redirecting-website-url/). Understandably, they were wondering if that’s still considered “clean” in Google’s eyes.

Mueller’s response? “If they 301 it’s probably ok, but…” (Yes, there was a “but.”)

![Linking Hreflang Tags to 301 Pages](https://www.stanventures.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/C134B009-BFCF-45DB-98D8-CE6375A72B58.jpeg)

He clarified that while Google can generally handle 301 redirects just fine, it’s still a good idea to automate the process of cleaning up hreflang links and pointing them directly to final destination URLs. 

Why? 

Because manually managing hreflang tags is a nightmare—and redirect chains make it harder for tools (and teams) to keep track of everything. Plus, cleaner links reduce the risk of “miscanonicalization,” which doesn’t directly impact rankings but definitely complicates how Google tracks your pages.

## How Does This Impact SEO?

Here’s the thing—hreflang isn’t a direct ranking factor, but it plays a crucial role in helping Google show the right version of your content to the right users. 

When your hreflang tags point to redirecting URLs, you increase the chance of Google getting confused about which page belongs to which language or region—especially if more than one version of a page exists.

That confusion can lead to the wrong page ranking in international search results, reduced visibility in key markets, and a frustrating user experience for visitors who land on a mismatched language version. 

Even worse, if Google misinterprets your [canonical URLs](https://www.stanventures.com/blog/canonical-urls-a-beginners-guide-to-canonical-tags/) due to all the redirects, you may unintentionally cannibalize your own search performance.

So while a 301 won’t kill your SEO, poor hreflang hygiene can chip away at your international SEO effectiveness over time.

## Our Take on This

Here at Stan Ventures, we think this is solid advice from John. It’s tempting to leave those 301s alone, especially when you’re juggling dozens of markets and languages. 

But investing a bit of time into automating hreflang updates can go a long way in keeping your international SEO efforts tidy and trackable.

So, if your hreflang setup feels like a patchwork of old redirects and half-broken links, now might be the perfect time to clean house.

Want help fixing hreflang issues before they snowball into tracking nightmares? Our [international SEO specialists](https://www.stanventures.com/seo-consultation/) are just a call away.