How to Prepare for a Technical SEO Interview

What Makes Technical SEO Interviews Different?

When you apply for a digital marketing role, you may expect questions about keywords, backlinks, or social media. But a technical SEO interview is different. It focuses on your ability to make a website search-engine friendly from the backend. Recruiters want to know if you can identify and fix technical issues that stop a site from ranking.

Unlike content SEO, where you talk about keywords and articles, here you will need to explain things like:

• Why a site is not getting indexed.
• Why Googlebot cannot crawl certain pages.
• Why site speed is poor even after optimisation.

This is why preparation is important—you need to revise fundamentals, practise with tools, and learn how to explain things simply.

Why Do Companies Focus on Technical SEO?

In India, more companies are investing in SEO because paid ads are expensive. They want long-term, organic traffic. But without good technical SEO, even the best content will fail.

For example:

• If a site has thousands of broken links, Google will not trust it.
• If pages load in 6 seconds, users will leave before reading.
• If mobile-friendliness is poor, rankings will drop because of mobile-first indexing.

That’s why recruiters check technical SEO knowledge—to see if you can deliver real business results.

What Basic Concepts Should You Revise Before the Interview?

Here are some topics you must revise in detail:

• Crawlability – Understand robots.txt, crawl budget, internal linking, and orphan pages. For example, if a product page is not getting crawled, you should check whether it is linked from other pages.
• Indexation – Know how to use Google Search Console to check which pages are indexed and how to fix “Crawled but not indexed” errors.
• Site Architecture – A good site should be like a library: clear categories, subcategories, and easy navigation.
• Page Speed – Learn optimisation methods like image compression, minifying CSS/JS, lazy loading, and using CDN.
• Mobile Friendliness – Revise responsive design, AMP, and mobile-first indexing.
• HTTPS & Security – SSL certificates are now must-haves. Know how to check if a site is secure.
• Structured Data – Schema markup helps in getting rich snippets. Learn how to implement and test it.

If you can explain these topics with examples, recruiters will feel confident about hiring you.

What Tools Should You Be Comfortable With?

Companies expect you to know the tools that make technical SEO easier. You don’t have to be an expert in all, but you should know what they are used for.

• Google Search Console (GSC) – For index coverage, sitemap submission, Core Web Vitals.
• Google Analytics (GA4) – For understanding user behaviour.
• Screaming Frog – A crawler that shows broken links, missing tags, and duplicate content.
• Ahrefs / SEMrush – Not only for backlinks but also for site audit reports.
• PageSpeed Insights / GTmetrix – For testing speed and Core Web Vitals.
• Rich Results Test – For checking structured data.

Tip: If you don’t have access to paid tools, practise with free trials or free versions so you can confidently talk about them.

What Technical SEO Interview Questions Should You Expect?

Recruiters may ask both theory and practical questions. Here are some examples with short model answers you can practise:

1. What is crawl budget?
   → The number of pages Googlebot crawls on a site within a given time. Large sites need better crawl budget optimisation.
2. How do you handle duplicate content?
   → Use canonical tags, 301 redirects, and parameter handling in GSC.
3. What are Core Web Vitals?
   → LCP (Largest Contentful Paint), CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift), FID (First Input Delay). These measure speed and user experience.
4. How do you check if a page is indexed?
   → Use “site:URL” search on Google or check GSC’s URL inspection tool.
5. What is robots.txt used for?
   → To block or allow crawling of certain pages.
6. What is hreflang?
   → An attribute that helps Google serve the right language or regional URL to users.
7. How do you fix slow-loading pages?
   → Compress images, enable caching, reduce server response time, use CDN.

How Should You Explain Your Experience in Interviews?

Employers want to hear real stories, not memorised textbook answers. Structure your answers in the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result):

Example:

• Situation: “Our company site was loading in 6 seconds.”
• Task: “I had to reduce loading time.”
• Action: “I optimised images, enabled caching, and used a CDN.”
• Result: “The site speed improved to 2.5 seconds, and bounce rate dropped by 18%.”

This shows clear problem-solving ability.

How Do You Practise Before the Interview?

Instead of just reading, practise hands-on:

• Take a small blog or demo website.
• Run a crawl with Screaming Frog.
• Check speed in PageSpeed Insights.
• Implement one or two schema markups (FAQ, Article).
• Test changes with Rich Results Test.

This will give you confidence to say, “I worked on this issue myself.”

How Do You Prepare for Problem-Solving Questions?

Interviewers often test your thought process. Example:

Question: “A website suddenly lost 50% traffic. What will you do?”
Answer:

• Step 1: Check if it’s seasonal or algorithm update.
• Step 2: Check GSC for coverage or penalty issues.
• Step 3: Analyse traffic drop by page and source in GA.
• Step 4: Check if any major technical changes were made.
• Step 5: Suggest solutions like fixing crawl errors, improving Core Web Vitals, or re-submitting sitemap.

This systematic approach shows that you can diagnose and fix problems.

How Do You Prepare Your Resume for a Technical SEO Role?

Many candidates forget that resume is part of the interview. Your resume should:

• Highlight technical SEO skills like site audits, Core Web Vitals optimisation, structured data.
• Mention tools you have worked with.
• Add results in numbers (e.g., “Improved site speed by 45%” or “Increased indexed pages by 30%”).
• Keep it clear and simple—avoid heavy jargon.

Should You Practise Mock Interviews?

Yes, mock interviews can help you remove nervousness. You can:

• Ask a friend to ask you technical SEO questions.
• Record yourself explaining crawlability or site speed fixes.
• Practise giving answers in 2–3 minutes (not too long, not too short).

This will prepare you to speak confidently.

What Are the Latest Trends in Technical SEO You Should Know?

Recruiters may ask about future trends to see if you stay updated. Revise these topics:

• AI in SEO: How Google uses AI like RankBrain and BERT.
• Core Web Vitals: Still a ranking factor.
• Mobile-First Indexing: Priority on mobile pages.
• E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness): Content trust signals.
• IndexNow protocol: Bing and other search engines use it.

Even a basic awareness of these will impress employers.

What Soft Skills Help You in a Technical SEO Interview?

Technical SEO is not just about tools. You also need:

• Communication Skills – to explain technical issues to non-technical teams.
• Problem-Solving Skills – to diagnose ranking drops.
• Teamwork – to work with developers, designers, writers.
• Learning Attitude – SEO changes fast; you must keep learning.

What Mistakes Should You Avoid During the Interview?

• Don’t memorise definitions—explain with examples.
• Don’t ignore basic concepts while focusing only on advanced ones.
• Don’t say “I don’t know” in a negative tone—say “I’ll check and get back.”
• Don’t try to bluff—interviewers can spot it easily.

Final Tips to Succeed in a Technical SEO Interview

• Revise all fundamentals.
• Practise with real websites.
• Prepare structured answers with examples.
• Update yourself with latest SEO news.
• Stay confident, clear, and practical.

If you prepare in this way, you will not only crack the interview but also build a solid base for your SEO career.