10 Real SEO Interview Tasks from UK Companies

If you’re applying for SEO roles in the UK – especially SEO Executive / SEO Specialist / Junior SEO – the interview task is usually where offers are won or lost.

Most students practice theory.
Employers test how you think.

Below are 10 real SEO tasks our mentees have received from UK agencies and brands.
Use them to practise, build a portfolio and understand what companies actually expect.

How to Use These Tasks

• Don’t rush. Pick one task at a time and treat it like a real brief.

• Timebox yourself (2–4 days depending on the task).

• Present your work as a deck the way you would in an interview.

• Focus less on finding “perfect answers” and more on clear thinking, prioritisation and communication.

Task 1 – Sainsbury’s Technical SEO Growth Plan

Client: Sainsbury’s – https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/

Scenario:
Sainsbury’s wants to grow organic traffic by 15% over the next 12 months.
You’re the Technical SEO Executive on the account.

Your task – Part 1:

• Identify key technical SEO challenges on the site.

• Outline a prioritised list of technical opportunities that could drive tangible impact.

• Explain why you’re prioritising them (effort vs impact, risk, dependencies).

Part 2 – AI angle:

• Explain how you’d like the SEO team to leverage AI for this client
  (e.g. auditing at scale, log-file insights, internal linking ideas, QA support etc.).

Task 2 – Holistic SEO Audit for Sleepy People

Client: Sleepy People – https://sleepypeople.com/

Your task:
Analyse the website and share recommendations across:

• Technical SEO (crawlability, speed, indexation, structure)

• Content (category pages, product copy, blog, intent coverage)

• Backlinks (authority, gaps, opportunities)

Deliver a short report with prioritised actions.

Task 3 – Topic-Focused Content Audit: “Gender Discrimination”

Client: BrightHR article –
https://www.brighthr.com/articles/equality-and-discrimination/gender-or-sex-discrimination-at-work-with-examples/

Your task:
Optimise this page for the broader topic of “gender discrimination at work” – not just the exact term.

Make recommendations across:

• Content: coverage, depth, examples, internal linking

• On-page / hygiene: titles, headings, internal anchors, CTAs

• Technical: page speed basics, mobile, structure

• Links: internal links, external authority opportunities

Task 4 – Holistic SEO Strategy for Psicon

Client: Psicon – ADHD & Autism Assessments – https://www.psicon.co.uk/

Your task:
Review the website holistically and provide your top 3–5 SEO ideas to grow organic traffic, e.g.:

• Specific content ideas (guides, service pages, FAQs)

• Technical levers (indexation, architecture, site speed)

• Link-building angles (partnerships, digital PR, resources)

You don’t need deep technical skills or paid tools – the company wants to see:

• How you think about SEO,

• How you prioritise,

• How you’d explain it to a client.

Task 5 – Global SEO & AI for Van Cleef & Arpels

Client: Van Cleef & Arpels

• UK: https://www.vancleefarpels.com/gb/en/home.html

• US: https://www.vancleefarpels.com/us/en/home.html

Scenario:
They want to increase organic visibility across both traditional search and AI / LLM-driven experiences in the UK & US.

Your task:

1. Campaign Objectives & KPIs

   • What’s the end goal? (e.g. non-brand traffic, category visibility, assisted revenue)

   • How would you measure success (in theory – no GA4 access)?

2. Growth Opportunities

   • Specific technical and content optimisations for UK & US sites.

   • Explain what you’d change and why it matters.

3. Generative Search Optimisation

   • Actions to appear strongly in AI answers / overviews
     (topical authority, structured data, content depth, entity work).

4. Market Trends

   • Identify trends in luxury e-commerce and suggest how Van Cleef can stay ahead.

Task 6 – Micro-Campaign for LookFantastic

Client: LookFantastic – https://www.lookfantastic.com/

Your task:
Create a micro-campaign to promote a new product or range on the UK site.

Include (2–3 slides):

• What the product/range is

• Who the target audience is and why

• Where the content will live (on-site, blog, video, socials, email)

• How SEO fits into the campaign (landing page, supporting content, search intent)

Task 7 – Multi-Part SEO Assessment (Content, SOPs & Strategy)

You’re asked to complete three fixed tasks plus one optional from the list.

Mandatory tasks:

1. Content Refresh – Joel & Son Fabrics

   • Page: https://www.joelandsonfabrics.com/pages/silk-jacquard-fabric-guide

   • Compare against competitors, suggest edits, additional sections, UX/content features that improve SEO performance.

2. SEO SOP Creation

   • Create a step-by-step SOP for a common SEO task
     (e.g. writing meta titles, doing keyword research).

   • It should be clear enough for a junior to follow.

3. Content Gap Brief for Kent Brushes

   • Site: https://kentbrushes.com/

   • Identify a non-blog content piece that would improve EEAT.

   • Research, create a content brief, use AI to draft, then edit to reduce AI footprint and fully optimise.

Optional tasks (pick one in the real assessment):
4. Create 5 custom AI prompts for SEO work.
5. Google Business Profile optimisation plan for a local brand.
6. Schema strategy + sample code for Kent Brushes.
7. Find 5 backlink opportunities for The Hawksmoor and explain your approach.

Task 8 – Travel SEO Task for a Holiday Brand

Client: HolidayBest (via agency interview) – https://holidaybest.com/

Scenario:
You’re given a travel client whose organic performance is under-delivering.

Your task:

• Do a strategic SEO audit of the site.

• Identify 3–5 technical or on-page issues and how you’d prioritise fixing them.

• Pick one core destination page and:

  • Suggest 5–10 keywords

  • Share optimisation ideas

  • Outline a simple measurement plan (KPIs, tools, time frame).

This is usually assessed via a short deck or live presentation.

Task 9 – SEO Opportunity Analysis for National Rail / Railcard

Client options:

• https://www.nationalrail.co.uk

• https://www.railcard.co.uk

Your task:
Choose one site and create a light-touch SEO opportunity analysis for a single page or section.

Cover:

1. Page chosen & why (importance, poor performance, opportunity).

2. Observations & insights – titles, headings, content, speed, mobile, keyword use.

3. Recommendations – concrete next steps (technical & content).

4. Competitor insight if helpful.

5. Tools used (free versions are fine).

Present as a 15–20 minute slide deck.

Task 10 – Keyword Research Strategy for American Express

Client: American Express Benefits –
https://www.americanexpress.com/en-gb/benefits/

Scenario:
Amex wants to improve organic performance for the Benefits page and attract more qualified traffic.

Your task (conceptual – no actual keyword research required):

1. Understanding the brief

   • How would you clarify objectives, audiences, and success metrics?

2. Approach to keyword research

   • Steps you’d take (brainstorming seed keywords, mapping intent, competitor review).

   • How you’d analyse volume, difficulty, intent and relevance.

3. Tools and data sources

   • Which tools you’d use (e.g. GKP, Ahrefs, SEMrush) and why.

4. Organising & prioritising keywords

   • How you’d group them (by intent, funnel stage, product type).

   • How you’d prioritise which to target first.

5. Communication

   • How you’d present findings to stakeholders
     (summary deck, detailed sheet, dashboards).

Final Thoughts

If these tasks feel intense, that’s because real SEO work is intense.
This is what UK employers expect from SEO Executives, not just from managers.

You don’t need to solve everything perfectly.
But if you can look at any website and:

• Identify issues

• Spot opportunities

• Explain your thinking clearly

…you’re already ahead of most applicants.

If you’re an international student and want help getting job-ready for SEO roles in the UK,
this is exactly what we train for inside the SEO Bootcamp using real tasks like these, not theory.