SEO Manager Interview Questions UK: 8 Real Questions and What Interviewers Want

Applying for a SEO Manager job in the UK? Here is what you are likely to be asked. These questions come from our SEO Manager question bank of 16 questions, written for UK employers at manager level.

Eight SEO Manager interview questions, and what the interviewer is thinking

1. How would you build an SEO strategy for a business from scratch, and what would you do in the first 90 days?

Why they ask: To test strategic thinking and ability to prioritise.

2. What does an SEO Manager do day to day, and how is it different from the executive role?

Why they ask: To check you understand the shift to leadership and strategy.

3. How do you forecast SEO performance and build a business case for investment?

Why they ask: To test commercial credibility, as SEO outcomes are uncertain.

4. How do you manage SEO risk during a major site migration or replatform?

Why they ask: To test experience with the highest-risk SEO event.

5. How do you build topical authority and demonstrate E-E-A-T through a content strategy?

Why they ask: To test content strategy depth beyond keywords.

6. How do you approach international SEO, and when would you use hreflang, ccTLDs or subfolders?

Why they ask: To test knowledge of multi-market SEO.

7. A Google core update hits and the site loses 25 per cent of organic traffic. The managing director wants answers by tomorrow. What do you do?

Why they ask: To test crisis response and calm communication.

8. Tell me about a time you led an SEO project that delivered significant growth.

Why they ask: To test leadership and outcome delivery.

A sample answer to question 1

How would you build an SEO strategy for a business from scratch, and what would you do in the first 90 days?

In the first month I'd listen and learn: business goals, revenue drivers, customers, previous SEO work and constraints such as developer capacity. I'd benchmark current performance from Search Console, GA4, rank tracking and a technical crawl, and review competitors' share of visibility. Month two is about diagnosis and planning: a technical audit, a content and keyword gap analysis tied to commercial value, and a view of authority and links. I'd turn this into a roadmap with three themes: technical foundations, content and information architecture, and authority building, each with estimated effort, impact and owners. In month three I'd deliver quick wins like fixing indexation problems, optimising high-impression pages and cleaning up internal links, while starting longer lead-time projects such as new content hubs. Alongside, I'd set measurable targets, such as non-brand clicks, revenue from organic and share of voice, agree reporting cadence with the leadership team, and secure buy-in from product, development and content teams, because SEO depends on them.

Common mistake to avoid: Delivering a generic audit; setting no measurable targets

Want the rest?

Full model answers, key points and common mistakes for all 16 questions are on the SEO Manager interview questions page. The first five are free, no sign-up needed.