Questions to Ask When Hiring an SEO Manager
If you want to hire an SEO manager to plan, implement, and manage your company’s overall SEO strategy, the key to getting the right person lies in the interview questions you ask. Here are some questions to ask during an interview to help you pick the right candidate for the job.
Tell Me About Yourself
If the candidate goes on and on about all the great things they’ve achieved, they may be a little self-centred. A good manager has people skills and a natural ability to communicate well with others. Your SEO manager has to be a team player who’s willing and able to share work, pass out constructive criticism when needed, and be someone who enjoys working closely with people.
Tell Me About Your Link Building Strategy
It’s important for an SEO manager to know the ins and outs of link building. A good candidate will go beyond the typical answer that goes something like this ‘I gain links from relevant sites’.
A good candidate will tell you about link outreach campaigns they’re run in the past. It’s also important to hear that they know link building for one site is not the same as it is for another. For example, effective link building for an educational site is conducted differently than one for an insurance site.
Tell Me About Your Biggest Accomplishment at Your Last Job
Most people can list what tasks they were assigned at their last job, but can’t tell you what they actually did in that role. A good candidate for the role of an SEO manager will be happy to tell you the details of a major impact they’ve made for a client in the past.
Briefly Explain What a Search-Friendly Site Looks Like
While this question is rather basic, the answer you get can tell you a lot. For instance, if the candidate mentions things like ‘keyword density must be X percent’ or ‘duplicate content doesn’t matter’, they’re probably not right for the role.
A good answer will include things like keyword research, site structure, ease of navigation, mobile optimisation, internal linking, site maps, title tags, and page load times.
Tell me About Google’s Latest Algorithm Update
A good candidate will keep up with the latest Google updates that affect SEO. While it’s not necessary for an SEO manager to know every small tweak Google makes, they should know the major algorithmic updates that significantly impact SERPs.
What SEO Tools Do You Use?
A good SEO manager will use some of the most popular SEO tools like Google Analytics, Ahrefs, MOZ Pro, SEMRush, and Google’s Keyword Planner. Steer clear of any candidate who says they don’t need the help of many tools because they’ve got the skills needed to strategize, analyze, and implement the many SEO tactics.
An SEO manager needs to be a team player with insight and the ability to recognize goals and identify trends that may impact those goals. He or she should also have an excellent understanding of the factors Google looks at when ranking websites. Since search engine optimisation is always revolving, an SEO manager has to roll with the flow and adapt their strategies accordingly.