HREFLANG: language and geography without general language

[netzkern_AG]

Some developers always implement the hreflang for German (which should be "de") as "de-de", so language German and country Germany. There is usually no other German version targeting the other German-speaking countries (mostly ch, at). So obviously the recommendation is to make it "de" and that's the end.

But I kept wondering and not finding anything: IF there is a more specialised hreflang, will google take that if there is no default?

Example:

Search in: de-at (or de-ch)

Search result has the following hreflang versions: de-de; x-default (==en), en

=> Will Google give the result for x-default or de-de?

[zeehj]

No matter what directives you (or your devs) insert on your pages and sitemaps, Google may still ignore them if it finds another resource it "thinks" is better targeted to a given user's region and language.

With hreflang, you don't have to specify a region if you target numerous countries that all speak the same language. Keep in mind, however, that there are likely localized variants (different dialects, preferred spellings, cultural differences) that may require you to create customized content even if it's the same language. For instance, English speakers in the UK are likelier to write "prioritise" whereas English speakers in North America are likelier to write "prioritize." If you're targeting both of these regions with specialized services, then I'd recommend you tweak your spellings.