Best interview questions for a Link Builder

Link Builder Interview Questions

You’ll find a list of potential Link Builder interview questions further down below. When looking for a successful candidate, ideally you want someone with:

Extremely strong knowledge of search engine optimisation (SEO)
Analytical and data driven mindset
Great communication skills, both verbal and written
Motivation to stay up to date with link building news and best practices

Interviewing a Link Builder

Are you searching for an excellent Link Builder? Then it will soon be time to get to know the candidate a little better in a job interview. With our Link Builder interview questions, your interview is prepared quickly and easily.

Please note:
These interview questions are best for use early on during the interview process and for candidates with average work experience. That’s why they are a little more general.

How to open the job interview

One expert tip that will change the tone of your future interviews is to dedicate the first few minutes to putting the candidate at ease. This can be done by asking one or two lightweight questions.

This section of the interview won’t take long but will mean that once you get to the more technical link building interview questions for experienced candidates, they feel comfortable and able to fully demonstrate their abilities.

Job Description available

See our Link Builder job description here

For the interview

A positive opener to start

What has been your journey so far?

What do you enjoy most about being a Link Builder?

Behavioral Questions

Why did you choose to specialise in this very specific area of SEO?
This question gives you a good idea about what drives them for this role, as well as their career progress so far.
Tell me about a time you came up with a creative idea for a link-building campaign. What was it, and what was the result?
This is the candidate’s time to shine! Link building often consists of trying to think outside the box, coming up with creative ways of attracting backlinks.
Tell me about a time a campaign didn’t deliver as planned. What did you do, and how did you prevent it from happening in the future?
The opposite of the previous question: Sometimes campaigns don’t deliver as planned. See how the candidate deals with failure and how they learn from it.

Soft Skills

Are you comfortable explaining your link-building strategies in an easy-to-understand way to large groups or senior management?
Often the Link Builder will have to get buy-in from higher management before they can execute their strategies. Presentation skills are therefore important for the role, as they will have to convince management to give the go-ahead.
How are your negotiation skills?
Link Builders often have to reach out to potential link donors and negotiate for the best deals possible. That’s why the ideal Link Builder is also a great negotiator (and sales person)!
Do you stay on top of industry news and trends? How do you apply this to your work?
The candidate should show interest in the field and enjoy the industry they are working in. It also shows how dedicated they are to making the best of their work.

Hard Skills

How would you rate your knowledge of technical SEO?
The candidate should have extensive knowledge about technical SEO in general and be able to demonstrate this with examples.
What types of link-building techniques do you have experience with?
Here, the candidate should be able to list several common (and less common) techniques, such as sponsored blogs or guest blogs.
Which analysis tools do you have most experience using, and which do you prefer to use?
Should be able to give a list of helpful content tools along with their pros and cons. This should give you a better understanding of their experience level.
How long would you say does the typical link building campaign take for you, before you start seeing significant results?
A practical question that not only shows you how knowledgeable they are, but also gives you an insight into the timeframe in which you can expect to really see if the candidate is delivering.

Operational / Situational Questions

Imagine someone in top management suggests you use black hat SEO practices to reach results more quickly. How do you respond?
The field of SEO consists of white, grey, and black hat tactics, the latter often not being that ethically or morally sound. This question tests the candidate’s moral compass and helps you find out if their values and way of working align with yours.
Imagine you received buy-in from your manager to go as high as 2K for a single backlink, but they request 3K instead. What do you do?
The candidate should be comfortable with first trying to negotiate a better price with the external site, before requesting an increase of budget from the own manager. Of course, they should also always take into consideration (and calculate) whether the link is actually worth the higher price.
Imagine you agreed to receive a backlink from a website for at least two years, but a month later you notice they already removed the link from their site. What do you do?
Although most companies won’t remove links, especially not if a timeframe was agreed, it does still happen. Find out how the candidate will respond to this.