Top 30 SEO Interview Questions & Answers for Digital Marketing Profile – 2025

If you're preparing for a digital marketing interview focused on SEO, it's important to demonstrate your understanding of on-page and off-page optimization, technical SEO, analytics, and the latest updates in search engine algorithms. Here are the top 30 SEO interview questions and answers to help you ace your interview.

Basic SEO Questions

• 1. What is SEO?
  SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It is the practice of optimizing websites to increase visibility and rankings in search engine results pages (SERPs).
• 2. What is the difference between on-page and off-page SEO?
  On-page SEO refers to optimizing elements on the website itself, like content, meta tags, and internal links. Off-page SEO involves external factors like backlinks and social signals.
• 3. What are meta tags?
  Meta tags are HTML elements like meta title and meta description that provide information about a webpage to search engines and users.
• 4. What is a backlink?
  A backlink is a link from another website to your site. Quality backlinks from authoritative sites can improve your search engine ranking.
• 5. What is keyword research?
  Keyword research involves identifying the terms and phrases users search for in order to optimize content for those keywords.

Intermediate SEO Questions

• 6. How do search engines work?
  Search engines crawl the web using bots, index the content, and rank it based on relevance and authority using complex algorithms.
• 7. What is the difference between a dofollow and nofollow link?
  Dofollow links pass SEO value (link juice), while nofollow links do not pass link juice but may still drive traffic and build credibility.
• 8. What tools do you use for SEO?
  Tools include Google Search Console, Google Analytics, Ahrefs, SEMrush, Screaming Frog, Ubersuggest, and Moz.
• 9. What is the importance of mobile SEO?
  Mobile SEO ensures your website performs well on mobile devices. It affects rankings, especially after Google’s mobile-first indexing update.
• 10. What is a canonical tag?
  A canonical tag prevents duplicate content issues by telling search engines which version of a URL is the main one.

Technical SEO Questions

• 11. What is page speed and why is it important?
  Page speed is how fast your website loads. It impacts user experience and is a ranking factor in Google's algorithm.
• 12. What is schema markup?
  Schema markup is a type of structured data that helps search engines better understand the content on a page.
• 13. How do you handle 404 errors?
  404 errors can be handled by redirecting broken links to relevant content using 301 redirects or creating custom 404 pages.
• 14. What is an XML sitemap?
  An XML sitemap lists all the pages of a website and helps search engines crawl and index them more effectively.
• 15. What is robots.txt?
  Robots.txt is a file that tells search engine bots which pages or sections of the site should not be crawled.

Content & Optimization

• 16. How do you optimize a blog post for SEO?
  Use keyword-rich titles, meta descriptions, headers, internal links, image alt text, and high-quality, engaging content.
• 17. What is keyword stuffing?
  Keyword stuffing is overusing keywords in content, which can harm readability and result in search engine penalties.
• 18. What are LSI keywords?
  Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) keywords are semantically related words and phrases to the main keyword, helping improve context and relevancy.
• 19. How do you measure SEO performance?
  Using KPIs like organic traffic, keyword rankings, backlinks, CTR, bounce rate, and conversion rates tracked via tools like GA and GSC.
• 20. How often should SEO audits be done?
  Ideally, perform SEO audits every 3–6 months or after major changes to the website or algorithm updates.

Advanced/Scenario-Based Questions

• 21. What is the impact of Google’s core algorithm updates?
  Core updates can affect rankings and traffic. It’s important to focus on high-quality content, E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trust), and user experience.
• 22. How do you recover from a ranking drop?
  Analyze possible causes (penalties, technical issues, content quality), use GSC for insights, fix issues, and re-optimize content.
• 23. What is local SEO?
  Local SEO targets customers in a specific area by optimizing Google My Business, local citations, and using location-based keywords.
• 24. What’s your approach to link building?
  Guest posting, broken link building, outreach, directories, and creating link-worthy content like infographics and guides.
• 25. How do you stay updated with SEO trends?
  Following SEO blogs (Moz, Search Engine Journal), Google updates, and industry experts on social media or newsletters.

Behavioral & Closing Questions

• 26. Have you ever optimized a website from scratch?
  (Share experience or say you're eager to take on such projects if you're a fresher.)
• 27. How do you prioritize SEO tasks?
  Based on impact and urgency — starting with technical fixes, followed by content optimization and then link building.
• 28. Have you worked with developers for technical SEO?
  Yes, I collaborate to implement changes like improving site speed, fixing mobile usability issues, or setting up schema.
• 29. What SEO strategies do you use for e-commerce websites?
  Optimize category and product pages, use schema, create SEO-friendly URLs, and focus on user reviews and mobile UX.
• 30. Where do you see your SEO career in the next 3 years?
  I aim to become an SEO strategist managing full-scale campaigns, mentoring juniors, and staying ahead of algorithm changes.