Top 50+ SEO Interview Questions and Answers for 2023
If you’re applying for an SEO job at a beginner level, prepare for your job interview ahead of time with these SEO interview questions for recent graduates, or beginners. Many of these are appropriate SEO interview questions for 1-year experience and are geared toward someone with a solid education in SEO or some actual on-the-job experience.
1. What is SEO?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, which is the practice of improving the quality and quantity of traffic to a website from search engines through organic search results.
2. What is a search engine?
A search engine is a software program that allows users to search for information on the Internet. Examples of popular search engines include Google, Bing, Yahoo, and Baidu.
3. What is a keyword?
A keyword is a word or phrase that describes the content of a webpage. Keywords are used by search engines to match web pages with relevant search queries.
4. What is on-page SEO?
On-page SEO refers to the process of optimizing individual web pages in order to rank higher in search engine results and earn more relevant traffic.
5. What is off-page SEO?
Off-page SEO refers to the process of optimizing external factors that can affect search engine rankings, such as backlinks, social media signals, and online reviews.
6. What is a backlink?
A backlink is a link from one website to another. Backlinks are a major ranking factor in search engine algorithms and are considered a vote of confidence from one website to another.
7. What is a meta description?
A meta description is an HTML attribute that provides a brief summary of a webpage’s content. Meta descriptions are often used by search engines to display snippets of information in search results.
8. What is a sitemap?
A sitemap is a file that lists all of the pages on a website. Sitemaps are used by search engines to discover and index web pages.
9. What is Google Search Console?
Google Search Console is a free tool offered by Google that allows website owners to monitor and optimize their website’s performance in Google search results.
10. What is Google Analytics?
Google Analytics is a free tool offered by Google that allows website owners to track and analyze website traffic and user behavior.
11. What is a canonical URL?
A canonical URL is the preferred URL for a webpage. Canonical URLs are used to avoid duplicate content issues and to consolidate the SEO value of multiple URLs into a single URL.
12. What is a 301 redirect?
A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect from one URL to another. 301 redirects are often used to redirect users from an old URL to a new URL or to redirect users from a non-preferred URL to a preferred URL.
13. What is a 404 error?
A 404 error is an HTTP status code that indicates that a requested web page cannot be found. 404 errors can negatively impact SEO and user experience.
14. What is the difference between a dofollow and nofollow link?
A dofollow link is a link that passes SEO value from one website to another. A nofollow link is a link that does not pass SEO value from one website to another.
15. What is anchor text?
Anchor text is the clickable text in a hyperlink. Anchor text is used by search engines to determine the relevance of a web page to a particular keyword or topic.
16. What is keyword stuffing?
Keyword stuffing is the practice of overusing keywords on a webpage in an attempt to manipulate search engine rankings. Keyword stuffing is considered a black hat SEO technique and can result in penalties from search engines.
17. What is a robots.txt file?
A robots.txt file is a text file that tells search engine crawlers which pages or directories on a website should not be crawled or indexed.
18. What is a meta tag?
A meta tag is an HTML tag that provides information about a webpage. Meta tags are used by search engines to understand the content of a web page.
19. What is the difference between a title tag and a meta description?
A title tag is an HTML tag that provides the title of a webpage, which appears in search engine results and in the browser tab. A meta description is an HTML attribute that provides a brief summary of a webpage’s content, which also appears in search engine results.
20. What is local SEO?
Local SEO is the practice of optimizing a website and its content to appear in local search results for users in a specific geographic area.
21. What is mobile optimization?
Mobile optimization is the process of optimizing a website and its content to be easily accessible and usable on mobile devices.
22. What is a keyword research?
Keyword research is the process of identifying and analyzing the keywords and phrases that users use to search for information on the internet. This helps businesses create content and optimize their website to target those keywords.
23. What is the difference between organic and paid search results?
Organic search results are the non-paid results that appear in search engine results pages (SERPs) based on their relevance to the search query. Paid search results are the results that appear at the top of the search engine results pages, which are paid for by advertisers.
24. What is a long-tail keyword?
A long-tail keyword is a specific keyword phrase that contains three or more words. Long-tail keywords are often less competitive and can be easier to rank for in search engine results.
25. What is a SERP?
A SERP, or Search Engine Results Page, is the page that appears after a user enters a search query in a search engine. The SERP displays the results that the search engine has determined to be the most relevant to the user’s search query.
26. What is Google My Business?
Google My Business is a free tool offered by Google that allows businesses to manage their online presence on Google, including their Google Maps listing, reviews, and business information.
27. What is a crawl budget?
A crawl budget is the number of pages that a search engine will crawl on a website during a given period of time. It is important for website owners to manage their crawl budget in order to ensure that search engines are crawling and indexing the most important pages on their website.
28. What is the difference between white hat and black hat SEO?
White hat SEO is the practice of optimizing a website and its content using ethical and legitimate techniques that comply with search engine guidelines. Black hat SEO is the practice of using unethical or illegitimate techniques to manipulate search engine rankings.
29. What is a site audit?
A site audit is an analysis of a website’s SEO performance, which can identify issues and opportunities for improvement. Site audits typically include an analysis of on-page factors, off-page factors, technical factors, and user experience factors.
30. What is link building?
Link building is the process of acquiring links from other websites back to a website. Link building is an important part of off-page SEO and can help improve search engine rankings and drive traffic to a website.
31. What is anchor text diversity?
Anchor text diversity refers to the variety of anchor text used in backlinks to a website. Anchor text diversity is important for SEO, as it helps avoid over-optimization and signals to search engines that a website is a credible and authoritative source of information.
32. What is duplicate content?
Duplicate content refers to content that appears on more than one web page, either on the same website or on different websites. Duplicate content can negatively impact SEO and can result in search engine penalties.
33. What is a penalty in SEO?
A penalty in SEO is a negative impact on search engine rankings that is the result of violating search engine guidelines or using black hat SEO techniques.
34. What is a backlink?
A backlink is a link from one website to another. Backlinks are important for SEO, as they can signal to search engines that a website is a credible and authoritative source of information.
35. What is domain authority?
Domain authority is a search engine ranking score developed by Moz that predicts how well a website will rank on search engine results pages (SERPs). Domain authority is based on a variety of factors, including the number and quality of backlinks to a website.
36. What is a sitemap?
A sitemap is a file that lists all of the pages on a website, which can help search engines crawl and index a website’s content more effectively.
37. What is Google Analytics?
Google Analytics is a free web analytics service offered by Google that allows website owners to track and analyze website traffic and user behavior.
38. What is a robots.txt file?
A robots.txt file is a file that is placed in the root directory of a website and contains instructions for search engine robots about which pages or files on the website they should or should not crawl.
39. What is a 301 redirect?
A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect from one URL to another. 301 redirects are important for SEO, as they can help preserve link equity and prevent duplicate content issues.
40. What is canonicalization?
Canonicalization is the process of selecting a preferred URL when multiple URLs contain the same or similar content. Canonicalization is important for SEO, as it can help prevent duplicate content issues and ensure that search engines are crawling and indexing the correct URL.
41. What is a meta robot tag?
A meta robot tag is an HTML attribute that provides instructions to search engine robots about how to crawl and index a webpage. The meta robot tag can be used to tell search engines to index a webpage, to prevent search engines from indexing a webpage, or to prevent search engines from following links on a webpage.
42. What is a meta viewport tag?
A meta viewport tag is an HTML attribute that sets the viewport width and initial scale for a webpage, which can help ensure that the webpage is properly optimized for mobile devices.
43. What is a schema markup?
Schema markup is a structured data format that can be added to a webpage’s HTML to help search engines better understand the content of the webpage. Schema markup can help improve search engine rankings and can also be used to create rich snippets in search engine results.
44. What is a content delivery network (CDN)?
A content delivery network (CDN) is a network of servers that can be used to distribute content, such as images and videos, to users around the world. CDNs can help improve website performance and can also help reduce server load and bandwidth usage.
45. What is a bounce rate?
Bounce rate is a metric that measures the percentage of users who leave a website after viewing only one page. High bounce rates can indicate that a website is not engaging or relevant to users.
46. What is keyword density?
Keyword density is a metric that measures the frequency of a keyword or phrase on a webpage as a percentage of the total word count. Keyword density is no longer considered an important factor for SEO and can even result in search engine penalties if overused.
47. What is the difference between HTTP and HTTPS?
HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is a protocol used to transfer data between a web server and a web browser. HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) is a secure version of HTTP that encrypts data to prevent unauthorized access.
48. What is a permalink?
A permalink is a permanent URL that points to a specific webpage or piece of content on a website. Permalinks are important for SEO, as they can help preserve link equity and ensure that search engines are crawling and indexing the correct URL.
49. What is a header tag?
A header tag is an HTML tag that is used to define headings and subheadings on a web page. Header tags are important for both SEO and user experience, as they help organize content and make it easier for users to read.
50. What is a title tag?
A title tag is an HTML element that specifies the title of a webpage. The title tag is important for SEO, as it can help search engines understand the content of the webpage and can also be used as the clickable headline in search engine results.
51. What is a meta description?
A meta description is an HTML attribute that provides a brief description of the content of a webpage. The meta description is important for SEO, as it can help search engines understand the content of the webpage and can also be used as the description in search engine results.
52. What is a keyword?
A keyword is a word or phrase that is used to describe the content of a webpage. Keywords are important for SEO, as they can help search engines understand the content of the webpage and can also be used to target specific search queries.
53. What is a long-tail keyword?
A long-tail keyword is a specific, highly-targeted keyword or phrase that is used to target a niche audience. Long-tail keywords are important for SEO, as they can help websites rank for more specific search queries and can also help drive targeted traffic to a website.
54. What is keyword research?
Keyword research is the process of identifying the most relevant and valuable keywords for a website. Keyword research is important for SEO, as it can help websites optimize their content for specific search queries and improve their search engine rankings.
55. What is anchor text?
Anchor text is the clickable text that appears as a hyperlink on a webpage. Anchor text is important for SEO, as it can help search engines understand the content of the webpage that the link is pointing to.
56. What is a landing page?
A landing page is a webpage that is designed specifically to receive and convert traffic from a marketing campaign, such as a paid search or social media campaign.
57. What is a conversion rate?
Conversion rate is a metric that measures the percentage of users who complete a desired action, such as making a purchase or filling out a contact form, on a website.
58. What is a call-to-action (CTA)?
A call-to-action (CTA) is a button or link on a webpage that is designed to encourage users to take a specific action, such as making a purchase or filling out a contact form.
59. What is link building?
Link building is the process of acquiring backlinks from other websites to improve a website’s search engine rankings. Link building is important for SEO, as backlinks can signal to search engines that a website is a credible and authoritative source of information.
60. What is guest blogging?
Guest blogging is the process of writing content for another website in order to receive a backlink to a website. Guest blogging is a popular link building tactic and can help improve a website’s search engine rankings.
61. What is social media marketing?
Social media marketing is the process of promoting a website or brand through social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Social media marketing can help increase brand awareness and drive traffic to a website.
62. What is email marketing?
Email marketing is the process of sending promotional emails to a list of subscribers in order to promote a website or brand. Email marketing can help increase brand awareness, drive traffic to a website, and generate leads and sales.
63. What is local SEO?
Local SEO is the process of optimizing a website for local search queries, such as “dentist near me” or “pizza delivery in [city name].” Local SEO is important for businesses that operate in a specific geographic location.