There have been quite a few SEO jobs on the market in 2026. Our specialist SEO Recruiter, Stanley Onacha, has been in heaven.
But SEO interviews can be harder than people expect, even when the role itself looks like a perfect fit on paper.
Why?
Because a good SEO interview isn't about reciting ranking factors, listing every tool you've ever used, or proving you know the most technical terminology in the room. It's about showing how you think. Or more specifically, how you diagnose problems, prioritise work, and connect SEO activity to business outcomes.
Don't undersell your value
SEO attracts analytical, detail-oriented people. That's a strength. But in interviews, I often see candidates become so focused on explaining the process and the tools that they forget to explain the impact.
One of the easiest ways to avoid this is by using the STAR framework:
Situation: What was happening?
Task: What were you responsible for?
Action: What did you do, and why?
Result: What changed?
A weak answer might be:
"I ran a technical audit and fixed a range of site issues."
A stronger answer sounds more like:
"The business wanted to increase organic leads, but key service pages were underperforming. I reviewed search intent, internal linking, and content structure, then prioritised updates to the pages most likely to drive enquiries. Rankings improved for several priority terms and the pages started generating more qualified leads."
The difference isn't length. It's context.
Let the interviewer see your thinking, your priorities, and the outcome of your work.
SEO interviews change as you become more senior
We spoke with Krina Pandya, SEO Director at MBM, about what she looks for when interviewing SEO candidates.
One thing I found really interesting was how interview expectations evolve as your career progresses.
At junior level, Krina is looking for curiosity, structured thinking, and a solid understanding of SEO fundamentals. Can you explain your process clearly? Do you understand why you're doing something, not just how?
At mid-level, the focus shifts towards ownership and problem- solving. Can you work independently? Can you explain SEO to people who aren't SEO specialists? Can you connect your work to business outcomes?
At senior and director level, the conversation becomes much more commercial. Leadership, strategy, stakeholder management, and business impact start to matter just as much as technical expertise.
It's a good reminder that SEO interviews don't necessarily become more technical as you become more senior. They become more commercial.
Don't hide behind the tools
Tools matter, but they're not the whole story. Hiring managers are rarely impressed by a long list of platforms if you can't explain what you used them for.
At the end of the day, the tools are interchangeable. Your thinking isn't.
So, rather than saying: "I've used Ahrefs, SEMrush, Screaming Frog and GA4."
Explain how you used those tools to make decisions. Something like:
"I combined crawling data, keyword insights, and analytics data to understand whether performance issues were technical, content-related, or demand-related. From there, I prioritised recommendations based on commercial impact and how easy they were to implement
That tells an interviewer far more than a software list ever will.
Expect scenario questions
Most SEO interviews include scenario-based questions.
You might be asked what you'd do if organic traffic dropped suddenly. How you'd approach a site migration. Or why rankings might improve while conversions stay flat.
These questions aren't designed to catch you out. They are designed to understand how you think
Do you ask the right questions? Do you separate assumptions from evidence? Do you prioritise properly? Do you think commercially?
Stanley often says the difference between an average SEO candidate and a great one is rarely technical knowledge alone. It's the ability to explain why something matters to the business, and what happens if it isn't addressed.
Curiosity matters
Another theme that stood out in our conversation with Krina was curiosity.
SEO changes constantly. Search behaviour changes. Algorithms evolve. AI reshapes how people discover information.
Because of that, she often asks candidates what they're reading, who they're following, and how they're keeping up with changes in the industry. It's a simple question, but it tells you a lot.
The candidates who stand out are usually the ones who are naturally curious. They're paying attention, testing ideas, and actively learning. That often tells a hiring manager more about someone's future potential than their last job title.
Avoid the common red flags
Both Stanley and Krina highlighted a few recurring mistakes.
One of the biggest is claiming ownership of work that you can't properly explain. Trust me, interviewers spot this surprisingly quickly.
Other common red flags include:
I'd take a thoughtful, well-structured answer over an impressive sounding one every day of the week.
Prepare properly
Before the interview, spend some time looking through the company's website.
Review their content. Look at their search visibility. See what competitors are doing. Think about where there might be opportunities.
You don't need to walk in with a full SEO strategy, but having a few informed observations shows curiosity, initiative, and genuine interest in the business. And it usually leads to much better conversations.
Final thought
SEO interviews aren't about proving you know everything. They're about proving you know how to create value with what you know.
Show how you think.
Show how you prioritise.
Show how your work connects to business outcomes.
That's what hiring managers remember.
Got a question for an upcoming #AskAmelia?
Email me at askamelia@campfirerecruitment.co.nz, and your question could be featured in the next post.