Outsource Link Building
10.21.10

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Link building can simply be described as building links on different websites so that they can link traffic back to a specific website. This practice is usually done by SEO companies, and many of them have started to outsource link building.

There are many methods of link building, including reciprocal link building, posting links on an online directory, listing in online magazines, and getting indexed by search engines. Link building is one of the services an SEO company offers. The primary function of an SEO company is to improve a website’s search engine ranking, and link building helps a lot.  Companies have realized that they can get this service much more efficiently when they outsource link building.

There has been a steady increase in the number of business process outsourcing operations in countries like the Philippines, China, and India. The first few companies specialized in voice processes. The first BPOs were call centers that were put up to handle customer support. Now, companies have branched out their services to include non-voice business processes such as IT support, human resource processes, and SEO. Link building is among those services. There are lots of companies now that outsource link building.

Companies have realized that business processes outsourced to countries like the Philippines are much more efficient and less expensive. Recruitment time is faster because of the availability of skilled workers. The talent pool is also highly qualified and less expensive to hire. Big multinational companies like IBM, Dell, and HSBC have established business process operations in these countries and employ thousands of local workers. Specialist SEO companies that offer link building services have followed suit and are now setting up their own operations.

The main objective when you outsource link building is still the same; you build inbound links to a website to increase traffic to that website. This used to be done by website administrators. Business owners would e-mail them and ask for permission to post a link on their website. Sometimes, they would even fax or call them up personally. Now, business owners have realized that it is more efficient and cost-effective to hire an SEO company that specializes in this service. Most of them used to do link building to increase traffic to their website. By doing this, they increased their visibility and meet more potential clients. Now, specialist link builders do the job for them, and they can do it faster and much better.

Outsource SEO to the Philippines
10.18.10

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Outsourcing has developed into one of the fastest-rising industries in the Philippines. Many companies have outsourced a variety of their business processes to companies in the country. Following this trend, companies now outsource SEO to the Philippines.

What is SEO? SEO, or search engine optimization, is the improvement of a particular website’s page ranking in a search engine. Many businesses want more visitors coming through their websites. The more traffic there is on those sites, the more visible they are online. As a result,  they get more potential clients.

When business owners realized that you could tweak a website so that you could improve its ranking on a search engine, the business of SEO was born. Initially, website administrators or the IT staff of a company would do SEO on their own website. This was a long and tedious process that took up time and money, which could have been used for the core elements of their business. This was not an ideal set-up for both the business owners and their employees. This is where outsourcing as a business practice came in. That’s why a lot of these companies outsource SEO to the Philippines.

The country has become a fast-rising star in the industry of outsourcing. This began in the late 1990’s when the first call centers were established in the country. A number of big multinational companies set up whole operations in the country to take advantage of the outsourcing boom.

Filipinos are preferred by Western companies because of their superb command of the English language. The country boasts of a high literacy rate and a labor force that is proficient in English. The first services that were outsourced to Philippine BPOs were voice-related support. Non-voice processes like graphic design, human resource processes, and SEO soon followed.

Companies that outsource SEO to the Philippines find that the strengths of the country’s workforce in voice processes are also needed in SEO. Techniques in SEO such as content writing and link building make use of English, so companies need someone with a good grasp of the language.

 As long as English is still used as the medium of business communication, Western companies will still prefer to do business with Philippine BPOs. The skill of the local workforce sets it apart from others, both as a valuable resource and an important industry partner. Along with other business processes, companies in the foreseeable future will still outsource SEO to the Philippines.

IT Outsourcing on a Global Scale
10.14.10

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More than sixty percent of the respondents to a survey of small businesses in the UK said that along with doing IT outsourcing, they were going to increase their information technology and web development budget. Companies are beginning to realize that it is much more efficient for them to hire a group of professionals to do their computer and internet-related work for them, rather than maintain a whole department or division of the company just to do those tasks at a higher cost. In this sense, the outsourcing of computer related work is experiencing a rise in practice and investment worldwide, not just in the UK.

IT outsourcing is, plain and simple, the hiring of a third party to do the internet and computer-related work of a company. These tasks could be data entry, software development, data conversion, and website design. Companies have found that it is cheaper and more efficient to hire a third party to do this work for them rather than hire, train, and maintain a department of IT professionals to do the work in-house.

The respondents in the UK survey wanted to use domestic freelancers for their IT work instead of IT outsourcing abroad. These freelancers weren’t needed after the recession, and instead of going back to the work force, they decided to make themselves available for freelance work. Small enterprises usually outsource their IT processes to them. However, this isn’t the best strategy for outsourcing. If you are going to outsource your processes, why not hire an offshore company of professionals, which would be cheaper and provide better output?

IT outsourcing as an industry is experiencing a rise worldwide, and if the trend continues, it will keep getting contracts in the billions of dollars. Despite a recent drop in investment, from $4 billion in December of 2009 to $3 billion in the second quarter of this year, this industry is still expected to grow. Along with other BPO industries, foreign investors believe that there is a bright future ahead for outsourcing in Asia, especially in the Philippines. This is also an industry where the effects of the global economic slump seem to have little effect, and growth can still be seen constantly.


When Article Submission Fails
10.08.10

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Using article submission to promote a website or a business became fashionable because search engines demanded that a website should have high quality inbound links and a lot of hits. Now, many webmasters and e-business owners write and post their articles on hundreds of websites dedicated to article submission. Some companies even offer SEO submission services as part of their marketing packages.

It’s been a few years since this trend began. Internet marketers are finding out that simply posting a lot of articles doesn’t get websites on the top ten search page results. Some find their websites doing well for a few months and then disappearing when search engines update their database. When this happens, that means article submission failed to give them the online presence they wanted.

What’s wrong, then?

Many of these online marketers post in article directories that do not get indexed in search engines. That means that they don’t allow search engines to look for articles within their database. When people use search engines to look for a pair of shoes, for instance, they will not be able to find the article that links back to your website. No one can find your article or website unless they search for it within the article directory, and no one does that.

Is directory submission worth the effort? The answer is yes. But you have to up the ante.

  1. Write in a short and humorous tone. Don’t use words like “proclivity” which will require the reader to open a new tab and look up what it means (if he doesn’t stop reading your article right there). Simple, direct and conversational articles work better because the ideas just flow from your article to your reader. Keep a light tone. Obviously, no one reads up on something to get bored.
  2. Make sure that your article is keyword-optimized. 
  3. Grab your reader’s attention by using catchy headlines. A headline is your article’s face, so make sure you give it a good one. From the headline, make it appear that your article is going to be fun to read. Don’t put a headline like “Information on How to Take Care of A Beagle” for an article that talks about how to take care of a beagle. That’s just too boring. If for nothing else, a nice headline will make your article look different on the list.
  4. Submit articles to directories that actually promote the articles within their website on search engines.
  5. Don’t try too hard to please your readers. Just write about what you know. The sincerity of your article will come off naturally if you do. Express the topic you are writing about in your own words and try not to copy other people’s content.

How to Have the Best Virtual Assistant
10-06-10

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It’s starting to seem like having a good, honest virtual assistant (VA) is an urban legend---everybody speaks of it, everybody recalls stories of it, but no one really knows the details. A lot of people who look for virtual assistance end up frustrated by the VA’s lack of organizational or social skills. More often than not the issue is communication.

The next time you look for virtual assistant services, call it Finding the One. You should make it clear from the very beginning what you expect of your VA. You will find that by clearing up all the gray areas, you will save yourself a lot of frustration.

How to carry out Finding the One:

  1. Write a great job description. In the Philippines, virtual assistant directories will require you to create or upload a document that specifies what you need. Instead of saying “I need an honest individual who can help me with my business,” you should say “I am looking for someone who can generate reports from (software name) and analyze the data. I also need someone who can track my emails and my calendar and create my work schedule on a daily basis.” That way, you can filter the people who apply.
  2. Instead of posting on directories, you might want to find assistants through companies offering virtual assistant services. They will save you the effort of sorting through the paperwork.
  3. Once you have picked the virtual assistant you like, set clear deadlines and clarify which tasks need to be prioritized. Provide a clear description of how you want the work to be done and how you want it submitted to you. If you want reports to follow a certain template, explain that template and provide examples. Document your processes so the VA will have a reference whenever necessary. Making information like that available will save you from repeated questions or unnecessary mistakes.
  4. Encourage questions and follow ups. Make it especially clear to your VA that you will entertain all questions. Check up on your VA as much as possible. If there are changes in the way your VA delivers, do not hesitate to ask him about it and try to find a solution to the issues as soon as possible.
  5. Ask your VA to repeat the details about the tasks you expect to be done. That way, you are sure that he understands them. This is also a great way for you to correct mistakes before they happen. Evaluate the performance of your VA after every task, especially if you are sure that these are tasks that are going to be repeated in the future. This gives your VA a picture of his performance and will help him improve for future tasks. It also allows him to understand how you want things to be done.