seo-hreflang

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Hreflang and international SEO audit, validation, and generation. Detects common mistakes, validates language/region codes, and generates correct hreflang implementations. Use when user says "hreflang", "i18n SEO", "international SEO", "multi-language", "multi-region", or "language tags".

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MIT License - see repository root LICENSE file for complete terms.

Copyright (c) 2026 AgriciDaniel
https://github.com/AgriciDaniel/codex-seo

# Content Parity Audit for Multi-Language Sites

Load this reference when auditing content parity across language versions of a site.
Content parity ensures all language versions provide equivalent value and SEO signals.

Original concept: Chris Muller (Pro Hub Challenge)

## Content Parity Matrix

For each page that exists in multiple languages, check:

| Dimension | What to Compare | Acceptable Variance | Severity if Failing |
|-----------|----------------|--------------------|--------------------|
| Page existence | Does equivalent page exist in all declared languages? | 0% — all declared languages must have the page | High |
| Section structure | Same number of H2/H3 sections? | ±1 section allowed | Medium |
| FAQ items | Same number of FAQ questions? | ±2 items allowed | Medium |
| Images | Same number of images with localized alt text? | Must match exactly | Medium |
| Charts/SVGs | Charts present in all versions? | Must match exactly | Low |
| Word count | Proportional to language expansion ratio? | ±30% of expected ratio | Low |
| Schema markup | JSON-LD present and localized in all versions? | Must match type and key properties | High |
| Title tag | Localized with target keyword in local language? | Must be localized, not English | High |
| Meta description | Localized and within character limits? | Must be localized | Medium |

## Freshness Tracking

Detect stale translations by comparing:
1. **File modification timestamps**: If EN version was updated after DE version, DE may be stale
2. **Frontmatter dates**: Compare `date_modified` or `lastmod` across language versions
3. **Content hash comparison**: If the source language content hash changed since last translation

Freshness delta thresholds:
- **Fresh**: Translated within 7 days of source update → OK
- **Aging**: 8-30 days since source update → Low priority update
- **Stale**: 31-90 days since source update → Medium priority update
- **Outdated**: 90+ days since source update → High priority update

## Word Count Ratio Validation

Expected word count ratios vs English source:

| Target Language | Expected Ratio | Acceptable Range |
|----------------|---------------|-----------------|
| German (DE) | 1.25-1.35x | 1.10-1.50x |
| French (FR) | 1.15-1.25x | 1.00-1.40x |
| Spanish (ES) | 1.15-1.25x | 1.00-1.40x |
| Japanese (JA) | 0.75-0.90x | 0.60-1.00x |
| Chinese (ZH) | 0.70-0.80x | 0.55-0.95x |

A German translation that is shorter than the English original likely has missing content.
A Japanese translation that is longer than English likely has unnecessary padding.

## Cultural Adaptation Quality Gates

Beyond direct translation, check for cultural markers that indicate proper localization:

| Check | What to Look For | Severity |
|-------|-----------------|----------|
| Foreign brand references | US-specific brands on non-US pages (e.g., "Walmart" on de-DE) | Medium |
| Foreign statistics | US-only data cited on localized pages (e.g., "80% of Americans") | Medium |
| CTA aggressiveness | Aggressive CTAs on formal-culture pages (e.g., "BUY NOW!" on ja-JP) | Low |
| Legal references | Wrong jurisdiction laws cited (e.g., CCPA on de-DE instead of DSGVO) | High |
| Currency/unit mismatch | USD prices on EUR pages, imperial units on metric pages | High |
| Untranslated elements | English text remaining in navigation, buttons, alt text, schema | Medium |

## Parity Score Calculation

Score out of 100:
- Page existence parity: 30 points
- SEO element parity (title, meta, schema): 30 points
- Content structure parity (sections, images, FAQ): 25 points
- Freshness parity: 15 points

Interpretation:
- 90-100: Excellent parity across all language versions
- 70-89: Good parity with minor gaps to address
- 50-69: Significant parity issues affecting some language versions
- Below 50: Major parity failures requiring immediate attention

## Output Format

Present as a matrix table:
```
| Page | EN | DE | FR | ES | JA | Parity Score |
|------|----|----|----|----|----| -------------|
| /about | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | 80/100 |
| /pricing | ✅ | ✅ | ⚠️ | ❌ | ❌ | 45/100 |
```

# Cultural Adaptation Profiles for International SEO

Load this reference when analyzing multi-language sites or generating hreflang
implementations. Profiles guide cultural assessment beyond technical validation.

Original concept: Chris Muller (Pro Hub Challenge)

## DACH Region (DE, AT, CH)

| Dimension | Guideline |
|-----------|-----------|
| Formality | High. Use "Sie" (formal you). Professional tone expected. |
| Humor | Conservative. Avoid sarcasm and wordplay in CTAs. |
| CTA Style | Indirect preferred. "Jetzt entdecken" over "Jetzt kaufen". |
| Trust Signals | Certifications (TUV, ISO), "Datenschutz" (privacy), Impressum required by law. |
| Legal | Impressum page mandatory. DSGVO (GDPR). Widerrufsrecht (right of withdrawal). |
| Number Format | 1.000,00 (dot for thousands, comma for decimal) |
| Date Format | DD.MM.YYYY |
| Currency | EUR (DE/AT), CHF (CH) |
| Color Symbolism | Blue = trust, Green = eco/nature, Red = caution (not urgency) |
| Brand Substitution | Walmart → MediaMarkt, Home Depot → Hornbach, Amazon → Otto/Zalando |
| Word Expansion | +25-35% vs English (plan for longer headlines and button text) |

## Francophone (FR, BE, CA-FR, CH-FR)

| Dimension | Guideline |
|-----------|-----------|
| Formality | Medium-high. "Vous" default. "Tu" only for youth/casual brands. |
| Humor | Appreciated when sophisticated. Avoid blunt/direct humor. |
| CTA Style | Elegant phrasing. "Decouvrir nos solutions" over "Achetez maintenant". |
| Trust Signals | "Fabrique en France" (made in France), professional certifications, press mentions. |
| Legal | Mentions legales required. CNIL (data protection). CGV (terms). |
| Number Format | 1 000,00 (space for thousands, comma for decimal) |
| Date Format | DD/MM/YYYY |
| Currency | EUR (FR/BE), CAD (CA-FR), CHF (CH-FR) |
| Color Symbolism | Blue = stability, White = purity/luxury, Red = passion |
| Brand Substitution | Walmart → Carrefour, Amazon → Fnac/Cdiscount, Target → Leclerc |
| Word Expansion | +15-25% vs English |

## Hispanic (ES, LATAM)

| Dimension | Guideline |
|-----------|-----------|
| Formality | Varies by country. Spain: "Usted" formal. LATAM: mixed. |
| Humor | Warm and relational. Self-deprecating humor accepted. |
| CTA Style | Warm, personal. "Empieza tu viaje" over "Comprar ahora". |
| Trust Signals | Community proof, family/relationship themes, celebrity endorsements popular. |
| Legal | LOPD (Spain data protection). Each LATAM country has own regulations. |
| Number Format | Spain: 1.000,00 / LATAM: varies by country |
| Date Format | DD/MM/YYYY (most), DD-MM-YYYY (some LATAM) |
| Currency | EUR (ES), regional currencies (MXN, ARS, COP, CLP, PEN) |
| Color Symbolism | Red = energy/passion, Yellow = warmth, Blue = trust |
| Brand Substitution | Walmart → Mercadona (ES) / Coppel (MX), Amazon → MercadoLibre |
| Word Expansion | +15-25% vs English |

## Japanese (JA)

| Dimension | Guideline |
|-----------|-----------|
| Formality | Very high. Keigo (honorific language) expected in business. |
| Humor | Subtle. Avoid direct humor in B2B. Kawaii (cute) elements acceptable in B2C. |
| CTA Style | Subtle and polite. "Otoiawase" (inquire) over direct "buy now". |
| Trust Signals | Company longevity, ISO certifications, endorsements from recognized institutions. |
| Legal | APPI (Act on Protection of Personal Information). Tokutei Shotorihiki law. |
| Number Format | 1,000 (comma for thousands, no decimal in most contexts) |
| Date Format | YYYY/MM/DD or YYYY年MM月DD日 |
| Currency | JPY (no decimals) |
| Color Symbolism | White = purity, Red = vitality/celebration, Black = formality |
| Brand Substitution | Amazon → Rakuten, Google Shopping → Yahoo! Shopping Japan |
| Word Contraction | -10-25% vs English (Japanese is more compact) |

## Default Profile (Unlisted Languages)

When analyzing a locale without a pre-built profile above:

1. **Research formality norms**: Check if the language has formal/informal registers (e.g., Korean has 7 speech levels)
2. **Check text direction**: LTR vs RTL (Arabic, Hebrew, Farsi, Urdu)
3. **Verify number/date formats**: Use CLDR (Unicode Common Locale Data Repository)
4. **Research legal requirements**: Privacy law, business registration, consumer protection
5. **Check word expansion ratio**: Germanic/Slavic languages expand, CJK languages contract
6. **Verify currency and payment preferences**: Local payment methods may need mention
7. **Research color meanings**: Colors have different cultural associations globally

## How to Use in Analysis

When running `/seo hreflang` on a multi-language site:
1. Identify all language versions and their target markets
2. Load the relevant cultural profile(s)
3. Check that CTAs, trust signals, and legal pages match the cultural expectations
4. Flag mismatches as "Cultural Adaptation" findings (Medium severity)
5. Check number/date/currency formatting consistency within each locale version

# Locale Format Reference for International SEO

Load this reference when validating content parity or generating localized content.
Mismatched formats (e.g., US date format on a German page) signal poor localization
and reduce user trust.

Original concept: Chris Muller (Pro Hub Challenge)

## Number Formats

| Locale | Thousands | Decimal | Example |
|--------|-----------|---------|---------|
| en-US | , | . | 1,234.56 |
| en-GB | , | . | 1,234.56 |
| de-DE | . | , | 1.234,56 |
| de-AT | . | , | 1.234,56 |
| de-CH | ' | . | 1'234.56 |
| fr-FR | (space) | , | 1 234,56 |
| fr-CA | (space) | , | 1 234,56 |
| es-ES | . | , | 1.234,56 |
| es-MX | , | . | 1,234.56 |
| ja-JP | , | . | 1,234 |
| pt-BR | . | , | 1.234,56 |
| it-IT | . | , | 1.234,56 |
| nl-NL | . | , | 1.234,56 |
| ko-KR | , | . | 1,234 |
| zh-CN | , | . | 1,234.56 |

## Date Formats

| Locale | Format | Example |
|--------|--------|---------|
| en-US | MM/DD/YYYY | 04/14/2026 |
| en-GB | DD/MM/YYYY | 14/04/2026 |
| de-DE | DD.MM.YYYY | 14.04.2026 |
| fr-FR | DD/MM/YYYY | 14/04/2026 |
| es-ES | DD/MM/YYYY | 14/04/2026 |
| ja-JP | YYYY/MM/DD or YYYY年MM月DD日 | 2026/04/14 |
| pt-BR | DD/MM/YYYY | 14/04/2026 |
| ko-KR | YYYY.MM.DD | 2026.04.14 |
| zh-CN | YYYY年MM月DD日 | 2026年04月14日 |

## Currency Formats

| Locale | Symbol | Placement | Example |
|--------|--------|-----------|---------|
| en-US | $ | Before | $1,234.56 |
| en-GB | £ | Before | £1,234.56 |
| de-DE | € | After (space) | 1.234,56 € |
| fr-FR | € | After (space) | 1 234,56 € |
| es-ES | € | After (space) | 1.234,56 € |
| ja-JP | ¥ | Before | ¥1,234 |
| pt-BR | R$ | Before | R$ 1.234,56 |
| ko-KR | ₩ | Before | ₩1,234 |
| zh-CN | ¥ | Before | ¥1,234.56 |
| de-CH | CHF | Before | CHF 1'234.56 |

## Address Formats

| Region | Order | Example |
|--------|-------|---------|
| US/CA | Street, City, State ZIP | 123 Main St, Austin, TX 78701 |
| UK | Street, City, Postcode | 10 Downing St, London, SW1A 2AA |
| DE/AT | Street Nr, PLZ City | Hauptstr. 1, 10115 Berlin |
| FR | Street, Code Postal City | 1 Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris |
| JP | Postal City District Street | 〒100-0001 東京都千代田区千代田1-1 |

## Phone Formats

| Region | Format | Example |
|--------|--------|---------|
| US | +1 (XXX) XXX-XXXX | +1 (512) 555-0123 |
| UK | +44 XXXX XXXXXX | +44 2071 234567 |
| DE | +49 XXX XXXXXXX | +49 30 12345678 |
| FR | +33 X XX XX XX XX | +33 1 23 45 67 89 |
| JP | +81 X-XXXX-XXXX | +81 3-1234-5678 |

## Text Expansion Ratios (vs English)

| Language | Expansion | Impact |
|----------|-----------|--------|
| German | +25-35% | Longer headlines, buttons, navigation labels |
| French | +15-25% | Moderate expansion |
| Spanish | +15-25% | Moderate expansion |
| Italian | +15-25% | Moderate expansion |
| Portuguese | +15-25% | Moderate expansion |
| Dutch | +10-20% | Slight expansion |
| Japanese | -10-25% | Contraction (more compact) |
| Korean | -10-20% | Contraction |
| Chinese | -20-30% | Significant contraction |

## Validation Rules

When checking locale format consistency:
1. Scan for number patterns on the page (prices, statistics, measurements)
2. Compare against the expected format for the page's declared language
3. Flag US-format numbers on non-US pages (e.g., "$1,234.56" on a de-DE page)
4. Check date formats in blog posts, copyright notices, update timestamps
5. Verify currency symbols match the target market
6. Check that phone numbers use international format with correct country code

---
name: seo-hreflang
description: >
  Hreflang and international SEO audit, validation, and generation. Detects
  common mistakes, validates language/region codes, and generates correct
  hreflang implementations. Use when user says "hreflang", "i18n SEO",
  "international SEO", "multi-language", "multi-region", or "language tags".
user-invokable: true
argument-hint: "[url]"
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: AgriciDaniel
  version: "1.9.6"
  category: seo
---

# Hreflang & International SEO
## Shared Data Cache

**Step 0 -- Check shared data cache:**

Before gathering, check `.seo-cache/` for reusable context from related SEO skills.
Reference: `../seo/references/shared-data-cache.md` for schemas and dependency map.

Check these cache files when present:
- `.seo-cache/site-meta.json` for domain, business type, industry, and crawl context
- `.seo-cache/audit-scores.json` for prior full-audit priorities
- `.seo-cache/pages/{url-slug}/page-analysis.json` for page-level context when a URL is provided

- If found: parse and use clearly valid fields (note "Using cached [X] from [date]")
- If missing, corrupt, or irrelevant: continue with fresh evidence
- If the user says "refresh" or "re-run": ignore cache reads and overwrite on write

Validate existing hreflang implementations or generate correct hreflang tags
for multi-language and multi-region sites. Supports HTML, HTTP header, and
XML sitemap implementations.

## Validation Checks

### 1. Self-Referencing Tags
- Every page must include an hreflang tag pointing to itself
- The self-referencing URL must exactly match the page's canonical URL
- Missing self-referencing tags cause Google to ignore the entire hreflang set

### 2. Return Tags
- If page A links to page B with hreflang, page B must link back to page A
- Every hreflang relationship must be bidirectional (A→B and B→A)
- Missing return tags invalidate the hreflang signal for both pages
- Check all language versions reference each other (full mesh)

### 3. x-default Tag
- Required: designates the fallback page for unmatched languages/regions
- Typically points to the language selector page or English version
- Only one x-default per set of alternates
- Must also have return tags from all other language versions

### 4. Language Code Validation
- Must use ISO 639-1 two-letter codes (e.g., `en`, `fr`, `de`, `ja`)
- Common errors:
  - `eng` instead of `en` (ISO 639-2, not valid for hreflang)
  - `jp` instead of `ja` (incorrect code for Japanese)
  - `zh` without region qualifier (ambiguous; use `zh-Hans` or `zh-Hant`)

### 5. Region Code Validation
- Optional region qualifier uses ISO 3166-1 Alpha-2 (e.g., `en-US`, `en-GB`, `pt-BR`)
- Format: `language-REGION` (lowercase language, uppercase region)
- Common errors:
  - `en-uk` instead of `en-GB` (UK is not a valid ISO 3166-1 code)
  - `es-LA` (Latin America is not a country; use specific countries)
  - Region without language prefix

### 6. Canonical URL Alignment
- Hreflang tags must only appear on canonical URLs
- If a page has `rel=canonical` pointing elsewhere, hreflang on that page is ignored
- The canonical URL and hreflang URL must match exactly (including trailing slashes)
- Non-canonical pages should not be in any hreflang set

### 7. Protocol Consistency
- All URLs in an hreflang set must use the same protocol (HTTPS or HTTP)
- Mixed HTTP/HTTPS in hreflang sets causes validation failures
- After HTTPS migration, update all hreflang tags to HTTPS

### 8. Cross-Domain Support
- Hreflang works across different domains (e.g., example.com and example.de)
- Cross-domain hreflang requires return tags on both domains
- Verify both domains are verified in Google Search Console
- Sitemap-based implementation recommended for cross-domain setups

## Common Mistakes

| Issue | Severity | Fix |
|-------|----------|-----|
| Missing self-referencing tag | Critical | Add hreflang pointing to same page URL |
| Missing return tags (A→B but no B→A) | Critical | Add matching return tags on all alternates |
| Missing x-default | High | Add x-default pointing to fallback/selector page |
| Invalid language code (e.g., `eng`) | High | Use ISO 639-1 two-letter codes |
| Invalid region code (e.g., `en-uk`) | High | Use ISO 3166-1 Alpha-2 codes |
| Hreflang on non-canonical URL | High | Move hreflang to canonical URL only |
| HTTP/HTTPS mismatch in URLs | Medium | Standardize all URLs to HTTPS |
| Trailing slash inconsistency | Medium | Match canonical URL format exactly |
| Hreflang in both HTML and sitemap | Low | Choose one method (sitemap preferred for large sites) |
| Language without region when needed | Low | Add region qualifier for geo-targeted content |

## Implementation Methods

### Method 1: HTML Link Tags
Best for: Sites with <50 language/region variants per page.

```html
<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" />
```

Place in `<head>` section. Every page must include all alternates including itself.

### Method 2: HTTP Headers
Best for: Non-HTML files (PDFs, documents).

```
Link: <https://example.com/page>; rel="alternate"; hreflang="en-US",
      <https://example.com/fr/page>; rel="alternate"; hreflang="fr",
      <https://example.com/page>; rel="alternate"; hreflang="x-default"
```

Set via server configuration or CDN rules.

### Method 3: XML Sitemap (Recommended for large sites)
Best for: Sites with many language variants, cross-domain setups, or 50+ pages.

See Hreflang Sitemap Generation section below.

### Method Comparison
| Method | Best For | Pros | Cons |
|--------|----------|------|------|
| HTML link tags | Small sites (<50 variants) | Easy to implement, visible in source | Bloats `<head>`, hard to maintain at scale |
| HTTP headers | Non-HTML files | Works for PDFs, images | Complex server config, not visible in HTML |
| XML sitemap | Large sites, cross-domain | Scalable, centralized management | Not visible on page, requires sitemap maintenance |

## Hreflang Generation

### Process
1. **Detect languages**: Scan site for language indicators (URL path, subdomain, TLD, HTML lang attribute)
2. **Map page equivalents**: Match corresponding pages across languages/regions
3. **Validate language codes**: Verify all codes against ISO 639-1 and ISO 3166-1
4. **Generate tags**: Create hreflang tags for each page including self-referencing
5. **Verify return tags**: Confirm all relationships are bidirectional
6. **Add x-default**: Set fallback for each page set
7. **Output**: Generate implementation code (HTML, HTTP headers, or sitemap XML)

## Hreflang Sitemap Generation

### Sitemap with Hreflang
```xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9"
        xmlns:xhtml="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
  <url>
    <loc>https://example.com/page</loc>
    <xhtml:link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-US" href="https://example.com/page" />
    <xhtml:link rel="alternate" hreflang="fr" href="https://example.com/fr/page" />
    <xhtml:link rel="alternate" hreflang="de" href="https://example.de/page" />
    <xhtml:link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://example.com/page" />
  </url>
  <url>
    <loc>https://example.com/fr/page</loc>
    <xhtml:link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-US" href="https://example.com/page" />
    <xhtml:link rel="alternate" hreflang="fr" href="https://example.com/fr/page" />
    <xhtml:link rel="alternate" hreflang="de" href="https://example.de/page" />
    <xhtml:link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://example.com/page" />
  </url>
</urlset>
```

Key rules:
- Include the `xmlns:xhtml` namespace declaration
- Every `<url>` entry must include ALL language alternates (including itself)
- Each alternate must appear as a separate `<url>` entry with its own full set
- Split at 50,000 URLs per sitemap file

## Output

### Hreflang Validation Report

#### Summary
- Total pages scanned: XX
- Language variants detected: XX
- Issues found: XX (Critical: X, High: X, Medium: X, Low: X)

#### Validation Results
| Language | URL | Self-Ref | Return Tags | x-default | Status |
|----------|-----|----------|-------------|-----------|--------|
| en-US | https://... | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| fr | https://... | ❌ | ⚠️ | ✅ | ❌ |
| de | https://... | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |

### Generated Hreflang Tags
- HTML `<link>` tags (if HTML method chosen)
- HTTP header values (if header method chosen)
- `hreflang-sitemap.xml` (if sitemap method chosen)

### Recommendations
- Missing implementations to add
- Incorrect codes to fix
- Method migration suggestions (e.g., HTML to sitemap for scale)

## Cultural Adaptation Assessment

When analyzing a multi-language site, go beyond technical hreflang validation to assess
whether the content is culturally adapted for each target market.

Load `references/cultural-profiles.md` for pre-built profiles (DACH, Francophone, Hispanic, Japanese).

**Assessment steps:**
1. Identify all language versions and their target markets
2. Load the relevant cultural profile(s)
3. Check CTAs match cultural expectations (direct vs indirect)
4. Check trust signals are locale-appropriate (certifications, legal pages)
5. Check for foreign brand references on localized pages
6. Check number/date/currency formatting consistency
7. Flag cultural adaptation issues as Medium severity

**Output:** Cultural Adaptation Score per language version (0-100) with specific findings.

## Content Parity Audit

**Command:** `/seo hreflang audit <directory-or-url>`

Audit content parity across all language versions of a site or local content directory.

Load `references/content-parity.md` for the full parity matrix and scoring methodology.

**What it checks:**
- Page existence across all declared languages
- Section structure equivalence (H2/H3 count)
- SEO element parity (title, meta, schema localization)
- Word count ratio validation (DE should be 25-35% longer than EN, JA 10-25% shorter)
- Freshness tracking (stale translations detected via timestamps)
- Cultural marker scanning (foreign brands, wrong legal references, untranslated elements)

**Output:** Parity matrix table with per-page scores and prioritized action items.

## Locale Format Validation

Load `references/locale-formats.md` for number, date, currency, address, and phone format
reference tables per locale.

**Checks:**
- Number format consistency (e.g., "1,000.00" should be "1.000,00" on de-DE pages)
- Date format matches locale expectations
- Currency symbols and placement correct for target market
- Phone numbers use international format with correct country code

## Reference Files

Load on-demand as needed (do NOT load all at startup):
- `references/cultural-profiles.md`: DACH, Francophone, Hispanic, Japanese cultural adaptation profiles
- `references/locale-formats.md`: Number, date, currency, address, phone format tables per locale
- `references/content-parity.md`: Content parity audit methodology and scoring

## Error Handling

| Scenario | Action |
|----------|--------|
| URL unreachable (DNS failure, connection refused) | Report the error clearly. Do not guess site structure. Suggest the user verify the URL and try again. |
| No hreflang tags found | Report the absence. Check for other internationalization signals (subdirectories, subdomains, ccTLDs) and recommend the appropriate hreflang implementation method. |
| Invalid language/region codes detected | List each invalid code with the correct replacement. Provide a corrected hreflang tag set ready to implement. |
| Cultural profile not available for language | Use the Default Profile checklist from cultural-profiles.md. Note that assessment is based on general guidelines, not a pre-built profile. |
| Content parity directory empty | Report that no content files were found. Suggest verifying the directory path or providing a URL for live site analysis. |

## Write to shared data cache

After completing all work, write a concise JSON summary to `.seo-cache/` when the workflow produced durable findings.
Use the schemas and naming rules in `../seo/references/shared-data-cache.md`; include at least `cache_type`, `analyzed_at`, source URL/domain, key findings, issues, recommendations, and tool limitations. Add `.seo-cache/` to `.gitignore` if it is missing.