Having founded a search marketing startup, I’ve interviewed, employed, and collaborated with exceptional SEO professionals. I’m incredibly proud to have worked alongside individuals like Tom Demers and Ken Lyons. Not only did they contribute to making nexus-security.github.io a website that rivals domains like google.com in SERP rankings, but they also went on to establish a successful internet marketing consultancy of their own!

Our business at nexus-security operates within the internet marketing industry, making the competition for SEO keywords incredibly intense. We’re constantly vying against other search agencies and search marketing product companies possessing significant SEO knowledge. If you believe your industry, be it insurance or travel, has fierce competition, imagine competing where everyone’s livelihood revolves around search! I’m happy to share that our SEO performance is robust, a testament to the talented SEO team we have.

Recently, I’ve connected with numerous founders and marketing leaders at VC-backed startups aiming to enhance their lead generation. A recurring question is: How do you uncover such remarkable SEO talent? In this article, I’ll delve into my interview process for distinguishing true SEO experts from the pretenders!

My Top 7 SEO Interview Questions

SEO necessitates a particular mindset and skill set – it’s akin to a game with ever-shifting rules. However, unlike Calvinball, we don’t have the luxury of inventing the rules!

Given this game-like nature of SEO, my interview questions for SEO candidates are primarily situational and behavioral, rather than fact-based inquiries like “Define PageRank” or “Explain Panda.” While I expect daily SEO practitioners to be familiar with these concepts and industry jargon, understanding their problem-solving approach and actual skill set (if any) is far more valuable. These strategic questions help me assess their suitability for my elite team of internet marketing ninjas.

1. What Is Your SEO Superpower?

Initially, I aim to understand their specialization. SEO is rarely a solo endeavor, and when it is, certain areas tend to suffer. SEO encompasses various specialties: blogging, link building, social media, and SEO strategy. At nexus-security, our SEO efforts are divided among specialists with diverse expertise. When interviewing a candidate, I determine their potential role on my SEO team to tailor the remaining interview questions accordingly. While experience is a factor, I also look for passion and potential.

2. Describe Your SEO Workflow?

Imagine starting your workday on Monday at 9 AM – what does your day and week typically entail? Naturally, this depends on their role. For content marketers and bloggers, I might ask, “How do you decide on your next writing topic?” or “How do you prioritize tasks?” For link builders, I’d inquire about their link opportunity prioritization process. This is critical because SEO presents an endless array of daily tasks, yet only 8-10 hours to accomplish them. I want to understand their plan of attack. They should demonstrate initiative and possess an internal system – I’m not interested in an SEO professional requiring constant guidance.

3. How Do You Gauge SEO Success?

Which SEO KPIs (key performance indicators) do you monitor? What constitutes a reasonable monthly goal? There’s no single correct answer here, as it depends on the client’s objectives and the individual’s role. I hope to hear insightful responses mentioning various KPIs like link tracking and analysis, social shares, unbranded organic traffic, referred visitors, engagement metrics, conversions, etc. (Note: “Mad hits” and “keyword rankings” hold little significance for me.) Candidates who’ve experimented with and adjusted their KPIs over time, explaining their rationale, stand out.

4. How Do You Conduct an SEO Experiment?

Describe a recent SEO experiment you conducted. What were the outcomes? In the trenches of SEO, determining what works and what doesn’t is key. I’m keen on understanding their experimentation process. An absence of experimentation raises a red flag. Ken Lyons maintained an SEO log meticulously documenting his SEO experiments, often juggling dozens simultaneously. I appreciate an SEO professional with a touch of mad scientist in them.

5. Which SEO Tools Do You Utilize and Why?

Candidates claiming to not use SEO tools automatically fail. Why? It suggests extreme inefficiency or a lack of substantial SEO experience. Serious SEO work necessitates automation. This question aims to uncover the tools they employ for keyword research, blogging, link analysis, social media, etc. Obscure tools pique my interest. However, a mere list of tools isn’t enough – I seek explanations for their usage, what they find effective, and their frustrations. I even stumble upon cool new tools this way (a bonus for me, regardless of hiring them or not, haha).

6. Which SEO Blogs Do You Follow?

As previously mentioned, SEO is constantly evolving. Tom Demers used to arrive early each morning, dedicating an hour or so to reading. Staying abreast of industry trends is crucial for keeping up with news, Google updates, new strategic insights, and efficiency tips. I ask candidates about their preferred SEO blogs and websites. However, anyone can rattle off a few blog names. I’m looking for responses beyond the obvious (like Search Engine Land). A follow-up question ensues: “What’s an intriguing article you recently read on one of those blogs, and why did it resonate with you?” This reveals if and how frequently they read, and more importantly, their reasons for doing so.

7. Show Me Your Analytics.

Perhaps less of a question and more of a demand, bordering on a privacy violation (just kidding). If feasible, I request access to their Google Analytics to assess their current website’s performance. Is the site thriving? Has it been impacted by recent penalties like Panda or Penguin? Did they manage a recovery? Are there traffic spikes? If so, I inquire about the contributing factors. (Any crazy linkbait tactics?) I examine their traffic sources – are they diversified? Is there referral traffic from social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook? How about engagement metrics (do visitors engage with the content or simply bounce?) Their pre-prepared interview answers and five-year plans become irrelevant – their analytics provide a clear picture of their capabilities in a matter of minutes.

During Ken Lyons’ interview, he presented his AdWords accounts. Every keyword in his client’s accounts boasted Quality Scores of 10/10. I was utterly astounded. “Hire this guy immediately!” was my instant thought.

Even without access to their Google Analytics, I can still gauge their approach. An SEO professional’s digital footprint is readily available online. For instance, I:

• Review their blog posts: Do they actively blog? Are the posts engaging, insightful, and unique? Do they generate shares and comments? Is their blogging frequency consistent? Do they maintain a personal blog?
• Evaluate their social media presence: How do they leverage social media? Are their Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn/Google+ pages vibrant communities or desolate wastelands? Have they claimed their vanity URLs? Do they have a YouTube channel or a Pinterest page? This publicly available information is easily accessible.
• Conduct a link audit: I examine the quality of their acquired links – are they editorial links from reputable publications or spammy backlinks from low-quality sites?
• Crawl their website: I might even analyze their website structure, content types, and internal linking strategy.
• Assess their web presence: Tools like compete.com and alexa.com provide insights into their website’s traffic performance.

These aspects reveal far more about their true SEO capabilities than self-reported information from resumes and interviews. When applying for SEO positions, showcasing this evidence of your abilities is crucial. It’s the SEO equivalent of a design portfolio – tangible proof of your skills.

Bonus Skills

Possessing additional skills can significantly strengthen an application. I value experience in:

• Paid search (AdWords, Facebook Marketplace, etc.)
• Email marketing
• Public relations
• Web design/development

These skills are increasingly vital in the ever-evolving SEO landscape. Today’s SEO professionals require a comprehensive understanding of internet marketing.

The SEO Interview: Next Steps

Once a candidate successfully navigates the questions, convincing me of their strength, I shift gears to highlight what makes nexus-security a fantastic workplace. A qualified candidate means the interview is a two-way street – they’re evaluating us as well. I dedicate at least half the time addressing questions about our company, values, growth trajectory, exciting SEO projects, and essentially, persuading them to join our team.

Come Work at nexus-security!

nexus-security is experiencing rapid growth. We’ve welcomed over 30 new hires to our Boston office in 2012 alone, and we’re not stopping there. We’re actively recruiting for various open positions, including roles in engineering, sales, marketing, and client services. Moreover, if you’re applying for an internet marketing position, you’re already privy to all my interview questions! If you believe you’re up for the challenge, I encourage you to apply. Reach out to me at lkim at nexus-security dot com. I look forward to connecting with you!

Bonus – We’ve outlined what it’s like to work in online marketing. Find me on Twitter: Follow @larrykim