8 SEO Hiring Managers Share Their #1 Interview Question

2 months ago 25

Are you frantically Googling “SEO interrogation questions” due to the fact that you’ve got an upcoming interrogation like… tomorrow? If so, don’t panic—I’ve got you covered.

As probe for this article, I’ve asked 8 apical hiring managers to stock the #1 SEO interrogation question they’re asking candidates close now, truthful you tin recognize what types of questions hiring managers are asking.

The hiring managers I talked to came from a scope of antithetic backgrounds: agency, in-house, and endeavor businesses.

It’s intolerable to hole for every question up of the interview, but it’s important to enactment yourself successful their shoes and diligently bash your research.

At a minimum, you should consider:

  • What’s important to them and their business?
  • Why should they hire you?
  • Can you show a thorough knowing of SEO and bring the receipts to prove it?

Ok, that’s capable from me—let’s spot what the hiring managers had to say.

1. “How would you analyse your competitor’s SEO strategy?”

This question comes from  Sam Page, Director of SEO, Slack:

A rival has implemented a caller SEO strategy. How bash you analyse their strategy and erstwhile bash you see implementing thing similar?

Sam Page

How to answer

Here’s however Sam would reply this question:

I look astatine however the rival uses the strategy to turn keywords, traffic, oregon engagement. If it makes consciousness and falls wrong champion practices, I would see implementing thing akin (ideally, uncovering a mode to amended upon it). 

I analyse the occurrence of their strategy with SEO tools similar Screaming Frog, Ahrefs, and Page Speed Insights (I americium unfastened to different instrumentality ideas similar GTMetrix). 

I besides privation to see whether the strategy is due for our lawsuit base.

Sam Page

Tip

As Sam mentioned, you tin usage Ahrefs to assistance with this.

I’d suggest checking retired the Content changes filter successful Site Explorer’s Overview to recognize whether the contented changes you oregon your competitors person made person had a affirmative oregon antagonistic impact. You tin usage this accusation to assistance pass your SEO and contented strategy.

2. “How would you grip a concern wherever idiosyncratic successful enactment wants contiguous SEO results?”

This question came from Jimisha Thakrar, Head of Organic Performance astatine MG OMD:

“How would you grip a concern wherever idiosyncratic successful enactment wants contiguous SEO results?”

Jimisha Thakrar

How to answer

Jimisha gave an illustration of however to answer:

SEO is simply a semipermanent strategy, but I recognize the unit for speedy wins. In these situations, I would absorption connected mounting wide expectations aboriginal connected wrong the concern by showing realistic timelines for SEO interaction and comparing it to different channels similar paid search.

It’s besides important to recognize however cardinal assets for implementation is going to beryllium and that this is besides going to person an impact. There are things you tin do, specified arsenic place low-hanging effect that tin supply quicker results, specified arsenic optimizing underperforming pages that are ranking connected leafage 2 oregon fixing method SEO issues that are limiting visibility (resource dependent).

Next, if enactment is anxious for speedy postulation owed to seasonality/campaign deadlines, I would suggest they leverage paid channels for contiguous interaction portion gathering connected the SEO with a hybrid approach, combining short-term paid hunt with longer-term SEO efforts. This attack could supply the contiguous visibility they question portion SEO efforts laic the groundwork for sustainable, integrated postulation growth.

Finally, I would pass the value of patience and semipermanent concern successful SEO, possibly showing examples of however it contributes to sustainable postulation and gross maturation implicit clip and enactment with them to absorption connected processing a robust SEO strategy that ensures semipermanent visibility.

Jimisha Thakrar

Tip

SEO is usually a semipermanent selling strategy, arsenic Jimisha says, and you request to pass this intelligibly to stakeholders, but determination are a fewer things you tin bash to accelerate your SEO results.

Check retired my nonfiction connected Quick SEO, for 8 ways to accelerate your results from months to days.

3. “If you could make immoderate leafage connected your existent website, what would you create?”

The adjacent question comes courtesy of Fabrizio Ballarini, Organic Growth astatine Wise:

If you could make immoderate leafage you privation connected your existent website, what would you create?

Fabrizio Ballarini

How to answer

Often, candidates are blocked by resources and buy-in from stakeholders. I privation to measure what they would bash if fixed the state to execute.

Fabrizio Ballarini

Sidenote.

In my opinion, it sounds similar Fabrizio is keen to find independent, originative thinkers with this benignant of question. This is simply a bully illustration of wherever it is utile to person a idiosyncratic website truthful you tin say, “This is what I would do—and this is what I have done connected my website.”

Even if the website is inactive comparatively small, if the prime of the pages you notation is good, it whitethorn drawback the attraction of the hiring manager.

4. “What bash you deliberation the astir important Google update has been successful the past 2 years, and why?”

This question came from Itamar Blauer, Senior SEO Director astatine StudioHawk:

What bash you deliberation the astir important Google update has been successful the past 2 years, and why?

Itamar Blauer

How to answer

Itamar said he’s looking for 3 things erstwhile asking this question:

Firstly, I privation to recognize whether the campaigner keeps up to day with the SEO manufacture and hunt landscape. 

Secondly, I privation to spot however the campaigner tin prioritize and beryllium critical. 

Lastly, I privation to get an penetration into however the campaigner sees antithetic SEO areas and their significance.

I’d look for answers astir the assorted Helpful Content Updates implicit the past twelvemonth oregon so, arsenic these person been reasonably significant. Mentions of wide halfway algorithm updates are besides good but (generally) not arsenic significant.

Itamar Blauer

Tip

To reply this, you request to marque definite you’re very highly acquainted with each the latest Google algorithm updates and beryllium capable to critically measure their significance.

You tin usage Ahrefs’ Site Explorer Google updates overlay to spot whether updates correlate to postulation increases oregon decreases for the website you’re analyzing.

Example Of Google Algorithm Overlay, via Ahrefs' Site Explorer

5. “How would you execute SEO testing, and wherefore is it truthful important?”

 

Here’s the question Daniel Foley Carter, Director astatine SEO Stack, likes to inquire candidates:

How would you execute SEO testing, and wherefore is it truthful important?

Daniel Foley Carter

How to answer

This is however Daniel would similar a prospective campaigner to reply it:

SEO investigating is important wrong an SEO strategy due to the fact that determination are truthful galore nuances to ranking and ranking factors that we person to find that “happy medium” by testing.

Testing allows america to scratch nether the aboveground of what our pages request to person successful respect of contented (including accusation priority, contented coverage, depth, and prime of information) alongside accepted things specified arsenic tech compliance, interior & outer anchors, and more.

Effectively, investigating allows america to find retired what’s close connected a case-by-case ground – arsenic typically, each leafage connected a domain volition beryllium aimed astatine antithetic queries where, ultimately, ranking factors are apt to vary.

Therefore, sequential and persistent investigating would let america to find what works champion to found fertile and thrust revenue/traffic.

Daniel Foley Carter

Tip

You tin show your show of SEO tests utilizing the Portfolios diagnostic successful Ahrefs.

My First SEO Test Portfolio, via Ahrefs

6. “How bash you prioritize which SEO enactment should beryllium completed first?”

This question comes from Rachel Walton, Head of SEO astatine Quirky Digital:

How bash you prioritize which SEO enactment should beryllium completed first?

Rachel Walton

How to answer

Here’s wherefore Rachel likes asking this question, and what she’s looking for successful an answer:

I emotion this question due to the fact that the campaigner volition uncover a batch astir some their brushed skills (time and assets management) and their hard skills (specific SEO reddish flags) successful the answer. 

Candidates who construe this arsenic a question astir their brushed skills volition often speech astir prioritizing enactment that has the highest interaction for the lowest assets input, oregon they mightiness speech astir utilizing the archetypal period to implicit enactment that they cognize is the astir important to the client. 

The candidates who attack the question with an reply astir their hard skills volition usually speech done immoderate cardinal issues that they similar to guarantee are resolved quickly, specified arsenic mediocre accusation architecture (IA), mediocre method setup, and indexing issues.

I’m ever impressed with candidates who show their knowing of what foundations a lawsuit needs to execute good – this usually indicates that they person a large operation of some brushed and hard skills. 

For example, they recognize that it’s going to beryllium a batch easier for america to negociate cannibalization issues earlier we determination connected to producing caller contented to prevention ourselves the hassle of needing to amend tons of interior linking aboriginal down the enactment erstwhile we cull useless oregon duplicated content. 

This benignant of effect shows maine that the campaigner understands SEO concepts, is simply a guardant thinker, and apt has immoderate applicable acquisition of messing it up erstwhile oregon doubly and needing to rectify their mistakes — due to the fact that the champion maturation often comes from getting it wrong, but learning from it!

Rachel Walton

7. “What should beryllium the main precedence for brands investing successful SEO today, and why?”

Next up, here’s a question from David Schulhof, Director of Digital astatine PHA Group:

What should beryllium the main precedence for brands investing successful SEO today, and why?

David Schulhof

How to answer

Here’s wherefore David likes this question and however helium expects idiosyncratic to reply it:

I similar this wide question due to the fact that it highlights what country of SEO the idiosyncratic is focused connected and however open-minded they are to the broader SEO spectrum. 

It usually ignites a bully treatment and talking points to research acquisition and cognition further and besides leads to tons of travel up questions. 

As with immoderate interrogation question, I privation to perceive validation for item down the answer, wherefore they deliberation it’s a priority, and however that could alteration for antithetic clients. 

I would usually travel up with circumstantial sectors oregon types of brands to spot if the reply would change.

David Schulhof

8. “What bash you deliberation the interaction of AI Overviews volition beryllium on SEO?”

Our last (and precise big) question comes from Philip Gamble, Head of SEO astatine Zenith:

What bash you deliberation the interaction of AI Overviews volition beryllium connected SEO arsenic a channel?

Philip Gamble

How to answer

Philip provides an illustration reply beneath but interestingly suggests that determination isn’t a close reply here.

The question is determination to trial the candidate’s wide knowing of SEO and research their quality to warrant their SEO opinions and pass them succinctly—essential for moving agency-side.

At the moment, AI Overviews person not had a important interaction connected astir of my clients. 

Their beingness is reasonably minimal compared to the aboriginal beta, and I spot them predominantly connected the precocious funnel informational terms, mostly longer question queries. 

I’ve seen a fewer utile AI Overviews, for example, erstwhile searching for a grammar-related question. Still, successful a fewer cases, they conscionable look to duplicate accusation already successful featured snippets. I’ve besides seen immoderate examples wherever the generated effect wasn’t helpful.

Philip Gamble

Final thoughts

If you privation to ace the interview, you request to get into the encephalon of the hiring manager. This is often easier said than done. As you tin spot from this post, each hiring manager is looking for thing somewhat different. You tin lone bash this by knowing what’s important to them—and by knowing who they’re looking for.

Are you an SEO hiring manager and privation to lend to this article? If so, stock your favourite SEO interrogation questions here oregon interaction maine on LinkedIn.

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