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You're welcome. You do not want to include hreflang="x-default" tags for the specific language pages (whether in the sitemap or the code). You only want to include the x-default tag on non-language specific 'default' pages (for example, a default page that prompts the user to select a language or country). Here is a description from Google on their use of this particular tag: "The new x-default hreflang attribute value signals to our algorithms that this page doesn’t target any specific language or locale and is the default page when no other page is better suited." [Source]

Thanks for your reply, I submitted each language URL to google webmasters, Should i use international target option for each language to target the countries? will that hurt the language targeting? or i have to leave international targeting option unchecked for each language? Thanks in advance

The correct answer is Quit geo-targeting in GSC Implement hreflang annotations. Their same implementation will avoid the risk of Google considering the "duplicate" versions as duplicate DON'T CANONICALIZE ALL THE VERSION TO ONE YOU CONSIDER CANONICAL. Doing that will screw all the hreflang implementation and the other countries will always see the canonical Url (for instance the US one in the UK). Instead, work on canonicalization but version by version as if they were (and actually they are) different websites. This means self-canonicalization and/or canonicalization toward another url in case, you know, of parameters et al Try the most you can to localize the different versions of English you're using. This will improve the localization signals for Google (and will  be appreciated by your users). However, if you cannot afford to do that, you're still safe because of the hreflang. Remember that the href of the hreflang annotations must always present a canonical Url. So, if you implement the hreflang in a canonicalized Url, its href will need to present the canonical url of the canonicalized page the hreflang is being implemented. If you don't do this, you will see "no-return" error in Search Console, and Google won't consider your hreflang implementation and, yes, it will start considering your versions duplicated content.

The answer of Martin is correct. Moreover, the use of subfolder at the start is a good way of giving some strength to the new geo-targeted versions thanks to PageRank flow through internal linking. However, in the middle term, I suggest you to start monitoring if the new geo-targeted versions are earning enough traffic and conversions (both metrics must always go together) to eventually justify the migration, for instance, of the french version from the subfolder to a .fr domain name. In the meanwhile, though, remember that, even if the new geo-targeted versions are living into the .com domain and earning authority from the backlinks earned by the .com site, you should consider them as if they were totally separate domains in terms of authority and relevance. In other words: you must build links for your /ie and /fr versions if you want them to really rank for competitive keywords.

Hello Alejandro, Remove the automatic GEO IR redirect and be sure that you have the hreflang tag correctly set up. Let google figure out the internationalization and index the correct site for each language and country. Take a look at these articles, it might help you: International checklist - Moz Blog Using the correct hreglang tag - Moz Blog Guide to international website expansion - Moz Blog Tool for checking hreflang anotations - Moz Blog Hope it helps. GR

Can i use a herflang sitemap with just the language attribute? Please check that out https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/2620865?hl=en

You can upload them to Google search console but you will not be given the option to specify which location the sub-folders should target. But you should still do that as It is still helpful to segment them in search console for better search data, broken links etc. Especially if you have dedicated webmasters for each locale. Good luck.

Hi there I agree with Kevin here. Relevance is key when it comes to your users (and search engines). You could take it a step further and redirect job URLs on board B to the related job URLs on board A, that way users go directly where they need to go should they have clicked a link from a third party or another site. It might take a minute to do, but the payoff is a better user experience and organic equity being transferred correctly. Here's a tutorial on how to do a redirect map. Hope this helps! Good luck! P

Each domain should have its own robots.txt and sitemap.xml and you should only reference that domain in its sitemap.

It's not that the content is duplicated, I don't see the need to use canonical. It's the problem of trying to optimize each language when my branded keywords are the same, and are not only used across the different languages, but also across the different pages of each language. This is because there are certain branded concepts we're ranking for (and trying to rank for). But my concern is the over-use of these keywords and ultimately the different pages and subdomains competing with each other.

Hi Muzz, No need to use hreflang if you only have your content available for a single region/language.. If you eventually have your content available in other regions/languages, whether it's on the same domain or a different domain, you should definitely use hreflang to ensure the locations are being served the most relevant version of your content. Cheers, David

Nowadays all the CMS are very similar, so you need to check your database/ This is not an official solution but in your case, I will download the database, then open it with a code editor and search the category that is making a problem look at the code, and then compare the code with another  category that is working ok

Confusing Search Engine by sending two different signal about one URL. You must keep it simple by applying 301 redirect from domain.com/en to domain.com. Domain.com/en version is little confusing for user as well, they will think that domain.com has a different default Language.

I personally have not seen this before, but that is due to being English speaking only. I don't see much else on the web about it either which lead me to wonder if it was due to account settings for some reason. I'll flag this up as a discussion, see if we can find someone that has dealt with this before.

Martijn's answer is correct. To elaborate: You must include the XML sitemaps on all the sitemaps referenced in that same sitemap. If you don't, Google Search Console will identify return tag errors. Every url in your sitemap that references an equivalent URL on another country's site, must have a correlating "return" URL coming back to the originating pages from tthe hreflang XML sitemap associated with that other country's site.

Hey Jonathan! Definitely don't recommend blocking your US site in robots.txt--you want to preserve any authority and pass on equity from your US site to your CA site if possible, so let's leave that out of robots. Are you fully deprecating your US site, or will it continue to exist alongside your CA site? If you're deprecating it, I'd recommend 301 redirecting the domain to the new CA one. If not, you should preserve the US site, as-is, set up your CA domain, and implement hreflang tags (information here: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/189077?hl=en). That'll tell Google that these sites are linked, but that they serve different regions. I do recommend also having a link in your nav or somewhere in your header (like flag icons) that can let users choose which site to navigate to. This will allow for internal linking between both domains.

Hey Bryce, Thanks so much for your reply it's much appreciated. I was starting to think down the same lines regarding domain authority, but thought maybe the two sites linking together so much would argue that it wouldn't have huge impact when you take into account the extra authority in France that a .fr site may hold. That's my dilemma! But I think you are right that taking everything into account, the subfolder option just takes the edge. Thanks again for taking the time to answer All the best Joe

I'm currently specifying USA for the US domain, but the .com domain needs to be relevant for all countries besides the US and Canada. Can I specify more than one country to achieve this?

If you are still looking for a business address to sound like a US company, try US Global Mail - www.usglobalmail.com - cheaper and better service than ECM.

Hi Steban, just curious: why have you chosen 301 redirects to redirect to the specific countries. It seems to me that you should be using 302 redirects instead.