Top 50+ SEO Interview Questions and Answers for 2023

Digital Marketing has emerged as one of the most promising career paths in the contemporary world. Among the various skills within this field, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) stands out as the most sought-after expertise. The following list of interview questions will provide you with a thorough understanding of the frequently asked SEO interview questions, regardless of whether you are a newbie or an experienced professional looking to land your dream job in SEO. While the set of questions will increase the possibility of cracking an interview, a certification program will prepare you to tackle the challenges during as well as after the interview. You can take part in the PG Certificate in Digital Marketing and Growth at IIM Visakhapatnam if you want to succeed in the continuously evolving digital industry. By joining right away, you can get ready to realise your full potential and succeed in digital marketing.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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Read through this guide to SEO interview questions before you attend your job interview. Your practical experience amalgamated with the informative Q&A will make it easier for you to succeed in the interview.

The PG Certificate in Digital Marketing & Growth IIM Visakhapatnam gives you the ideal opportunity to gain a deeper grasp of digital marketing. You can join this course via Jaro Education to grasp useful digital marketing skills through practical workshops led by expert business professionals.

The critical SEO components include keyword research, on-page optimisation, off-page optimisation, technical SEO, and user experience.

Organic results are the natural listings on search engine result pages that appear based on their relevance to the search query. On the other hand, Paid results are advertisements that website owners pay for to appear at the top or side of the SERPs.

Keywords are words or phrases users enter into search engines to find information. In SEO, keyword research identifies and selects relevant keywords for optimising a website’s content.

Search engines use complex algorithms that consider various factors, like relevance, authority, and user experience, to determine the ranking of websites. These algorithms analyse on-page and off-page factors to determine the most relevant and valuable pages for a search query.

On-page optimisation refers to optimising individual web pages to improve search engine rankings. It optimises page titles, meta descriptions, headings, content, URL structure, and internal linking.

Off-page optimisation involves actions outside your website to improve its visibility and authority. It includes building backlinks, social media marketing, influencer outreach, guest blogging, and online reputation management.

Backlinks are essential for SEO because search engines view them as a recommendation or vote of confidence for the information on your website.

Website speed is crucial for both user experience and SEO. Search engines consider website speed a ranking factor because fast-loading websites provide a better user experience. Slow-loading websites tend to have higher bounce rates and lower conversion rates.

Duplicate content is identical or similar content on multiple web pages. Search engines strive to provide unique and valuable content to their users. Having duplicate content can confuse search engines and lead to lower rankings or penalties.

To optimise website URLs for SEO:

Keep them short and descriptive
Use relevant keywords
Use hyphens to separate words
Avoid using special characters, numbers, or dates in URLs

Anchor text is referred to as the visible, clickable text in a hyperlink. It helps search engines understand the topic or content of the linked page. Using descriptive and relevant anchor text for internal and external links is essential.

While social media signals themselves may not directly impact SEO rankings, they can indirectly influence SEO performance. Social media increases brand awareness and attracts backlinks, all contributing to improved organic rankings.

The success of an SEO campaign can be measured using various metrics, including:

Organic search traffic
Keyword rankings
Conversion rates
Bounce rates
Backlink profile
Social media engagement
Return on investment (ROI)

Popular SEO tools include:

Google Analytics
Google Search Console
Moz
SEMrush
Ahrefs
Yoast SEO (WordPress plugin)
Screaming Frog
Majestic SEO

A long-tail keyword is a specific, longer phrase with a lower search volume but higher intent and specificity. Targeting long-tail keywords can help drive targeted traffic and improve conversion rates.

When websites are seen to be breaking any Google rules, Google employees manually penalise them.

PSchema markup is a structured vocabulary of data that helps search engines understand the context of web pages. It uses standardised tags to provide additional information about elements on a page, like reviews, ratings, products, events, and more.

User experience is vital in SEO. A positive user experience leads to more extended site visits, lower bounce rates, and increased chances of higher rankings.

Crawling is the process by which search engine bots visit and discover web pages online. On the other hand, indexing is the process of storing and organising the information from crawled pages into a searchable index.

If a website has been penalised by a search engine, the following steps can be taken:

Identify the cause of the penalty (e.g., algorithmic or manual)
Address the specific issue, such as removing low-quality content or spammy backlinks
Submit a reconsideration request if the penalty was manual
Focus on improving the overall website quality and compliance with search engine guidelines

A canonical tag is an HTML element that tells search engines which version of a URL is preferred or canonical when there are multiple versions of the same page. It is used to prevent duplicate content issues and consolidate the SEO value of similar pages.

Keyword proximity refers to the separation or proximity of two keywords inside a body of content on a website. A sentence will be given more weight if its keywords are close.

XML sitemaps give search engines a list of URLs to crawl and index. They are created with this purpose in mind. On the other hand, HTML sitemaps are designed for human users and provide a hierarchical structure of the website’s pages for easy navigation.

Indexing refers to adding web pages to a search engine’s index. It does not guarantee that the pages will rank highly in search results. Conversely, ranking is the order in which pages appear in search results based on their relevance and authority.

Site speed is an essential factor in SEO. A website that is loading slowly can cause higher bounce rates and lower user engagement, negatively impacting SEO performance. Additionally, search engines consider site speed a ranking factor and faster websites rank higher in search results.