HubSpot SEO II Certification Exam Answers

Mariah is performing an SEO competitive analysis on her client’s website. She identifies that their backlink profile is relatively weak, primarily because her client believes backlinks are a trend and isn’t interested in investing in them. However, she notices that their top competitors have received backlinks from a few reputable news agencies and aggregator sites. As a result, they are outranking her client in the SERPs. How should Mariah approach this situation with her client?

• Mariah should educate her client on the value provided by high-quality backlinks, then suggest a strategy of approaching the same sites which link to their competitors and ask for a similar backlink to their website.
• Mariah should send her client information from popular SEO blogs about backlinks, then propose that she start a cold outreach campaign to 100 relevant websites to ask for links.
• Mariah should instead focus on content marketing and creating more high-quality blog posts.

Explanation: Mariah should educate her client on the value provided by high-quality backlinks, then suggest a strategy of approaching the same sites which link to their competitors and ask for a similar backlink to their website. By explaining the importance of backlinks in SEO and showcasing how their competitors have benefited from links from reputable news agencies and aggregator sites, Mariah can demonstrate the potential impact on her client’s search engine rankings and online visibility. Encouraging her client to pursue backlinks from these authoritative sources aligns with best practices in SEO and presents a tangible strategy for improving their backlink profile and competitiveness in the SERPs. This approach not only addresses the immediate issue of backlink deficiency but also fosters a collaborative relationship between Mariah and her client, where strategic decisions are made based on data-driven insights and industry expertise. Therefore, the correct answer is Mariah should educate her client on the value provided by high-quality backlinks, then suggest a strategy of approaching the same sites which link to their competitors and ask for a similar backlink to their website.

Which of the following does Google consider a good CLS score?

• 0.1
• 0.5
• 1.0
• 2.5

Explanation: The correct answer is 0.1. Google considers a CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) score of 0.1 or less to be indicative of a good user experience. CLS measures the visual stability of a webpage by quantifying the amount of unexpected layout shifts that occur during the page loading process. A CLS score of 0.1 or lower suggests minimal or imperceptible layout shifts, ensuring that users can interact with the page content without experiencing disruptive changes in layout or content positioning. Achieving a low CLS score is essential for delivering a smooth and enjoyable browsing experience, as it reduces the risk of user frustration and improves overall user satisfaction. Therefore, website owners and developers should strive to optimize their websites to achieve a CLS score of 0.1 or less, aligning with Google’s standards for quality user experience and enhancing their website’s performance in search engine rankings.

Jeremiah is an in-house SEO specialist for a car rental company with locations across the U.S. He works closely with the firm’s web designer, Maria, who mentions to him that she’d like to contextualize the site’s homepage by displaying the nearest car rental pickup spot based on the user’s location. Jeremiah thinks this is a great idea, but has concerns about how it may slow down the site. What solution could Jeremiah employ to keep the functionality while maintaining the site speed?

• There is no solution to keep this functionality and avoid slowing down the page, resulting in decreased performance. Therefore, Jeremiah should recommend that Maria not use it.
• Use an open source web bundler to combine all the JavaScript on the homepage, placing it at the bottom of the page.
• Put the JavaScript that generates the site location in the HTML of the page where it’s needed, and keep non-essential JavaScript in the page footer.

Explanation: The correct answer is Put the JavaScript that generates the site location in the HTML of the page where it’s needed, and keep non-essential JavaScript in the page footer. Jeremiah can address Maria’s desire to contextualize the site’s homepage with the nearest car rental pickup spot while also mitigating concerns about site speed by strategically placing JavaScript code. By embedding the JavaScript responsible for generating the site location directly within the HTML of the page where it’s needed, Jeremiah ensures that this essential functionality loads efficiently and quickly. Meanwhile, non-essential JavaScript, such as scripts for analytics or third-party plugins, can be deferred and loaded asynchronously in the page footer, allowing critical content to render first without being blocked by slower-loading scripts. This approach optimizes the loading process, prioritizing essential functionality while maintaining overall site speed and user experience. By implementing this solution, Jeremiah enables Maria to enhance the site’s contextualization without compromising performance, ultimately achieving a balance between functionality and speed that benefits both users and search engine optimization efforts.

What is minification?

• The process of reducing resource size by removing unnecessary comments and spacing in the source code
• The process of replacing repetitive pieces of code with markers directing to the first instance of that code
• The process of redirecting large groups of URLs in batches during a site move
• The process of moving large JavaScript files to the bottom of a page for all non-essential functions

Explanation: The correct answer is The process of reducing resource size by removing unnecessary comments and spacing in the source code. Minification is a critical optimization technique used in web development to improve website performance by reducing the size of CSS, JavaScript, and HTML files. This process involves stripping out unnecessary characters such as comments, whitespace, and line breaks from the source code without altering its functionality. By minimizing file size, minification reduces network latency and bandwidth consumption, resulting in faster page loading times and improved user experience. Minification is often automated through build tools or online services, allowing developers to streamline their codebase efficiently and enhance website performance without sacrificing readability or functionality. Overall, minification is an essential practice for optimizing web pages and ensuring optimal loading speed, especially in today’s digital landscape where speed and performance are crucial factors in user satisfaction and search engine rankings.

Dana is an SEO freelancer working with a client who is redesigning their website. The client’s designer has come up with a design that uses four custom fonts, but Dana voices their concern that this could have a negative impact on the site’s performance. How can Dana explain this issue to their client, and what solution can they propose?

• Using custom fonts is looked up unfavorably by Google, as they prefer designers to use exclusively Google fonts to promote their brand. The designer should use Google fonts in order to comply with these guidelines.
• Using more than two fonts of any kind can confuse users, provide a poor user experience, and increase the page’s LCP. Instead, the designer should use just a single Google font across the entire site.
• Using more than two custom fonts can cause fonts to flicker on loading, showing a flash of unstyled text. This is a poor user experience and increases the CLS score. Instead, the designer should try to find comparable Google fonts to use.

Explanation: The correct answer is Using more than two custom fonts can cause fonts to flicker on loading, showing a flash of unstyled text. This is a poor user experience and increases the CLS score. Instead, the designer should try to find comparable Google fonts to use. Dana can explain to their client that incorporating multiple custom fonts can lead to a phenomenon known as ‘flash of unstyled text’ (FOUT), where text briefly appears in a default font before being replaced by the custom font, causing a jarring visual experience for users. This issue not only detracts from the website’s aesthetic appeal but also contributes to a poor Core Web Vitals metric, specifically the Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) score, which measures visual stability. Dana can propose using comparable Google fonts as an alternative, as Google fonts are widely supported, load quickly, and are less likely to cause FOUT. By adhering to this approach, the client can maintain a visually appealing design while optimizing performance and user experience, aligning with best practices for web development and SEO.

Select all that apply. Which of the following can negatively impact your CLS score?

• Images and iframes without inline dimensions
• Large items like YouTube video embeds or image sliders
• Dynamically injected content
• Improperly loaded custom webfonts

Explanation: The correct answers are Images and iframes without inline dimensions, Dynamically injected content, and Improperly loaded custom webfonts. Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) measures the visual stability of a webpage by quantifying how much its content shifts during the loading process. Elements such as images and iframes without specified dimensions can cause layout shifts because the browser needs to allocate space for these elements once they load, leading to unexpected content movement. Similarly, dynamically injected content, such as ads or pop-ups loading after the initial render, can disrupt the layout and trigger layout shifts. Moreover, improperly loaded custom web fonts can also negatively impact CLS, especially if the browser initially renders text using default fonts before swapping them out for custom ones, resulting in noticeable layout shifts. Large items like YouTube video embeds or image sliders can contribute to poor CLS if they cause sudden and significant changes to the page layout upon loading. By addressing these factors and optimizing the loading behavior of web elements, website owners can improve their CLS scores, enhance user experience, and potentially boost their search engine rankings.