Tips to ace an SEO-related interview
There are constant changes being made to the digital marketing landscape, especially with the rise of AI and automation. However, the importance of SEO-related roles remains the same. It is integral to the domain authority and ranking of the website on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs)
This relevance today shows that this industry remains thriving by adapting and adjusting how they operate to give websites the push they need to appear in the top ranking searches. This makes roles in the SEO sector all the more important and sought after in the digital marketing sphere.
What does this mean for job seekers?
Due to SEO remaining an important part of digital marketing, it makes it a very competitive industry to work in.
As someone seeking a role here, you will need to be well-versed in the basics of SEO and search engine algorithms. Expertise and proficiency with SEO tools like Google Analytics, SEMrush, Ahrefs and others will also help you stand out among your peers.
In addition to this, it will be advantageous for you to have technical knowledge relating to the role you are applying for. This includes skills pertaining to data analysis, keyword performance, and campaign metrics. In addition to having technical know-how, being able to collaborate and adaptability to the rapidly changing SEO algorithms, are among the soft skills that will also be looked at during the interview process.
How to prepare:
Naturally, before an interview, it would be best to take a few mock interviews to help soften the nerves. Prior to your application, you want to take a few technical SEO-related courses like link building or SEO writing and obtain certifications that you can showcase your skills.
During the actual interview, be ready to showcase technical and soft skills. Be sure to lean into your previous experience and leverage case studies and quantifiable metrics by using real-world examples to substantiate your answer.
What to expect during the interview
Application, shortlisting and testing aside, the interview is where they will gauge your knowledge and critical thinking skills to discern whether you will be a technical and cultural fit for the role.
That being said, there are multiple levels of SEO-related roles and different expertise required to fill the available roles. This means that a one-size-fits-all approach will not work when preparing for an interview.
The questions that you can expect will touch on SEO in general, the tools used and metrics analyzed, and behavioral questions as a baseline. There will also be questions relating to the specific type of role you are applying for.
When answering questions, make sure that you listen carefully and take a little time to ponder your answer. When delivering your response, be articulate and clear while still leaning into the actual experience that you have. In some instances, using the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, and Result) Method to answer can be beneficial due to its structure and can help you answer problem-solving questions cohesively.
General questions:
1. “Tell me your understanding of SEO, as well as its impact and importance in digital marketing.”
Answer Tips: Your answer should explain the practice of optimizing websites and how it impacts its visibility on SERPs. Make mention of how on-page, off-page, and technical SEO plays a role. Add meat to your answer by speaking on the user-friendliness of websites and how it goes hand-in-hand with rankings on search results. You can also discuss SEO’s impacts on broader digital marketing goals through driving organic traffic, cost-effectiveness, and how it supports other marketing efforts.
2. What is your understanding of organic search results?
Answer Tips: These are unpaid listings that appear on SERPs based on their relevance to the user’s query. Touch on how results are determined by search engine algorithms, which encompass factors like content quality, keyword relevance, backlinks, domain authority, and user experience. Highlight how high rankings on search engines enhance credibility, authority, and brand trust.
Tools and metrics used in SEO:
3. How to conduct an SEO audit.
Answer Tips: Detail your comprehensive analysis of website performance in terms of SEO step-by-step. Explaining the intention to identify any technical issues, optimisation gaps, and finding areas that can be improved. Most importantly, highlight what tools you use in your process, like Google Seach Console, Ahrefs or SEMrush for finding toxic links and opportunities for backlinking.
4. How do you conduct SEO analytics and reporting
Answer Tips: Explain your process of racking KPIs to help measure the success of SEO strategies and inform future decisions. Showcase how it helps with aligning objectives with business goals. Explain what tools and software you use to collect data to be analyzed and what platforms you use to help visualise metrics. Share how you can pinpoint actionable insights that are tailored to stakeholder needs and add recommendations to improve strategies.
Behavioral Questions
5. How did you handle an instance where SEO rankings dropped unexpectedly?
Answer Tips: Explain the steps you take to diagnose and issue systematically and the tools used. Explain processes like reviewing website changes and tracking affected pages. Be sure to include your thought process when it comes to adjusting strategies.
6. How to stay updated with trends and changes in algorithms.
Answer Tips: Share with the interviewer the blogs you follow and whether you participate in webinars and conferences or engage with communities like the Reddit SEO forum. If you subscribe to newsletters, conduct tests to prepare for search engine changes or roll-outs, share this insights.
Entry-level Roles
These include junior level roles like SEO Specialists, SEO Analysts, and Junior SEO Specialists/Assistants.
7. SEO campaign that you managed, the strategies used and results obtained.
Answer Tips: This answer will be based on experience you have had where you have conducted keyword analysis, optimized pages, and off-page efforts. You will have to provide quantifiable results from these campaigns.
8. How to approach moving all content to a new domain while preserving rankings?
Answer Tips: Highlight the importance of planning and execution for this type of procedure. Your answer should include the audit of the existing website to document URLS and performance metrics, creating 301 directs, updating XML sitemap, and submitting information to Google Search Console to ensure the indexing of a new domain. Remember to include the testing and monitoring of metrics post-migration.
9. Keyword density and how to calculate it.
Answer Tips: This encompasses how many times a keyword appears in relation to the number of words on the page. This is done to prevent keyword stuffing or compromising readability. Share with the interviewer the formula used to obtain the percentage of density and the optimal density that you aim for in terms of SEO.
Mid-Level Roles:
These are roles like SEO Manager, On-Page Specialist, Content Marketer/SEO Content Writer
10. How do you manage an SEO team and collaborate with other departments?
Answer Tip: Emphasize the importance of communication, goal alignment, and fostering collaboration. Share how you set out objectives and assign tasks based on individual strengths as well as the purpose of conducting team meetings for tracking and addressing challenges collectively.
11. How to handle keyword cannibalization issues.
Answer Tip: Explain that keyword cannibalization is when multiple pages compete for the same keyword and can harm rankings. Share how you identify the affected pages with SEO tools and the process of evaluating purpose and performance to discern which page aligns the most with SEO goals. Also, share how you consolidate the other pages or adjust internal linking structures.
12. How to measure the success of SEO content?
Answer Tip: Share which Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) you track and how they align with business goals. This can be how you montior traffic to see how it attracts visitors through search engines, keyword rankings, engagement, and conversion rates. Mention how this aids link-building efforts and the tools you use to compile data into reports.
Specialized Roles:
These are roles like a Technical SEO Specialist, Link Building/Outreach Specialist, or Local SEO Specialist
13. If a website’s rankings drop after a redesign, how do you to identify and resolve the issues?
Answer Tip: Detail your systematic approach on how to identify and resolve the problem. This can include using tools to check for any errors and comparing the old and new sites’ structures to ensure important pages aren’t removed or altered. Also, how you verify that 301 redirects are set up for the URLS that were changed. Include how to review on-page SEO, and evaluate technical factors which can be impacted by design changes. If rankings drop due to content changes, restore or improve the quality of the affected pages. Lastly, explain how you monitor closely for recovery.
14. Process for conducting competitor backlink analysis
Answer Tip: This is where you explain the process as an opportunity to strengthen a website’s authority. Explain your process and tools used for choosing competitors and analyzing backlink profiles for high-quality domains linking to them. Explain how you categorise and prioritize outreach opportunities that align with the website’s niche.
15. How to deal with negative reviews online and how to address this from an SEO perspective
Answer Tip: Explain how these reviews impact both brand reputation and local SEO rankings. Share your method of responding to negative reviews promptly by providing feedback and offering solutions. Share your strategies to generate positive reviews to help dilute the impact of negative reviews. Also, explain how optimized review profiles, which are consistent across platforms, positively impact local SEO credibility.
Senior-Level Roles:
These are roles like Senior SEO Manager/Strategist or SEO Consultant
16. Understanding of predictive SEO and how have you applied it in your strategies.
Answer Tip: Share how using data, machine learning, and historical trends helps forecast future SEO opportunities or challenges. Explain how analysing patterns in keyword performance, user behavior, and algorithm updates helps to anticipate changes.
17. Managing remote or cross-functional SEO teams.
Answer Tip: Explain the need for clear communication, structured workflows, shared goals and alignment. Lean into previous experience to explain how to use project management tools to keep track of all of this and how regular stand-ups or meetings via collaborative platforms can help with transparency and coordination. Also, explain the importance of setting measurable KPIs and fostering a culture of accountability aids working collaboratively from different locations.
18. If a client’s website was penalised by Google, how do you identify the cause and resolve the penalty?
Answer Tip: List the process you use to identify causes that indicate penalties and how you conduct a thorough audit for issues. Explain how after the review, you submit a consideration request to Google and explain actions taken to rectify the penalty and how to ensure future compliance.
Executive-Level Roles:
These are roles like the Head of SEO/SEO Director or VP of SEO/ Chief SEO Officer
19. How do you align SEO strategies with broader company goals?
Answer tip: Explain your understanding of company objectives and how close collaboration with related departments ensures SEO efforts complement their campaigns and efforts. Also, explain the importance of regular reporting on KPIs and how it will help stakeholders understand the value of SEO in relation to business outcomes and organic-driven sales.
20. How do you ensure technical SEO scalability across global teams?
Answer tip: This is where you can share the importance of standardised processes and centralised governance. You can also touch on how to implement frameworks like shared documentation and automated auditing tools for consistency. Explain how cross-regional audits and a unified reporting dashboard help with monitoring compliance, as well as the importance of balancing centralized oversight with localized flexibility.
21. Quantify SEO impact on revenue
Answer tip: You can answer by connecting organic traffic to conversions and customer lifetime value. Display how tracking users from organic searches can help attribute sales or leads that are directly related to SEO efforts. For B2B clients, you can share how multi-touch attributional models credit SEO for early funnel engagement that later converts. Also, share how advanced methods, like incremental testing, help validate ROI. These insights translated into financial terms can be presented to help validate the impact of SEO on revenue.
Conclusion
SEO roles are still in demand, even though the digital marketing sphere has undergone multiple changes over the years. It has been one of the few sectors that have remained consistent through adaptability. When interviewing for an SEO-related role, it is important that you showcase your technical skills by providing clear evidence and measurable impact in order for you to stand out from the crowd. By leveraging personal experience with technical know-how will make the interview less stressful and easier to undergo.
Author bio
Amit Raj is the Founder of The Links Guy, a link-building services agency that has worked with clients ranging from Silicon Valley startups and SaaS brands to eCommerce businesses and logistics companies.
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