Thread: Virtual Assistants

I would also be interested in hearing any answers to this topic! I currently use a virtual assistant, but not for SEO reasons (general admin/phone answering/document typing/etc.. (Virtual Assistant, Virtual Assistants, Virtual PA) ) I am happy with them but I don't think they do SEO.. My concerns are that a lot of the SEO virtual assistants that I have come across on sites like fiverr, etc are based in the Phillipines and are working very cheap, makes me question the quality - but then again they could be good?!

Originally Posted by AicomVas

We do forum posting

Oh, really?

I have a VA and she does some SEO stuff for me, but is not an SEO "expert". I would be very wary of hiring one like that. In my case I have her organizing wordpress posts from the writing staff, making sure tags and categories are spot on with our spreadsheet of terms. She answers questions on quora, yahoo answers and other forums and 1 out of 5 posts she answers with a link back to the site. She makes sure we have 3-5 updates each day on all the social sites. I have the Link Liberation 3 program from Theis and Rhodie, and she has gone through that. In my mind doing it this way, I have an assistant that wants to be an assistant. Not someone that wants to do SEO and uses my sites for experiments or is "pushing the edge" to build a reputation.

You should find a good virtual assistant and then teach him how to do seo for you - giving him specific advice, where and what to do- rather than hiring a seo virtual assistant.

VA's and SEO

Alrighty then, let me share some experiences here

1.SEO has changed. ALOT. in the last 18 months. im not going to rant about Seo here. but suffice it to say that the old model of hiring VA's for SEO is pretty much dead unless you do it right. (im not going to discuss right here either)

first off, my experiences with VA's
I have had as many as 12 people at 1 time working for me overseas. doing various tasks, and jobs. from setting up blogs, doing graphics, doing video, doing server side stuff, doing coding, and doing SEO. did that for almost 4 yrs before changing direction and reducing head count significantly.
they are "human systems" and they take time to install, train, optimize, and get running, expect to make an investment into them, otherwise they are near useless. if things are not working with your va, recognize that its most likely YOU. and your communication style or communication skill. if you suck at communicating your needs, then chances are they will mirror your skill level, and they will suck too.
or seem like it. MOST people I have worked with, REALLY want to work, do a good job and get paid. (its how they feed their kids.) so you 4 hr work week nuts, cool it. Tim Ferris your not.

lets dispel some myths. a 3$ an hr person is not going to be able to automate your biz for you. that's what YOUR for. they are usually only doing simple tasks. they are not paid to think at that level, the are paid to do simple tasks. YOU have to think.

hiring lots of people to do lots of seo is a good way to get banned in Google its better to sit back, for a week or so, architect your business out, in work flow, and tasks,
THEN decided what you can do, what needs to be done by others and what level of person you need for the task.

next make them a map of 1. your expectations. 2. their tasks. 3 accountability and ramification if they don't do #2.
if you use over seas VA's understand that 3rd world infrastructure is not always reliable. sometimes a power outage for 5 days will slow them down. don't punish them for work not completed during down times.

Take the time to learn a bit about their culture. that is a bigger driver of how they are responsive to you, and the work, than you may think. a little reading on your part, may save days, or months of frustration. get as close to native English speaking as you can. (if your an English speaker) barriers of communication only slow the process down.

Cheaper is not always better.
I hired a coder of 6$ hr. it took 6 months to do a project. and nearly 9K in payouts and LOTS of frustration.
where as I also hired a 150$ guy to do a project. 12K 3 week, NO communication other than initial layout of program. BOOM he was done and it was beautiful. I was able to monetize that SOOO much faster than the previous software. it was worth it. so outsourcing to a specialist is often times MUCH better, faster, and sometimes in the long run cheaper. if you do SEO STUFF,(ugh yuck) then hire someone who is already familiar with the new changes, and knows what to do.

I guess my best advice is this. don't think that a simple 3/hr VA will solve your problems in your business if you don't have the rest of it mapped out. or to THINK for you. its better to see them for what they can be. Cogs in your machine. you have to build it. best to get a blueprint from someone tho. if its SEO your after, because its all changed.


Good Luck

Z

Originally Posted by zendolphin

if things are not working with your va, recognize that its most likely YOU. and your communication style or communication skill. if you suck at communicating your needs, then chances are they will mirror your skill level, and they will suck too.
or seem like it. MOST people I have worked with, REALLY want to work, do a good job and get paid. (its how they feed their kids.)

THIS. The vast majority of VAs I have worked with have done excellent work. They just need to know what to do and how to do it. Filming step-by-step screencam videos is one way to communicate your needs to them.

Not related to SEO, but I plan on hiring a VA in a few months to summarize various newspapers for me in the morning to save my time. Maybe another one to do research etc. Not sure yet how I will go about this, because I will need someone who's a native German speaker, preferably with academical background so the summaries and research will be high quality. Will be hard to find someone willing to do this for 2-3 hours each day very early in the morning (about 3am my time) with the background I want and reasonable price. Guess I should look at German expats in another timezone.

Anyone experienced with hiring a VA for such tasks?

You get what you pay for. You should test them, THE AGENT not the agent's MANAGER. The company has to be reputable. The end.

Originally Posted by zendolphin

my experiences with VA's

What websites did you go through to find the ones you were happy with?
odesk?
Fiverr?
VirtualAssistants.com?

Hiring virtual assistants is indeed beneficial to your business as long as you know how to hire the right one for the job. I’ve been working with a virtual assistant for months now but not as SEO specialist. Actually, I hire virtual assistant to help me do some admin tasks and social media marketing that allows me to stay focus more on important tasks.

I hire my virtual assistant from Staff.com that refers by a friend. They have a large pool of Filipino virtual assistant for an affordable price as low as $4/hour. So far so good, he is hard working and with great working ethics. However, you must screen virtual assistant first even you acquire them on a legit site in order to find the right person for the job.

One of the things that you will encounter working with a virtual assistant is language barrier. The key to manage virtual assistants is communication. Skype is a great tool that you could use to communicate with virtual assistant, where you could have a voice call.

A little of topic but....What other tasks do you hire VAs for?

Is there a limit, or can they basically do anything you want?

Have any of you thought about Personal Assistants? As in not over the internet, but in person...to run errands, go to the post office, pick up lunch, supplies, etc etc

Originally Posted by AndrewNC

What websites did you go through to find the ones you were happy with?
odesk?
Fiverr?
VirtualAssistants.com?

Odesk.com

Hire the best Filipino employees and virtual assistants the Philippines has to offer!
craigslist in manillia

there is a ton

Excellent advice by Zendolphin and HealthStatus as always.

My experience mirrors Zen's - and I sum it up as follows:

1. The work will be as good as your communication of EXACTLY what is needed, outcomes, processes, reporting etc. If you communicate poorly, or forget something in your instructions, they have already started off on the wrong foot. Don't blame them - it was your fault.
Keep in mind the barriers; in terms of distance (your only methods of communication are email and Skype - face to face isn't an option, therefore body language gets cut out of the equation), language (they may speak English very well, but if you start using slang or colloquialisms, you'll confuse them) and culture (careful about being offensive).

The best way to communicate - create COMPREHENSIVE training materials (video of your screen, or PDF file showing step by step screenshots) prior to even hiring anyone. This helps you first, because you have to visualize how to explain the task to someone as though they have never done it before, THEN it helps them with a step by step guide that they can follow, but more importantly refer to again if they forget anything.

2. You get what you pay for. As a general rule the VAs that charge more, do so because they are heavily in demand - for very good reason. This is, of course, a major sweeping generalization. I hired one VA at $3 an hour who turned out to be AMAZING .... simply because she applied for a job she had no experience in, but I was willing to spend the time to train her, because I recognized her qualities. Suffice to say I compensate her at a much higher rate now.

3. They aren't miracle workers. You can't just dump some instructions on their lap and expect them to paint the Sistine Chapel. They'll need to work with you, get to know your expectations, but more importantly, you can understand THEIR strengths and weaknesses.
All of this in involves PLENTY of your time and commitment to train them, communicate with them and work with their strengths.
The 4 Hour Work Week was a great book, but it glossed over many of the intricacies in dealing with outsourced workers.

Communication and training are ESSENTIAL. I know you are hiring a VA because you are busy, but it will create an extra week or two of work to get them up to speed properly. Train them on your BIGGEST time suck that they can handle, this will free up the most of your time and allow you the time to train them to do other tasks.

I use camtasia to do screen captures of the tasks I want my VA to do for me. They hear it, see it and can refer back to it, and if they do it wrong you can use time references to point them at what they should have done.

Would love to do some VA work in my down time as I'm a visual designer & web developer who is well versed with current web standards, marketing, and research.

Granted I'm more technically skilled than a typical VA but I am very interested in it. Worked as one for a month for a UK Design Agency. I didn;t need much direction as I understood what I needed to do and provide on a daily basis.

I agree with most of the advice being given. In order for a VA to do the work correctly you must outline steps and instructions in advance which do take time. However the right VA may be able to pick up the gist of what you need done without much guidance and do a great job. You have to more or less feel out the person and relationship you build with them in my opinion.

Joseph@OXVODesign.com
www.OXVODesign.com