On-Page SEO Quiz: Test Your Knowledge and Learn Best Practices

Correct answers: A, C, E

On-page SEO factors are elements you can directly control on your website. These include:

• Title tags with targeted keywords - These appear in search results and browser tabs, helping search engines understand your page content.
• Header tags with proper structure - Using H1, H2, H3 tags helps organize content and signals to search engines what's important.
• Optimized meta descriptions - While not a direct ranking factor, these impact click-through rates from search results.

The number of social media followers is an off-page factor, and paid backlinks violate Google's guidelines and can result in penalties.

Correct answer: B

The ideal meta description length is between 120-160 characters. Google typically displays about 155-160 characters in search results before truncating with ellipses. A well-crafted meta description within this range:

• Accurately summarizes page content
• Includes relevant keywords naturally
• Contains a compelling call-to-action
• Improves click-through rates from search results

While Google may sometimes generate its own snippets regardless of your meta description, providing an optimized one gives you control over how your page is presented in search results.

Correct answers: A, C, E

Page speed is a confirmed ranking factor for both desktop and mobile search results. Here's why the correct practices help:

• Optimizing images - Properly sized and compressed images load faster while maintaining quality. Using next-gen formats like WebP can further improve loading times.
• Browser caching - This stores commonly used resources on users' devices, reducing server requests on repeat visits.
• Minifying CSS/JavaScript - Removing unnecessary characters and whitespace reduces file sizes and improves loading speed.

Multiple large JavaScript files increase loading time, and excessive plugins often add unnecessary code bloat and HTTP requests that slow down your site.

Correct answer: B

A well-structured URL like "www.example.com/blog/seo-best-practices-guide" is optimal for SEO because it:

• Is descriptive and clearly indicates page content
• Contains relevant keywords in a natural way
• Uses hyphens to separate words (Google recommends hyphens over underscores)
• Has a logical hierarchy (blog category followed by specific post name)
• Is concise and readable for both users and search engines

Dynamic URLs with parameters (option C), dates and IDs without context (option A), or excessively long, keyword-stuffed URLs (option D) are less effective for SEO and user experience.

Correct answers: B, C, E

Modern SEO has evolved beyond simplistic keyword density metrics:

• No perfect percentage - Google's algorithms use many factors beyond simple keyword counting.
• Synonyms and related terms - Semantic search understands topic relevance, not just exact keyword matches. Using related terms demonstrates depth.
• Natural content - Writing for human readers first typically creates the appropriate keyword balance without artificial manipulation.

High keyword density (options A and D) can trigger over-optimization penalties and create a poor user experience. Google's advanced language models like BERT understand context, making keyword stuffing both unnecessary and potentially harmful.