Top SEO Interview Questions - Digital Vidya

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*Phone rings*It is hiring from the company you have had your eye on for a while. The job role is perfect foryou. However, you have just been told that they would like you to come in for an SEOinterview. How do you prepare for that? What are the SEO Interview Questions they are goingto probably ask you?Undoubtedly, it is a herculean task to find talent. Good talent is nearly impossible,especially when it comes to internet marketing and SEO where there are far too manypeople who can talk the theory but fail when it comes to execution. Therefore, theinterviewer before hiring the employee will make sure he/she is well-acquainted withthe concepts of Search Engine Optimization.We have come up with a list of SEO Job Interview Questions and Answers that youshould read before going for an SEO interview!Knowledge-Based SEO Interview Questions andAnswersHere are some of the basic questions, an interviewer can ask in order to check yourknowledge about SEO:

Q 1: What do you understand by the term "SEO"?Ans: SEO abbreviated form of “Search Engine Optimization”. It is the set of process onaccount of which a web page or website is being optimized that helps it to enhancetheir visibility or ranking on top in SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages).Q 2: What will you do to make a website search engine friendly?Ans: Few of the main elements that make a website search engine friendly are wordcount, anchor text, backlinks, outbound links, keyword etc.Q 3: Do you know about the types of SEO?Ans: There are majorly two types of SEO that are being practiced namely On-Page SEOand Off-Page SEO.On-Page SEOIt is the process of optimizing a website that includes on-site work like writing title,content, Meta tags, ALT tag, and description along with ensuring web-page’s designand code that can be indexed and crawled by search engines properly.Off-Page SEOIt is a method of earning backlinks from various websites with a motive to improve theranking of the site. This method includes various SEO steps like article submission,blog posting, forum, Press release submission, classified, and miscellaneous.Q 4: Are you aware of SEO techniques?Ans: There are two SEO techniques: White Hat SEO and Black Hat SEO or NegativeSEO.Q 5: Best way of getting a natural backlink to your site.Ans: Some of the best ways of getting a natural backlink to your site are blogcommenting, article marketing, social networking site profile, link exchange, etc.Q 6: What will you do for the company website you are working for, decidesto move all the contents to a new domain?

Ans: In that case, it would be important to update the previous site with apermanent redirect i.e 301 redirection to the new pages. After that, all the previouscontent should be taken down in order to avoid duplication of the content.Q 7: What are some external but important factors which impact theranking?Ans: Some of the external factors are time spent on the site, page views per visit,bounce rate, and returning visitors.Q 8: How to cross check if SEO campaign is working or not?Ans: Firstly, an attempt would be made to search all the search engines employingrelevant key phrases and keywords that are to be optimized. After the analysis, theresults will point out whether the methods of optimization have worked or not. Thereport is to be analyzed on a regular basis. Also, another aspect of website statisticswould also be taken care of which talks about the origin of the traffic.Q 9: SEO Blogs you read to keep yourself updated.Ans: Blogs to keep yourself updated are: Search Engine Journal MOZ SEOSmarty Search Engine Land Jimboykins

Q 10: How many types of Meta Tags are there in SEO and what are theircharacters limits?Ans: There are two types of Meta tags in SEO: Description Meta tag: 150 characters limits Keyword Meta tag: 200 characters limitsQ 11: How you will start keyword research? Which tools would you use fordoing it?Ans: First of all, you have to decide your topic that might bring traffic to your website.For that, you can use Google Trends or leverage on Twitter's trending topics (based ongeographical locations) to find the best possible topic.Few of the tools to decide keywords are keyword.io, ubersuggest.io, and GoogleKeyword Planner to find related keywords as well as their search volume.Q 12: Differentiate between Dofollow and Nofollow.Ans:Dofollow linkIt is a kind of hyperlink which enhances the ranking of your site as it acts as a backlinkthat is counted by search engines.Nofollow linkAn HTML attribute value used to instruct search engine bots that a hyperlink shouldnot influence the ranking of the link target in search engine’s index.

Q 13: What do you understand by Keyword streaming?Ans: Keyword Streaming means analyzing and selecting the best keyword for yourwebsite and targeting to your website. One reduces each word to its stem. For instance,“investigating”, “investigates”, “investigated” all become just the root word or stem“investigate” in a search index.This is used for search functionality which means enabling any form of the search termto find all variations of the supplied keyword. It thus improves the search experience.Q 14: What is Canonical issue? How will you resolve them?Ans: The Canonical issue relates to duplicate pages. For instance, if a site has 2 pagesof same content but different URLs and you can’t redirect it then you use a canonicaltag. It is to be used in the head section on your site.For fixing a canonical issue, you have to do a canonical redirect the visitors to a correctversion when they try to go to the wrong URL.Q 15: How will you check the number of backlinks to your competitor’s site?Ans: Using link operator on Google and various external tools like Backlink finder,Open Site Explorer, Backlink Watch, Alexa etc, one can know the number of backlinksto their competitor’s site.Commonly Expected SEO Interview Questions andAnswers 2016There are few questions interviewer will ask you irrespective of the fact which SEObased profile you have applied for. Some of these are:Q 1: What attracted you to SEO industry?Ans: Honesty is the key here!

Think why did you apply for this job in the first place? Because of the industry'sreputation? Or maybe the fact it offers exceptional growth? Or the high-paying jobsin this industry?The interviewer, here, wants to test your commitment to the industry and find outwhat makes you the best pick out of the pool available. Therefore, respond with fullenthusiasm and commitment for the sector overall. You can say that you are attractedto the industry because of good reputation and lots of opportunities available toprogress your career, expand your knowledge, and learn new skills.This answer will reflect your commitment to the sector in long run and your wish toconstantly improve and enhance your skills.Q 2: What do you enjoy most about working in SEO?Ans: It is good to be honest here. You have to consider which tasks you look forward toin your day and which areas you enjoy working in (particularly). However, be carefulthat you don't go for the 'easy' tasks only. Talk about challenges you would like to take.Q 3: How do you think your experience of digital marketing will benefit ourbusiness?Ans: This question is all about your personal experience and what you have done in thepast and how your skills could benefit the business overall. Also, talk about yourparticular SEO story that helped you learn a lot of things and how this particularknowledge could help the business.You need to answer in what ways you are different from the rest of the applicants,therefore, think carefully about what makes you unique in terms of experience,knowledge, and skills. Also, how it will have a positive effect on the business.Q 4: Where do you see yourself in five years’ time in the digital marketingsector?Ans: When interviewers ask this question, they aren’t waiting for you to talk aboutyour personal aspirations. When a company hires a new employee, they are making ahuge investment!

Therefore, the hiring managers want to know if you are worth the investment ornot. They want to know if you will stick to the company along with growingprofessionally. They want to test you on your problem-solving skills.Talk about the following things: Interest in the profile you have applied for Core strengths and how they can benefit the company Professional goalsPersonalized Interviews QuestionsSEO Fresher JobsWhen preparing to apply for SEO Fresher job, you need to be thorough with the basicsfirst. Have a glance at SEO interview questions and answers for freshers beforeappearing for the interview.Q 1: What are you looking forward to working in SEO field?

Ans: Since you are a fresher, you are always expected to be energetic and open tolearning. Therefore, you should answer this question openness to learning more,talk about what interest you the most. Is it on-page SEO or off-page SEO?Most of the SEO interview questions for freshers are theoretical as theyhave a minimum or no experience before. So you can read the abovesuggested Search Engine Optimization questions!SEO Executive JobsQ 1: What steps would you follow to optimize a website?Ans: For optimizing a website, following steps, should be followed: Keyword ResearchAll the search optimization begins with keyword research. It is important to have anunderstanding of the current search landscape and your keywords. This will help at thebeginning of any marketing strategy as well as occasional re-evaluate. Since thesenumbers change continuously, therefore, you have to keep yourself up-to-date.It is crucial to use Google Keyword Planner, begin with your location and industry. Craft outstanding content with keywordsWhile creating content, you must keep the keywords in mind. The main motive of thecontent is to reach the audience who are looking for it. With proper keywords, you canhelp content reach effectively. Try to use keywords as often as possible but naturally. Speed up your websiteSlow running websites are a curse. It is important to make sure your page is always upto speed. You can do this by a tool called Google Speed Insights. This tool will help tellif your page is running slow and give suggestions on how to speed it up. Update page titlesMost of the businesses have page titles as simply their business’s name. The bestsearch names usually follow the city service format. For instance, Delhi - DigitalVidya is a page title which could be the best search name.

Q 2: What are the common SEO mistakes while producing digitalcontent?Ans: People usually make the following common SEO mistakes while writing contenton digital platforms: Using wrong words Problems with redirection Falling prey of SEO mythsSEO Specialist JobsQ 1: Have you ever dealt with link penalties? How?Ans: After identifying the link, try to remove them and disavow the one that can’t bedeleted.Dealing with link penalties includes the following steps: Find all the backlinks: This can be done with the help of Google WebmasterTools. Identify the bad backlinks: One of the best tools to identify bad backlinks isMonitor backlinks. Request removal of the bad links: All the requests must be sent from the emailaddress of the website. After that, you have to keep track of your requests andsee who has opened your emails. Disavow the ones that can’t be removed: Before you create a disavow report, itis important to remove all the backlinks. Add tags to all of the links you couldnot delete by using “disavow” tag.Q 2: After implementing distinct SEO methods for a site, if you haven't gotany improvements. What would be your next step?Ans: The first step would be troubleshooting for the issues. Firstly, it is essential to note if itis a new project or not. The next step would include analyzing relevant keywords andphrases for the site that needs to be optimized along with studying competitive analysis.

There could be two cases:The website and pages have been indexed and appear in the first 10 pages of SERPsbut not in the top three pages, so there it needs some transformation on pagedescriptions, page titles, page text etc. However, if the website is still not indexed ordropped from the index, it might comprise of some big issues and a total re-workmight be required.SEO Manager JobsIf you are applying for the profile of an SEO Manager, there are certain SEO interviewquestions and answers for experienced that you should be well-versed with beforeappearing for the interview.Q 1: To increase rankings, what things should not be performed to avoid apenalty?Ans: A person can use Google Disavow tool to remove low quality and spammy links.After getting rid of all the bad quality links, you will create authentic and good qualitylinks from white hat SEO techniques which are approved by Google Penguin andPanda like the link from social media, forum posting, article submission, guest posting,and blog commenting.Q 2: Suppose a user gave us a negative feedback on our Facebook page, howwould you handle that?Ans: Positive feedbacks increase the motivation of the company and reflect thestrengths of the company but tackling with negative feedbacks showcase the problemsolving and online reputation management skills of the company. Acknowledging thenegative feedback and going in details of the problem to find the root cause is the mainmotive. This will increase the retention of the existing customers and thereby, will helpin customer satisfaction.

Q 3: Have you made any mistakes in your SEO based profiles and how didyou rectify them?Ans: “To err is human”Nobody is perfect and we all make mistakes. The interviewer here expects you to behonest and is testing your problem-solving skills. Like for example, people usuallymake these very basic mistakes in their SEO profile:Make it difficult for search engine crawlers to index and thereby, rank your site. Mostof the people are unaware of the fact that they have to add their sites to GoogleWebmaster tool (which is now called Search Console). You can rectify this mistake byclicking on ‘add a website’ option to the Google Webmaster tool.These are some of the SEO interview questions and answers for experiencedcandidates or Search Engine Optimization ( SEO ) experts.Pro Tips for SEO InterviewHere are some of the tips you should work on:1. Updated LinkedIn profileDon't have a LinkedIn profile? Do you think you are fit for digital marketing industry?Create your LinkedIn profile, work upon your online presence.

2. Implement your learningsExecution is everything in SEO based profiles. Talk about how you have attempted toimplement your learnings from industry experts in your work. You can also talk aboutit worked for you and what did you benefit from it along with your ownimprovisations. This will not only help you with bonus points but interviewer willunderstand your attitude and mindset.3. Honesty works everywhereIf you know something, talk about it and explain it. But if you don't know something,admit it and let them know that you will add that to your learning list.4. Research about the companyKnow the inside out of the company you are applying for. What all services do theyprovide? Do they have a blog? What is the most famous blog post they did?5. Know your strengthsKnow about your strengths in SEO field. Talk about them with confidence.6. Share your knowledgeInsecurity has never done good to anyone. Therefore, share your knowledge andexperience openly and at the same time be open to new discussions and ideas.7. Don't sound money mindedMoney is a motivational factor. Accepted. But being money minded has never showngreat results. Therefore, try to refrain yourself about money right at the beginning ofthe interview.8. Smile your wayA pleasing personality will always add on to your credentials. It reflects your selfconfidence and will bring positive vibes!

If you wish to build your career in digital marketing but know minimal about SEO (boththeoretically and practically), don't worry. You can always learn and develop newSEO skills. Remember? With SEO course, you can jump to the next level and openup new job prospects for yourself.Good luck! :)

Care about Mastering SEO?Join our upcomingSearch Engine OptimizationCertification!info@digitalvidya.com 91-80100-33033www.digitalvidya.com

the concepts of Search Engine Optimization. We have come up with a list of SEO Job Interview Questions and Answers that you . Commonly Expected SEO Interview Questions and Answers 2016 There are few questions interviewer will ask you irrespective of the fact which SEO-based profile you have applied for. Some of these are: