# When developing a backlink strategy, what approach would be most beneficial? - [x] Guest post the article to as many sites as possible - [ ] Create an infographics and share it with relevant bloggers - [ ] Create diverse and unnatural links - [ ] Distribute links in comment sections of websites # What is a key reason the URL `domain.com/apparel/jackets` is preferable to the URL `domain.com/p=141`? - [ ] It is longer - [ ] It is not preferable - [ ] It uses structured markup - [x] It is readable to a human # Which HTTP response status code would indicate a page has been moved permanently? - [ ] 410 - [ ] 302 - [ ] 200 - [x] 301 # You notice a website is serving HTML to a Search Engine than to a human user. What is this an example of? - [ ] Spam injection - [x] Cloaking - [ ] Sneaky Redirect - [ ] Splicing # What would significantly improve Google's ability to a non-YouTube video in its Search Results? - [ ] Provide a 150 x 80 pixel thumbnail image - [x] Add Schema.org VideoObject - [ ] Convert .mp4 videos to .mov - [ ] Embed video objects with JavaScript conditionals # Google primarily determines indexing and ranking by crawling which version of a page? - [x] Responsive version - [ ] Submitted version - [ ] Mobile version - [ ] Desktop version # You want to identify which US state has the most search interest for a particular keyword. What tool would help you determine this? - [ ] Google Analytics - [ ] Google Keyword Planner - [ ] Google Search Console - [x] Google Trends # You want to block crawlers from accessing your entire website. What robots.txt entry would you use? - [ ] ```markdown User-agent: Allbots Disallow: \* ``` - [ ] ```markdown User-agent: / Disallow: \* ``` - [ ] ```markdown User-agent: / Disallow: ``` - [x] ```markdown User-agent: \* Disallow: / ``` # Which result is most likely if you use an interstitial pop-up that requires a user to take action before you load the content of the page? - [ ] Both the pop-up and the content of the page will be indexed - [x] The pop-up will be indexed instead of the desired body content - [ ] An interstitial pop-up is treated the same as a soft 404 - [ ] The pop-up will be ignored, and the content of the page will be indexed correctly # You notice a particular product in an e-commerce storefront is no longer indexed, despite no technical issues. What is a likely reason for this? - [x] No title or meta description tags were provided - [ ] The Keywords is too competitive - [ ] Robots.txt is configured to allow access - [ ] The product is out of stock # All byline dates for articles are suddenly no longer visible on a `website's` listing within Google Search. Assuming no changes have been made to the site programming or content, what is the most likely cause? - [ ] The site has been delisted from Google Search - [ ] A Google News sitemap was not provided within 30 days of setting up a publisher center account - [ ] The site kept updating the dates to make the content appear fres, without changing - [x] The articles have aged more than 365 days without any significant updates to the content or the site # Which approach is not advisable to Geo-targeting your website? - [ ] Using a gTLD with subdomain - [x] using URL parameters - [ ] Using a ccTLD - [ ] Using a gTLD with a subdirectory # You have been asked to help a big e-commerce brand optimize their website for search engines. They currently have thousands of products listed on their website. What is your most appropriate first step? - [ ] Recommend that they add more products - [x] Work on compressing image files - [ ] 302 redirect all product pages to URL that contains target keywords - [ ] Register the business with a Google My Business account. # What Does The Term "Sandbox" Mean In SEO? - [ ] The Box With Paid Ads That Appear When You Perform A Search. - [x] This Is Where Sites Are Kept Till They Get Mature Enough To Be Included In The Top Rankings For A Particular Keyword - [ ] A Special Category Of Sites That Are Listed In Kid-safe Searches - [ ] The First 10 Search Results For A Particular Keyword. # What Is Anchor Text? - [ ] It Is The Main Body Of Text On A Particular Web Page - [ ] It Is The Text Within The Left Or Top Panel Of A Web Page - [x] It Is The Visible Text That Is Hyper Linked To Another Page - [ ] It Is The Most Prominent Text On The Page That The Search Engines Use To Assign A Title To The Page # Which Google search query should be used to return only PDF documents that reference Microsoft? - [ ] Microsoft + .pdf - [ ] "Microsoft" + "pdf" - [ ] Microsoft AND "pdf" - [x] Microsoft filetype:pdf # Which link is not crawlable? - [ ] `` - [x] `` - [ ] `` - [ ] `` # Which choice represents the best header structure? - [x] ```markdown H1: How to Bak Bagels H2: Ingredients H3: Dry Ingredients H4: Wet Ingredients H2: Instructions H6: Reviews ``` - [ ] ```markdown H1: How to Bak Bagels H1: Ingredients H1: Dry Ingredients H1: Wet Ingredients H1: Instructions H2: Reviews ``` - [ ] ```markdown H1: How to Bak Bagels H2: Ingredients H3: Dry Ingredients H3: Wet Ingredients H2: Instructions H2: Reviews ``` - [ ] ```markdown H1: How to Bak Bagels H2: Ingredients H4: Dry Ingredients H5: Wet Ingredients H6: Instructions H1: Reviews ``` # All byline dates articles are suddenly no longer visible on a website's listing within Google Search. Assuming no changes have been made to the site programming or content, what is the most likely cause? - [ ] The site has been delisted from Google Search - [x] The site kept updating the date to make the content appear fresh, without changing the content. - [ ] The articles have aged more than 365 days without any significant updates to the content or the site. - [ ] A Google New sitemap was not provided within 30 days of setting up a Publisher Center account # What is an example of a Google search result that can be found in position zero? - [ ] Google Ads result - [x] featured snippet - [ ] related searches - [ ] autocomplete # When creating accessible video content, what should you consider including? - [x] transcript - [ ] thumbnail - [ ] Flash Player - [ ] event tracking # You are optimizing a website that sells supplies for banking donuts. Which approach is most appropriate to drive more organic traffic? - [ ] Buy donutbakingsupplies.com and 301 redirect to your website - [ ] Add the keyword "donut supplies" to every page. - [x] Create a new blog with high-quality donut recipes - [ ] Join a link farm to rapidly build inbounnd links. # Why is it important to be mindful of outbound follow links? - [ ] There is a limit to how many links you can create. - [ ] all of these answers - [ ] Any follow links reduce your PageRank by 1. - [x] Your site's reputation is tied to the sites you link to. # Which statement is true about JSON-LD? - [ ] It has no relation to JSON. - [ ] It is the only structured data format available. - [ ] It is considered the most complicated approach to adding structured data. - [x] It is Google's preferred structured data format. # What is a key reason why duplicate content might cause an issue with ranking? - [ ] It creates an inability to use canonical URLs, which dramatically reduces crawl effectiveness, - [ ] It requires using a 302 redirect, which dilutes PageRank. - [ ] It triggers an immediate manual action penalty, which delists an entire domain until the duplicate content is removed. - [x] It makes it difficult for a search engine to determine the original and authoritative content source. # What attribute would you use to describe the content of an image? - [ ] tabindex - [ ] longdesc - [ ] src - [x] alt # You are researching keywords for a client and creating list for an optimization plan. Which is _not_ a recommended method of creating keyword lists? - [ ] synonyms and related words - [ ] queries about benefits, features, problems - [ ] how-to and question-based queries - [x] focusing on only high-volume, high-popularity words # You want to get a rough idea of how many searches per month a particular search term gets. Which tool do you use? - [x] Google Keyword Planner - [ ] Google Tag Manager - [ ] Google Search Console - [ ] Google Suggest # Changing the title tag and/or meta description will have a measurable impact on your \_. - [ ] RSS - [x] CTR - [ ] PPC - [ ] LSI # How do keywords change as people progress through the buying cycle? - [x] They move from simple to more complex as searchers gather more information and then refine their choices. - [ ] The stay simple, as searchers try to use as few words as possible. - [ ] The keywords do not change much at all. - [ ] They move from complex to simple, as searchers find answers to their questions. # Which technique is an example of black hat SEO? - [x] cloaking - [ ] keyword research - [ ] useful content - [ ] on-page optimization # A local accountant wants to start attracting more business directly from Google organic search. What is the best piece of advice to give to her? - [ ] Use the pharse "local accountant" as a keyword to focus her website on. - [ ] Focus on short-tail keywords. - [x] Register her business with a Google My Business account. - [ ] Leave a link to her website in the blog comments of popular accounting websites. # What is the anchor text in this code sample? `Blue Gloves` - [x] Blue Gloves - [ ] href - [ ] catalog/ - [ ] gloves.html # **\_** analysis allows you to review requests made to your web server to identify insights such as how ofter a crawler arrives, what pages have 404 errors, and most crawled pages - [x] Log file - [ ] HTTP/2 - [ ] Cron job - [ ] Resource packet # Which page title references content that is evergreen - [ ] Mega List of Teams Going to the Olympics - [ ] Complete Coverage of Microsoft's Latest Announcement - [ ] The Future of SEO in 2020 - [x] How to Reheat Pizza # You load a page and start reading an article, and suddenly the content on the page moves. What metric is used to quantify this impact on user experience? - [ ] First Meaningful Paint (FMP) - [ ] Recalculated Style Timing (RST) - [ ] Latent Loading Signal (LLS) - [x] Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) # What is this code is an example of? ``` ``` - [ ] meta tag - [ ] HTTP response - [ ] XML sitemap - [x] structured data # Which search query would be most difficult to determine search intent? - [ ] XBox live coupon - [x] Microsoft Office 365 - [ ] LinkedIn login - [ ] LAX airport directions # When you conduct a search, what are the bolded words within the search listing description? - [ ] suggested search terms - [ ] related search queries - [x] keywords that match the search query - [ ] words with a `` tag assigned in their meta description # Which acronym is used to describe the page a user sees after submitting a search? - [x] SERP (Search Engine Results Page) - [ ] INDX - [ ] PARS - [ ] SEM # Which statement is true regarding the use of social signals, such as LinkedIn shares, by Google in its ranking algorithm? - [ ] Google does not use social signals to determine rank - [ ] Social signals are identical to backlinks - [x] Social signals are used to determine topic authority - [ ] Social signals provide a benefit only if they have structured data markup # A user clicks an internal link resulting in this redirect chain: `http://domain.com -> https://domain.com -> https://domain.com/`. In this example, what is being consumed unnecessarily? - [x] redirect allotment - [ ] crawl budget - [ ] velocity scale - [ ] domain authority # You are planning for the development of an e-commerce website. Which approach will be more beneficial for rankings? - [x] Optimize the front page of your website to drive traffic from all category search terms. - [ ] Optimize product category pages to drive traffic from individual category search terms. - [ ] Optimize all pages on the site for all category search terms. - [ ] Optimize product pages to drive traffic from individual category search terms. # What is the relationship of click depth to PageRank? - [x] The deeper the click depth, the lower the PageRank - [ ] PageRank and click depth have no relation - [ ] The deeper the click depth, the higher the PageRank - [ ] Click depth and PageRank are equal # What is a popular technique for writing content with the goal of having it appear in a features snippet? - [x] Write the question in a headline tag, and then answer it below in a format that matches the snippet type. - [ ] Use the features snippet schema and apply an object that matches the correct snippet type. - [ ] Google manually generates featured snippets, so there is no special technique. - [ ] Submit the content through Google Search Console, and tag it with the correct snippet type. # What is a common best practice for handling search result pages on a blog's built-in site search? - [x] Set site research results to no-index. - [ ] Do not use site search. - [ ] Set site search to 404. - [ ] Add a canonical from the search result page to the home page. # What might help a search engine understand the difference between an article on a dog bark versus tree bark? - [ ] tertiary analysis - [ ] ranked choice trees - [x] semantic analysis - [ ] knowledge graphs # A webpage has this tag: ``. However, the Google search result for this page displays this title: \_Brad's Bagels: Baking Bagels in the Oven\_. What is a likely explanation? - [ ] The title tag was placed within the section of the webpage, but not before the meta content tags, so Google cannot identify the actual title. - [ ] The page is using structured data to define an alternative title object, which allows the search engine to pick a preferable version. - [ ] A breadcrumb navigation is in use, which overrides the title tag supplied in the HTML. - [x] Google generated a new title using text on the page that more closely matched the search query. # What alt attribute should be assigned to an image of a decorative line being used to separate content - [x] alt="" - [ ] alt="Thin black line being used to seperate two blocks of content" - [ ] alt="dec" - [ ] alt="thin-line" # Your site serves identical content when you visit domain.com/page or domain.com/page?ref=123. What should you implement? - [ ] parameter stripping - [ ] URL cloaking - [ ] a 302 redirect - [x] a rel=canonical link # What data vocabulary is most commonly used when marking up content on a page? - [ ] vocabulary.org - [ ] RDFa.org - [x] schema.org - [ ] data-vocabulary.org # According to Google, what type of content includes topics such as news, legal issues, financial advice, and medical information? - [ ] RSS - [ ] KYC - [x] YMYL - [ ] BDB **Explanation:** `Google describes YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) sites/pages as ones that could potentially impact a person’s happiness, health, financial stability, or safety.` # When would it be necessary to 301 redirect every page on a site? - [ ] when parameters are used in URLs - [x] when migrating from HTTP to HTTPS - [ ] when launching a new redesign - [ ] when creating a new subdomain **Explanation:** From article: [301 Redirects for SEO](https://ahrefs.com/blog/301-redirects/) (2020) # What would contribute to a low bounce rate? - [ ] Content does not match search intent. - [ ] Page returns 404 error. - [x] Content reflects search intent. - [ ] URL uses parameters. # What should be as consistent as possible across the web when developing a local SEO strategy? - [ ] backlinks - [x] NAP - [ ] LRP - [ ] inbound links 1. [reference](https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091) 2. [reference #2](https://www.smartinsights.com/search-engine-optimisation-seo/how-to-adjust-your-nap-profile-for-local-seo/) # A user enters a search \_ to retrieve results from a search engine? - [x] query - [ ] parser - [ ] bar - [ ] link # The search query "How to make donuts without yeast" is an example of what? - [ ] fresh keyword - [ ] operative keyword - [ ] short-tail keyword - [x] long-tail keyword # What tool enables companies to display extra information within the natural search results without the need of any structured data? - [ ] Google Input Tools - [ ] structured data testing tool - [ ] Google Tag Manager - [x] Google My Business # Your client is ready to start a blog. but has read that they should put the blog on a subdomain instead of subdirectory in order to create more external links to their website. How would you advise your client about this strategy? - [ ] Not only should the blog be on a subdomain, but each of the major navigation areas should be on separate subdomains in order to increase the number and value of the links into the primary domain. - [x] It is best to have the blog on a subdirectory and build links to primary domain. - [ ] It is an advisable choice as it will enable interlinking between the domains and increase the number of links. - [ ] The blog should be on a separate URL to avouud building too many links between the same domain or IP. # Blog author pages, each with only one sentence about the author, are at risk of being flagged as **\_** content. - [ ] non-indexable - [ ] irrelevant - [ ] biased - [x] thin # What is a common benefit to long-tail keywords? - [x] They are less competitive, and may have higher conversion rates. - [ ] Long-tail keywords are no longer relevant in today's SEO landscape. - [ ] They are less grandular, so you capture broader searches. - [ ] They are more competitive, but drive significantly more traffic. # You have been asked to help a big e-commerce brand optimize their website for search engines. They currently have thousands of products listed on their website. What is your most appropriate first step? - [ ] Set campaign goals. - [x] Conduct a technical audit. - [ ] Conduct a backlink audit. - [ ] Determine keyword strategy. # You are optimizing a large e-commerce website. Which strategy will likely yield the most organic traffic? - [ ] Launch a Smart Shopping Campaign in Google Ads. - [ ] Optimize the home page of your website. - [x] Optimize each product page with a unique product-specific keyword. - [ ] Optimize your product category pages. # Google's Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines describe that experts should write content, especially YMYL content. This is one of the principles seen in the commonly used acronym\_\_ - [ ] A.C.E - [ ] L-E-A-F - [ ] T.R.U.S.T.E.D - [x] E-A-T [Reference](https://moz.com/blog/google-e-a-t) # Why might using a subdirectory in place of a subdomain be beneficial? - [ ] Using a subdirectory is never preferable to using a subdomain. - [ ] The subdirectory will allow for keyword dilution. - [ ] The subdirectory will benefit from the backlinks the domain has acquired. - [ ] The subdirectory is better for the end user experience. # What is the best way to provide a search engine with crawl instructions? - [ ] Use the tag. - [ ] Use the search engine's Remove URL tool. - [x] Use a robots.txt file. - [ ] Use structured data # You are optimizing a site that receives a lot of user-submitted comments, many of which contain a promotional links. According to SEO best practices, how should you treat the comments? - [ ] Be sure links are using keywork-rich anchor tags - [ ] Disallow each link submitted - [x] Set links in comments to be Nofollow - [ ] Bold important keywords in comments # What is not a primary component of a SERP snippet? - [ ] Description - [ ] Title - [x] Cache - [ ] URL # A landing page with no internal or external links is an example of what? - [ ] Dynamic hierarchy - [ ] Doorway content - [x] Orphaned content - [ ] Flat Hierarchy