Outsourcing SEO Work...

chhhad

chhhad

Junior Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2011
Messages
195
Reaction score
27
Hi,

I've hired a few workers through oDesk and I wanted to get everyone else's opinion on the quality of work. If you've ever posted on oDesk, you know the people replying to the ad can be from all levels of experience. Not one of them won't try to convince you they're the biggest expert on whatever you're asking for, so it's hard to weed through the shit talkers. Feedback and work hours are good signals but even then, who knows what they're doing, esp. when there's language barriers and other factors.

Any advice for getting the most out of outsourcing? I have about 40 domains I purchased that I need to get built up (such a long process as a one man team) and once they have some good content I'll be passing on the backlink jobs to some outsourcers. Just scary handing everything over and trusting these people won't spam the hell out of your sites.
 
Advertise on BHW
Have you hired through oDesk?
 
Rules of oDesk:

1. You get what you pay for.

2. 1 out of 20 are actually competent.

3. If you're serious enough, ask for references and check up on their work history.
 
From the freelancers POV, I'd like to add a 4th rule about oDesk that will hopefully answer your question...

4. If a client is offering slave wages, offer a discount when they need you to fix the mess created by the low quality freelancer they end up hiring.

Ok, that sounded mean. But it's my first thought about oDesk. I hardly ever go there anymore because it's ridiculous what some people expect for so little. With that being said, it's not all about money but it is about what you expect for your investment. It's not realistic to get great results for pennies... and since you mentioned backlinks I'd make sure you hire somebody who has the right answers to your questions about how they'll get it done.

What questions are you asking in your job listing, to make sure that applicants won't bring down the mighty Penguin hammer on any of your sites?
 
especially if it can be fucked up, odesk is not the place. But why don't you hire someone who does a script for you what does what you want? Then you can check stuff first.
 
What you might want to do....

1. Hire a full time writer/spinner

2. Buy Ultimate Demon

3. Set up all your own campaigns so you know what you are getting!

Obviously you need to know a little bit about SEO. Make sure you have a diversity in URl's your linking in along with keywords and duration of linking to tier one and two. This way you can't blame anyone else except yourself.

You take your time to hire a writer/spinner to get a good quality person to train for a full time position of 40 hours a week (virtual asistant) $300 month.

UD $ 400.00 (one time)
Proxies $20 month

Golden!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

chhhad said:
Hi,

I've hired a few workers through oDesk and I wanted to get everyone else's opinion on the quality of work. If you've ever posted on oDesk, you know the people replying to the ad can be from all levels of experience. Not one of them won't try to convince you they're the biggest expert on whatever you're asking for, so it's hard to weed through the shit talkers. Feedback and work hours are good signals but even then, who knows what they're doing, esp. when there's language barriers and other factors.

Any advice for getting the most out of outsourcing? I have about 40 domains I purchased that I need to get built up (such a long process as a one man team) and once they have some good content I'll be passing on the backlink jobs to some outsourcers. Just scary handing everything over and trusting these people won't spam the hell out of your sites.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Out sourcing is great but like everything you get out what you put in. I have around 10 contractors that are all sorts of experts, usually busy and very reliable and trustworthy. I have had my share of fails.

What I usually do now to find new talent is place a simple job in the area of expertise I am looking for, and state I want it done that day. I then award that job to perhaps three contractors, small money so no tears and the one that performs best I usually then offer the next stage and that can normally leads to a working relationship.

It doesn't hurt to pay a small bonus or milestone if everything is going well either.

There's no free lunch but I have found over the last 4 years or so some very good quality workers.

Hope that helps.
 
References are key at places like odesk and freelancer. Most people put up bogus reviews, so if you can get references and actually email or skype with their references, that's the best.

It's a pain, and takes some time, but it's the most successful way to find an outsourcer that's actually worth the trouble.

Or, you know, you could just hire a company like mine who has already found a trusted network of outsources and let us do the work for you ;)
 
I have a lot of experience with Odesk. part of it is great and part of it is very bad.

In my opinion outsourcing is great, however, you must know how to manage your stuff, and how to find the right person for the right job.

I suggest you to interview your workers by odesk messages and interview at least 10 candidcates for each Job, I usually take the interview into skype for the second stage.
Ask them for referances, see thier past work, and try to get the most experinced worker.

I suggest you also to search for people who did exactly the same you are looking for and invite them to apply to your job application.

Cheers & Good Luck
 
I personally like the seo packages in the buy/sell/trade forum of this website. People will post reviews of what their results are. I've had bad results with places like fivrr and odesk. Too many people hawking bad services. They're just a bunch of, "yes men" with little results most of the time.
 
Outsourcing is awesome however, everybody learns through their own experiences. If you want to learn more about outsourcing I would recommend that you look for "outsource force" by John Reese who's an expert on outsourcing...other than that, first you have to look for references and work portfolio, secondly, it pays well if you put them on probation first before hiring them on full time....this might save you a headache. Third, don't go for established firms, they will mess up your work. Always deal with individuals!
 
Well for me there is two sorts of outsourcing

1. Paying Someone For A Service That I Don't Want To Do Myself
2. Hiring a VA

In the first one luckily enough on BHW we have several reputable BST Threads that can meet some needs - but I would never use a Fiverr Seller for those type of more advanced jobs.

Secondly something I have just become involved in - VA's tend to work slowly and they do the minimum amount of work you would accept - in order for their payment. This I guess is natural on their behalf but you got to realize going in - your getting 50% of the work at 65% of the quality.

There is a place for outsourcing without doubt - but you always have to protect your sites / niches etc so using different people for different tasks has to be a priority .... and the reason it's needed is that it's impossible to do everything all the time - otherwise you will just burn out and lose focus.

Just my 2 cents.
 
cloakme said:
What you might want to do....

1. Hire a full time writer/spinner

2. Buy Ultimate Demon

3. Set up all your own campaigns so you know what you are getting!

Obviously you need to know a little bit about SEO. Make sure you have a diversity in URl's your linking in along with keywords and duration of linking to tier one and two. This way you can't blame anyone else except yourself.

You take your time to hire a writer/spinner to get a good quality person to train for a full time position of 40 hours a week (virtual asistant) $300 month.

UD $ 400.00 (one time)
Proxies $20 month

Golden!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

this. save yourself the headache of dealing with incompetent workers especially if you have hired low wage workers. you get what you pay for
 
Thanks for all the advice everyone. And lolz to the "what's oDesk" peeps.

Regarding "slave wages"...I post a project on oDesk and it never fails that I get 50-100 applications from 3rd world countries, where they express their interest with a copy and paste application of their basic skills. I don't think I've ever received a bid from someone in the US. These people are hungry for the pennies they'll work for, but the quality of the work is the question. I was just impatient but if you take the time to talk to the contractor, check out their feedback and such, you can weed out the low quality ones.
 
The OP sounds more like he's looking for fiverrs than serious long term stuff.
 
ThopHayt said:
The OP sounds more like he's looking for fiverrs than serious long term stuff.
Click to expand...

Don't know what caused you to think that... I was merely pointing out the fact that a vast majority of the applicants I've had through oDesk are low quality, hence why I'm asking for advice or referrals for good contractors.
 
elance is one of the best. If you are looking for high quality, then go for it.
 
hey m8 I want to chime in here... I have used both elance and odesk a lot over the last few years. I have hired over 30 people in total!!! Also tried hiring people from digitalpoint, but never from here. I found that the quality on odesk is absolutely horrible. I just quite simply stopped using them. It is just not worth the time investment. You need to realize big companies have an HR person who manages this entire task all day long! You need to find someone who is VETTED already...

Elance has lots of quality stuff going on, but you will be paying a lot more money. You will find quality but you must be careful there as well. Even though you will see many people from western countries they are not always going to deliver value.

I find the more clear you are on your goal of what you expect to get, the better the overall outsourcing experience is.
 
Advertise on BHW
You must log in or register to reply here.
Sign up now!

Main Menu

Home Main Forum List Black Hat SEO White Hat SEO BHW Newbie Guide Blogging Black Hat Tools Social Media Downloads

Marketplace

Account Selling Content / Copywriting EBooks / Methods Hosting Misc Proxies For Sale SEO - Link building SEO - Packages Social Media Social Media - Panels Web Design More

Making Money

Affiliate Programs Hire a Freelancer IM Journeys Making Money Pay Per Click Site Flipping Want to Buy

BlackHat World

Dispute Resolution Forum Suggestions & Feedback Introductions Lounge
Back
Top