As hard as it is to assess ANY job candidate’s knowledge, it’s even harder with SEO candidates because there’s so much gray area in the industry. This blog series presents questions you can pose to help you determine a candidate’s level of knowledge.
What percentage of a website’s traffic should come from Google? Where should the rest come from and what percentages?
You’re not looking for exact percentages but rather a general idea of how the candidate sees organic search falling into the overall traffic spectrum. You also want to discuss other areas traffic sources that should be contribute to a site’s success and by what margins. The candidate should show that they understand the value of bringing in traffic from multiple sources, not just Google (or organic search).
Here’s how I would answer:
I like to see organic traffic providing no more than 50% of a site’s overall traffic. That’s not to put a limit on the organic, but rather ensure that you’re taking the time to diversify your traffic sources overall. Ideally, organic traffic would only be about 30%, with paid traffic capturing 30% and the remaining traffic coming from social, links, direct and other forms of marketing.