The digital marketing landscape demands that SEO professionals continuously develop and refine their skills through practical exercises. For businesses, implementing regular SEO exercises helps maintain website health and improve search visibility. This article explores various SEO exercises and work samples that can benefit both SEO practitioners and businesses looking to hire or evaluate SEO talent.
SEO Work Samples for Hiring SEO Specialists
Work sample exercises provide a practical method for evaluating a candidate's actual abilities rather than relying solely on interview performance. The following exercises, as outlined by Yardstick, assess the essential skills of an SEO Specialist: technical knowledge, analytical capabilities, strategic thinking, and communication abilities.
Website SEO Audit and Recommendation Report
This exercise evaluates a candidate's ability to identify technical SEO issues, analyze on-page elements, and provide actionable recommendations. A thorough SEO audit requires analytical thinking, attention to detail, and the ability to prioritize improvements based on potential impact.
For companies implementing this exercise: - Select a section of your company website (3-5 pages) or a small test website with intentional SEO issues - Provide the candidate with access to the website URL and basic analytics data (if available) - Allow candidates to use their preferred SEO tools (Screaming Frog, SEMrush, Ahrefs, etc.) or provide access to company tools - Allocate 60-90 minutes for this exercise, including time for presentation - Prepare a list of known issues to compare against the candidate's findings
For candidates completing this exercise: - Use SEO tools to crawl and analyze the provided website - Document technical issues, on-page optimization problems, and potential improvements - Prioritize recommendations based on potential impact - Present findings in a clear, actionable report
On-Page Content Optimization Exercise
This exercise evaluates a candidate's ability to optimize webpage content while maintaining readability and user engagement.
For companies implementing this exercise: - Select an existing webpage that needs optimization or create a sample page with intentional SEO issues - Provide the candidate with: - The webpage content in an editable format - 2-3 target keywords for the page - Basic information about the target audience - Allocate 45-60 minutes for the exercise - Prepare to evaluate both technical optimization and content quality improvements
For candidates completing this exercise: - Optimize the provided webpage content for the target keywords: - Revise the title tag and meta description - Improve heading structure (H1, H2, H3, etc.) - Optimize body content (keyword placement, density, readability) - Suggest internal linking opportunities - Recommend additional content elements (FAQs, callouts, etc.) - Submit both the optimized content and a brief explanation of changes made - Be prepared to discuss how optimizations balance SEO best practices with user experience
SEO Performance Analysis and Reporting
This exercise evaluates a candidate's ability to analyze SEO performance data and communicate insights effectively. While the source materials don't provide detailed directions for this exercise, it would typically involve:
- Analyzing website performance metrics (traffic, rankings, conversions)
- Identifying trends and patterns in the data
- Creating visual representations of key findings
- Developing actionable recommendations based on the analysis
- Presenting findings in a clear, concise report
Yoast SEO Workouts
Yoast SEO offers "workouts" - actionable SEO exercises focused on specific tasks that can be overwhelming when dealing with large websites. These workouts guide users through repetitive SEO tasks to help maintain website health and improve rankings.
Internal Linking Structure Improvement
The first Yoast SEO workout focuses on improving internal linking to help rank with the content that businesses want to rank with. This three-step exercise works with cornerstone content - the most important articles on a website that should rank highest.
The workout includes: 1. Identifying cornerstone content 2. Determining how many internal links point to each cornerstone 3. Adding additional internal links to strengthen the authority of cornerstone content
Effective internal linking helps Google understand the site structure and prioritize the most important content for ranking.
Content Cleanup for Orphaned Pages
The second Yoast SEO workout addresses unlinked content - posts and pages that don't receive any internal links from other content on the site. This "orphaned content" is difficult for both Google and visitors to find.
The workout helps users: - Identify orphaned content - Update this content to improve its quality and relevance - Create internal links pointing to these pages - Ensure all content fits properly into the site structure
These workouts are accessible through the Yoast SEO tab in WordPress, with additional workouts planned for future releases. The premium version of Yoast SEO unlocks all available workouts.
SEO Certification Exercises
HubSpot's SEO II Certification includes several practical exercises that help learners apply SEO concepts in real-world scenarios.
Google Page Experience and Core Web Vitals Audit
This exercise involves auditing a website for its page experience and Core Web Vitals scores. Participants document their findings and identify any issues discovered during the audit. For those without access to dedicated SEO tools, the exercise recommends signing up for free trials to complete the audit sections.
Technical SEO Audit
In this exercise, learners plan and conduct a technical SEO audit of a website. The exercise helps participants identify technical issues that may impact search visibility and user experience.
Website Migration Planning
This exercise guides participants through the planning phase of a website migration, whether real or fictional. It helps learners understand the complexities of site moves and the importance of proper planning to maintain SEO performance during transitions.
Competitive Analysis
The final SEO certification exercise involves conducting a competitive analysis to identify opportunities to stand out against competitors in search results. Participants analyze competitor strategies and develop approaches to differentiate their own websites.
SEO as an Ongoing Exercise
Rinard Media presents an analogy between SEO and physical exercise, highlighting that effective SEO requires consistent effort rather than quick fixes. This perspective emphasizes that SEO is not a one-time task but an ongoing process.
The Backlink Exercise Analogy
Backlinks are metaphorically equivalent to exercise in this analogy. Just as regular physical activity strengthens the body, consistent backlink acquisition strengthens a website's authority and search visibility. Without this "exercise," websites may not reach their full potential in search rankings, even with strong on-page optimization.
The analogy emphasizes that developing a strong, recurring backlink strategy is key to maintaining long-term SEO health, while also cautioning that on-page optimization should not be neglected. As the article states, "Exercise is only really effective with a good diet."
SEO as a Lifestyle, Not a Diet
The article outlines five steps for maintaining website health through consistent SEO practices: 1. Recognizing when a website needs improvement 2. Removing low-quality content and adding valuable content 3. Understanding that on-page optimization is only part of SEO - backlinks are also essential 4. Implementing a backlink campaign to "exercise" the website 5. Adapting to Google's algorithm changes over time
This perspective positions SEO as an ongoing process that requires continuous attention and adaptation, similar to maintaining physical fitness through regular exercise and proper nutrition.
Conclusion
SEO exercises serve multiple purposes in the digital marketing landscape. For businesses, they provide a method to evaluate potential SEO hires through practical demonstrations of skills. For SEO professionals, they offer opportunities to develop and refine their technical abilities. For website owners, regular SEO exercises help maintain site health and improve search visibility.
The various exercises discussed - from technical audits and content optimization to internal linking improvements and competitive analysis - cover the full spectrum of SEO activities. By implementing these exercises consistently, businesses can develop a more robust online presence and adapt to the evolving search landscape.