Setting Language Code on Page or Site... Does it Make a Difference?

[Grizzler]

Hi everyone, just joined after reading this forum for a while, it's full of great tips and advice and i commend the members and admins for a great site.

Ok, on to my query. I currently have a site that is only three months old but is starting to take off already (thanks to reading some threads here) and was looking at something which i have never used before, setting a language code in the head of a page. If i do decide to use it and set it as en-uk will this make any difference to my site either through an SEO perspective or a search engine perspective? Or will i just get a pat on the back for adding it . I'm honestly not sure if it will benefit my site as 95% of my visitors are UK based anyway.

Thanks in advance.

[Grizzler]

No one knows? Not relevant? In the wrong place to ask? Or just a stupid question?

[Swirleigh]

Well... I believe those language codes don't do you any good any more. Google takes its clues from the content now, and not those language codes.

"Google uses only the visible content of your page to determine its language. We don’t use any code-level language information such as lang attributes."

Multi-regional and Multilingual Sites

Google will also be looking at the IP address of the user, the IP of your site, the language settings of the searcher's browser, the location of the inbound links and the people linking to you.