15 questions, 5 weeks and 5 books: almost 700 people took the 2008 SEO quiz challenge.
Note to the reader: this article was originally posted on our Italian blog on December 2nd. The quiz targeted an Italian audience; we’ve published this translation in order to allow a wider audience to follow search marketing developments in Italy.
Why a SEO quiz
The idea of the quiz came from reflections on the state of SEO knowledge and usage in Italy, observed from the perspective of a SEO practitioner.
Search engines, with Google in particular (question 1), are the gate keepers between us and the net. We use search engines not only to search for information that we imagine is out there somewhere, but also to navigate to a specific site, such as Fiat, or to perform a task, such as buy a ticket for a Tiziano Ferro concert (question 15).
Several years ago, in a previous job, I began to realize how SEO knowledge was rather limited even among web professionals. A representative for a well known information technology company said at one point “you just have to pay”, as if a bribe would do the trick. The year before, a “SEO” company had implemented a solution based on doorway pages on web sites created for the purpose, already an outlaw tactic at the time.
I believe that times have improved. But it is still necessary to dispel many common SEO myths that are hard to die, ranging from the importance of the meta tag keywords (question 7) to how blogs are already optimized for search engines. I’m even more puzzled by how little investment is currently made in search engine marketing, particularly for visibility in organic results (~80% of clicks) 1.
John Wanamaker2 noted that the results of traditional advertising are notoriously difficult to measure when he observed ironically,
“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half“
The beauty with search engine marketing is that this problem disappears – we can measure almost everything.
In times of crisis, or at least the perception of crisis, is it not appropriate to privilege media where we can measure results?
But who deserves the blame?
If overall SEO knowledge, and consequently its application, is quite low (and not just in Italy), the primary responsibility most likely rests with SEO professionals. Our role is to credibly inform and train people regarding SEO’s potential. I’m passionate about search engines and web analytics. Through this SEO quiz and my various presentations in public, I hope to share some of this passion together with a greater knowledge of how search engines work.
The SEO quiz results
Tough questions
The multiple-choice questions were difficult as revealed by the answers. At the same time, with more than 200 factors that could affect the results of a search query (question 4), it is necessary that a true SEO expert possess a vast panorama of the state of search engines yesterday, today and tomorrow. There is no pretext that the questions are comprehensive: 15 questions are too few in comparison to the more than 200 factors considered by Google. Some important topics, such as keyword selection and link management, are not even mentioned. They are definitely topics for likely inclusion in the next edition of the SEO Quiz, 2009.
Your comments
As indicated in the Italian writeup of the SEO quiz after the first week, most of the comments are of the type “Question 5 is not quite clear…” or “complex and interesting enough as a test. Many questions may have more than one right answer. Congratulations”. To these we can add “I don’t know a thing about SEO ” and “Some questions are poorly conceived: If I read «… could affect ranking…» I think could? SEO is made of elements and data which are certain … in my opinion questions that can not be verified with a test should be avoided, even if they are part of commonly accepted wisdom, i.e. «everyone says»… just my two cents“.
The last comment is particularly revealing as it highlights a significant issue in search engine optimization. SEO is composed of factors that can be isolated and verified. The answer regarding the meta keywords tag (question 7) is a good example. Yet SEO also depends on the search engine algorithms, algorithms that are not published and are subject to change over time. That these algorithms are applied to the entire world wide web means it is not always possible to isolate and test a search engine optimization hypothesis. Consequently, a part of SEO is subjective as some have noted. The important point here is subjective from what basis? Rumors? Or are opinions derived from experience in the Information Retrieval (IR) field and an ability to think like Google, i.e. …if I were Google…. Concrete experience does make a significant difference. I prefer that my medical doctor or airline pilot have decades of experience in the field to augment text book theory. It is the experience that helps us to decide how much weight to give to each factor. I can share your frustration at having to deal with some potentially ambiguous questions, but SEO is also about the uncertainties that are part of the game. Precisely for this reason the quiz was launched in a light hearted manner:
It seems that the summer fun is now over, but not so fast: it’s time to check, just for fun, your SEO knowledge!
The official answers
For each question I have indicated the official answer and, when appropriate, a source for the answer. It should be noted that in a multiple choice test, the goal is to choose the best answer – that doesn’t mean that the other answers are totally wrong. Now that you see the answers, you can form a definitive opinion on whether the questions were sufficiently clear (without the wording of a question implicitly giving away the answer!). In the event that you believe there is a better answer to the official one, fine – we’ll use the “wisdom of crowds“ to improve. Just explain your reasoning and cite third party sources to justify your position.
| 1 | Which is the most important search engine in Italy?
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| 2 | In how many search engines should a new website be submitted?
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| 3 | In what year was the service to insert new sites suspended for one or more European Yahoo! directories?
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| 4 | How many signals, or factors, does Google use in determining search results ranking?
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| 5 | Google allows me to see the PageRank of my site or part of my site in how many different places?
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| 6 | How often does Google update the PageRank displayed in the Google toolbar?
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| 7 | Which search engines sometimes use the keywords meta tag for ranking?
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| 8 | For a multinational company with a presence in Poland, is it better to use a specific domain, to use separate folders on a generic top-level domain or to use sub-domains?
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| 9 | Who provides natural and paid results to Arianna – Libero?
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| 10 | Google may ban a site from its index, which has:
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| 11 | Usage of Google Analytics could affect the ranking of a site in Google?
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| 12 | Spends on Google AdWords advertising can benefit natural visibility in Google?
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| 13 | Which search engines accept payment for consideration (but not the ranking) of pages in their organic results, so-called paid inclusion?
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| 14 | Using the Google Toolbar could help the visibility of my site in Google?
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| 15 | According to an Altavista researcher, later at IBM and now at Yahoo!, what are the three types of queries asked of search engines?
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Table 1: The best answers to the SEO Quiz
The grades
Perhaps the questions were difficult, but your answers were on the whole very encouraging. From the chart below note that the vast majority of respondents got at least one third of the questions right. More than 20% of you have responded correctly to at least half of the questions. Not bad considering that most respondents are not SEO professionals (there aren’t many of us!). The picture is even more positive if we drill down into the details. Many of you may have chosen a wrong answer, but one very close to the right answer (question 3 (2004) and question 4 (100)).
Other questions, though having an official answer (Usage of Google Analytics could affect the ranking of a site in Google?), by their nature are difficult to verify independently. As indicated in the comments to the answers, a more skeptical response is not always completely wrong.
| Grade | No. of correct answers | %Totals (676 respondents) |
|---|---|---|
| 80% | 12 4 respondents (1%) | |
| 73% | 11 13 respondents (2%) | |
| 67% | 10 27 respondents (4%) | |
| 60% | 9 31 respondents (5%) | |
| 53% | 8 85 respondents (13%) | |
| 47% | 7 100 respondents (15%) | |
| 40% | 6 108 respondents (16%) | |
| 33% | 5 118 respondents (17%) | |
| 27% | 4 96 respondents (14%) | |
| 20% | 3 56 respondents (8%) | |
| 13% | 2 26 respondents (4%) | |
| 7% | 1 10 respondents (1%) | |
| 0% | 0 2 respondents (0%) |
Table 2: Distribution of grades
Who participated?
Participants are divided about fifty-fifty between those who come from business / marketing areas and those with a technology background, responsible for developing and managing websites. I was also glad to see some SEO colleagues among the participants.
Five lucky people received a copy of Marco Massarotto’s Internet PR
A copy of the book Internet PR was awarded to
- Pietro Casaluci
- Laurent Belin
- Bernardo Manzitti
- Aldo Fontana
- Laura Bolletta
Hearty congratulations to each and a special thanks to Marco Massarotto for having worked with us on this initiative.
Next steps
A personalized email
All those who provided an e-mail address will receive the table of answers with their responses highlighted. If you participated and the e-mail doesn’t arrive within 24 hours:
- check the “spam” folder using webmail and your email client if you’re using one (you can add sean -a+t- antezeta.com in your contacts to avoid this problem)
- Send me an e-mail with your full name, e-mail and, if you kept it, your unique confirmation code. In case you have not provided your contact details in advance, you must supply your confirmation code.
Subscribe to the rss feed
Consider subscribing to this blog’s rss feed to stay updated on developments in search engine marketing. Periodically you’ll find a new article which could be of use in a current or future project. We also have a partial list of previous SEO and Web Analytics articles. You can also subscribe to our newsletter that is sent out from time to time.
Follow search engine developments as seen by a very authoritative source
The articles published at Search Engine Land, particularly those written by Danny Sullivan, are worth your attention. Danny has a journalistic background and has been objectively analyzing search engines since 1996.
Submit a question for the next edition of the SEO Quiz, 2009.
The SEO quiz has been a lot of fun and its time to start preparing for next year. But now it is up to you to suggest (sean -a+t- antezeta.com) a question, possibly providing the answer and authoritative sources to justify the official answer.
Attend a SEO course
If time is limited, a seo course might be a good solution. One common key to the success of leading companies is their investment in quality training. They know that education is inexpensive relative to the value of an employee who has been provided the appropriate tools needed to be proactive and fully operational.
Start a SEO project for your online presence
If you want to make the most of your online presence, let’s talk. We offer consulting on search engine optimization and the other elements of web marketing, web analytics included.
Share your participation in the SEO quiz
Feel free to add the quiz badge to your blog or website.
<a href="http://www.antezeta.it/blog/quiz-seo-esito-2008/"><img alt="Il quiz seo" src="http://www.antezeta.it/i/ho-fatto-il-quiz-seo.gif" style="border:0;width:220px;height:60px;" /></a>
Thanks to everyone who participated in the quiz!
1 Source: Google drops 80/20 search bomb. Previous studies have yielded similar results (iProspect, 2004, Jupiter Research, 2005)
2 Attributed to Lord Leverhulme as well
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Registration is now open for the next SEO Course (May 14 and 15) and Google Analytics Course (May 9 and 10) in Milan. Don’t miss the opportunity!
Sean Carlos is a web marketing consultant & teacher, assisting companies with their Search (SEO + PPC = SEM), Social Media & Digital Media Measurement strategies. Sean first worked with text indexing in 1990 in a project for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Since then he worked for Hewlett-Packard Consulting and later as IT Manager of a real estate website before founding Antezeta in 2006. Sean is an 
Hi Sean,
After reading such a serious discussion about the SEO Quiz, you can relax with this humorous cartoo quiz.
http://www.aims.co.il/seo-cartoon-quiz.html
Test your Internet marketing knowledge. Get over 70% and you can paste the SEO QUIZ badge on your site. There is only one correct answer. Good luck!
Paul