Can You Handle These 10 Nerve-Wracking SEO Writer Interview Questions?!
Want to apply to an SEO writer job? Key SEO writer interview questions you need to know so that you don’t look like an amateur.
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It’s important to understand why these questions are being asked in the first place.
Your interviewer is looking for specific answers, key insights and potential red flags in your answers.
Feeling lost? Don’t worry! We address all of these SEO writer interview questions in our free SEO training!
Whether you’re pivoting into the SEO writing industry or want to start your career as an SEO writer, you’ll probably want to apply for jobs to make some money. You have to start somewhere, right?
In this post, we will dive into all the SEO writer interview questions you need to answer if you want to stand out from other SEO writers, demand higher rates and actually land the SEO content writer jobs you’re applying for.
How you handle these questions will be a key determinant of whether or not you get the job. So, they’re super important to know!
10 SEO Content Writer Job Interview Questions to Prepare for
Let’s talk about what kinds of questions you will (likely) be asked during an SEO writer job interview. You also might get asked these during a discovery call with a potential client who is looking for SEO content writing work. So, even if you’re doing freelance writing, it’s good to know these too!
We also have a more “generalized” list of interview questions for writers to know (not SEO-centric like this post is). So, check it out if you’re interested!
While these questions may vary slightly depending on who is interviewing you, it’s important to understand why they’re being asked in the first place. Your interviewer is looking for specific answers, key insights and potential red flags in your answers.
Question 1: What is [insert SEO industry jargon or vocabulary word]?
Now, they could be asking you something like, “How would you define the term ‘search engine indexing’ or ‘link building’ in relation to SEO?” You may also get questions like “What makes a keyword considered a ‘longtail keyword?’”
What they’re asking here – or testing for – is your overall knowledge of SEO-related terms. SEO industry jargon that all SEO writers should know if they want to have a seat at the table during SEO projects.
SEO writers who can’t instantly define a series of SEO-related terms are either newbies, amateurs or fakes. Be sure to learn and memorize as many SEO terms as possible so that you can use them naturally and confidently in conversation.
As you will see, out of all the SEO writer interview questions, this one is probably the easiest to get through – as long as you do your homework.
Question 2: What are things that can hurt a website’s SEO performance?
This SEO writer interview question helps measure your depth and breadth of knowledge. Sure, you might know what things are good for SEO, but do you know what mistakes to avoid when writing an SEO blog or inputting title tags and meta descriptions into a site?
Here is where a lot of inexperienced SEO writers falter during an interview. They study up on all the good SEO tactics, but they don’t have a complete understanding of how it all works.
To ace this SEO writer interview question, you need to learn all the inner workings of SEO, what hurts it and what helps a page rank in the top spots.
Question 3: What are the key elements of a high-performing piece of SEO content?
This SEO writer interview question may be easier for some. After all, anyone interested in getting into SEO writing should have a solid understanding about what makes a piece of content (a blog post, a video, etc.) outrank others.
The interviewer will likely want to know about picking the right keywords, how you structure your content and what keyword density you aim for. There is a ton of stuff, so make sure you know these elements and make sure you can answer in a concise and convincing way!
Question 4: What on-page SEO tactics do you use to make sure you’re ranking for the right audience?
This may seem like an easier SEO writer interview question, and at face value, it can have a simple answer. Yes, they want to make sure you know what on-page SEO tactics are and which are the most effective. That’s good.
However, if you really want to wow your interviewer, stand out and seem even more knowledgeable than someone else, they want to know that you understand how to target the right audience – those who will likely benefit greatly from your content and those who will likely become their customers – rather than targeting the wrong audience and wasting impressions and clicks on people who will ruin a website’s conversion rates.
Question 5: Can you name some off-page SEO tactics or technical SEO tactics that you use to help content rank better?
If you want to get SEO writer jobs – and the well-paid SEO writer jobs at that – you can’t just “get by” only knowing on-page SEO writing techniques.
It pays (well) to be well-rounded. Many SEO writers fail to learn about off-page, technical SEO tactics that can significantly improve their SEO performance.
Your interviewer wants to see if they’ll be getting an even better, more effective SEO service from you, which would then justify you working at higher rates.
So, to ace this particular SEO writer interview question, brush up on the off-page and technical SEO tactics.
Question 6: How do you choose the best topic for a piece of SEO content?
Now, sometimes you’ll land SEO writing jobs where the client will always give you the topic. That can make things easier. However, in SEO content writer jobs where this is not the case, the interviewer wants to see if you understand how to pick the best (and most profitable) SEO content topics.
After all, it’s a total waste of their money if your content topics are not truly fit for their audience. No one will want to read your work – or worse, the wrong people will read your work, the site will get indexed incorrectly and no one will be making money.
Question 7: Do you know how to do SEO copywriting?
A super common SEO writer interview question! SEO copywriting is an SEO specialty that not all writers are equipped to do.
You (at least) need to know what they’re talking about so you don’t look like a deer in the headlights. Then, if you want to make some big bucks, you learn how to actually do SEO copywriting!
Even if you don’t go the SEO copywriting route, it’s beneficial to understand how to answer this question.
Question 8: Which SEO metrics do you use to measure performance of your content?
A loaded SEO writer interview question that you absolutely need to know how to answer. The interview is not only testing if you know specific SEO metrics, but they also want to see if you know which are the most relevant and important to your SEO writing projects.
There are a ton of metrics to follow, but only certain ones are relevant to SEO writers. Plus, depending on which SEO metric you’re looking at, it will give key information about what is performing well in your content and what needs improvement.
And don’t think you can just “get by” not understanding SEO writing metrics, they are key to your success (and income) as an SEO writer!
Question 9: How do you choose the best keywords?
Some SEO content writer jobs involve no keyword research. The client gives you the SEO keyword list, and you go from there. However, since SEO keyword research can be quite simple, it’s an opportunity for you to make extra money.
And, since it’s a super common SEO writer interview question, you need to know the answer. And spoiler: Don’t just talk about search volume! That’s a dead giveaway that you are a newbie SEO writer.
Question 10: What is your desired rate/hourly and why?
Pricing, salary and rates are always nerve-wracking to talk about. Make sure you prepare for this particular SEO writer interview question so you can answer with grace and tact.
It’s very important to say the right things if you’re asking for higher-than-average rates. (After all, who wants to be working for pennies, right?)
If you want to make a livable, thriving income off your SEO writer jobs, you need to know how to justify your rates with confidence.
The interviewer wants proof that you know what you’re doing, that you will write better content and that you know more than the SEO basics, which is often what many new or struggling SEO writers only know.
Need Answers to These SEO Writer Interview Questions?
If you’re now feeling even more lost about getting into SEO (or more nervous), don’t worry! We address all of these SEO writer interview questions in our free SEO training!
