Search Engine Optimization (SEO) remains one of the most in-demand digital marketing skills. Whether you are preparing for an SEO executive interview, a technical SEO role, or refreshing your fundamentals, understanding core SEO concepts is critical.
This article covers 50 carefully selected SEO interview questions and answers, based on the most searched queries in India, including SEO interview questions, SEO interview questions and answers, and SEO questions for interview. The questions range from basic to advanced and are suitable for both beginners and experienced professionals.
Basic SEO Interview Questions (1–15)
1. What is SEO?
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the process of improving a website’s visibility in search engine results to increase organic (non-paid) traffic.
2. Why is SEO important?
SEO helps businesses gain organic traffic, improve brand visibility, build trust, and reduce dependency on paid advertising.
3. What are the main types of SEO?
The three main types are On-Page SEO, Off-Page SEO, and Technical SEO.
4. What is organic traffic?
Organic traffic refers to visitors who land on a website through unpaid search engine results.
5. What is a search engine?
A search engine is a software system that retrieves and displays relevant information from the internet based on user queries.
6. What is a keyword in SEO?
A keyword is a word or phrase that users type into search engines to find information.
7. What is keyword research?
Keyword research is the process of identifying relevant search terms users are actively searching for.
8. What is a long-tail keyword?
Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific search phrases with lower competition and higher intent.
9. What is SERP?
SERP stands for Search Engine Results Page, which displays results after a user performs a search.
10. What is Google algorithm?
Google’s algorithm is a complex system used to rank web pages based on relevance, quality, and authority.
11. What is crawling?
Crawling is the process where search engine bots scan web pages to discover content.
12. What is indexing?
Indexing is the process of storing crawled web pages in a search engine database.
13. What is ranking in SEO?
Ranking refers to a website’s position in search engine results for a specific keyword.
14. What is a meta title?
A meta title is an HTML element that defines the title of a web page shown in search results.
15. What is a meta description?
A meta description summarizes a page’s content and appears below the title in SERPs.
On-Page SEO Interview Questions (16–30)
16. What is on-page SEO?
On-page SEO involves optimizing content and HTML elements within a website.
17. What are heading tags?
Heading tags (H1–H6) structure content and help search engines understand page hierarchy.
18. What is keyword stuffing?
Keyword stuffing is the overuse of keywords to manipulate rankings, which can lead to penalties.
19. What is image optimization?
Image optimization improves page load speed and search visibility using compression and alt text.
20. What is alt text?
Alt text describes images for search engines and accessibility purposes.
21. What is internal linking?
Internal linking connects pages within the same website to improve crawlability and user experience.
22. What is URL optimization?
URL optimization ensures URLs are short, readable, and keyword-relevant.
23. What is content optimization?
Content optimization ensures content is useful, relevant, and aligned with search intent.
24. What is duplicate content?
Duplicate content occurs when similar content appears on multiple URLs.
25. What is canonical tag?
A canonical tag tells search engines which version of a page is the preferred one.
26. What is schema markup?
Schema markup is structured data that helps search engines understand content context.
27. What is keyword density?
Keyword density refers to how often a keyword appears relative to total words.
28. What is user intent?
User intent is the purpose behind a search query (informational, navigational, transactional).
29. What is content freshness?
Content freshness refers to how recently content has been updated.
30. What is E-E-A-T?
E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.
Off-Page & Link Building Questions (31–40)
31. What is off-page SEO?
Off-page SEO includes actions taken outside the website to improve rankings.
32. What is a backlink?
A backlink is a link from another website pointing to your site.
33. What is a dofollow link?
A dofollow link passes authority (link equity) to the linked website.
34. What is a nofollow link?
A nofollow link does not pass ranking authority but still has value.
35. What is anchor text?
Anchor text is the clickable text of a hyperlink.
36. What is link building?
Link building is the process of acquiring backlinks from other websites.
37. What is toxic backlink?
A toxic backlink comes from spammy or low-quality websites and can harm SEO.
38. What is domain authority?
Domain Authority is a score predicting a website’s ability to rank (developed by Moz).
39. What is guest posting?
Guest posting involves publishing content on another website to earn backlinks.
40. What is social bookmarking?
Social bookmarking is submitting website links to content-sharing platforms.
Technical & Advanced SEO Interview Questions (41–50)
41. What is technical SEO?
Technical SEO optimizes website infrastructure to improve crawlability and indexing.
42. What is page speed?
Page speed refers to how fast a webpage loads for users.
43. What is mobile-first indexing?
Google primarily uses the mobile version of content for indexing and ranking.
44. What is robots.txt?
Robots.txt instructs search engines which pages to crawl or ignore.
45. What is XML sitemap?
An XML sitemap helps search engines discover important website pages.
46. What is HTTPS?
HTTPS is a secure version of HTTP that encrypts data between user and server.
47. What is bounce rate?
Bounce rate is the percentage of users who leave a website after viewing one page.
48. What is Core Web Vitals?
Core Web Vitals measure page experience based on loading, interactivity, and stability.
49. What is Google Search Console?
Google Search Console helps monitor indexing, performance, and SEO issues.
50. What is an SEO executive’s role?
An SEO executive handles keyword research, content optimization, link building, and performance analysis.
Conclusion
These 50 SEO interview questions and answers cover essential concepts expected in SEO executive interviews, fresher roles, and experienced SEO positions. Understanding both theoretical and practical SEO principles will help you confidently clear interviews and perform effectively in real-world projects.