Outsourcing Services that Most Freelancers Offers

Quick List of Web Services:

• Link Building

• Virtual Assistant

• Content Writer

• Web Designer

• Site Admin

• Webmaster

• Programming Support

• Web Developer

Descriptions:

Link Builders

Link building is a small part of Search Engine Optimization. However, link building is considered a core activity in making any SEO campaign successful. Unfortunately link building takes time before an agent can produce excellent results. Quick and easy methods may bring in multiple links, but at Agents of Value we believe that building naturally embedded backlinks through organic methods is the best practice. Though organic SEO is time-consuming any client we build links for is assured that the backlinks we generate are long-term and may become permanent.

Some link building tasks may require quotas for both agents and clients to track and manage the link building campaign. Other tasks sometimes require a lot of time and effort in analyzing sites and pages that will benefit our clients’ sites for link backs. These tasks, although repetitive, often require analytical quick-thinking skills.

As an innovative and creative entrepreneur, you may be competent in accomplishing any link building task. However, doing it yourself may not be the best way to leverage the resources you have. First of all, time as a resource is very important. Time with your family might be more important to you than time spent at work. Time to enjoy life may be more advantageous at this time rather than keeping your self isolated in front of your desk. So what’s the best way to leverage your resources and enjoy the time you have? Outsource!

Outsourcing a link builder to do multiple link building tasks such as URL submissions and article submissions will lighten the workload and bring in better chances of achieving your end goal of increasing sales. 

Link Builder Skills:

1. Beginner HTML

2. Intermediate Writing Skills

3. Multitasking

4. Time Management

Link Builder Tasks:

1. URL Submission

2. Article Submission

3. Forum Posting

4. Blogging and Blog Commenting

5. Keyword Research, Keyword Analysis and Keyword Optimization

6. Basic Data Entry

7. Social Bookmarking and Social Media Marketing

Virtual Assistant

Virtual Assistants are the most sought after employees in the web today. Their value lies in the wide range of skills and abilities they possess from the technical to the creative. Although they might not need to edit a site’s source code, they are still expected to perform basic on-site SEO optimization. They also provide vital website help through emails, chats or live calls on-site with customers and site visitors. Because of that, Virtual Assistants must be intelligent, dynamic and quick learners.

Virtual Assistant Skills:

1. Advanced Written and Oral English

2. Advanced Typing Speed

3. Beginner HTML

4. Excellent Public Relations

Virtual Assistant Tasks:

1. Link Building Tasks

2. Client Support (Email / Call / Live Chat )

3. Transcribing

4. Internet Research

5. Writing Business Communications and Reports

6. Project management / Team leading

7. Basic Secretarial Work

Content Writer

Permanency and relevancy are two of the most important search engine ranking factors as well as high traffic and freshness of data. To maintain updates in your site you need to supply fresh information regularly. However, not everyone has the time to sit down and write new content each day. To help online businesses in their marketing endeavors, online writers, bloggers and copywriters are hired to create engaging and useful reading materials for visitors.

The best writers can write articles and sales pages that catch any reader’s imagination which moves them to action either to buy or sign up for more information. Building an email list is an effective prelude to generating sales. People who sign up for newsletters are highly interested in more info about your site’s product or service. These are the best possible leads you got.

Aside from that fresh valuable content has always been as the “King” in search engine optimization. To rank high in search results and drive more traffic to your site, always keep articles, blog posts, news, and other site content updated by a resident content manager at your site. This person must be an excellent writer and knows how to optimize content for SEO.

Content Writer Skills:

1. Advanced English Writing Skills

2. Beginner HTML

3. Intermediate Typing Speed

Content Writer Tasks:

1. Can Do Basic Link Building

2. Writing and Rewriting Articles / Web Content Optimization

3. Product and Website Reviews

Web Designer

Together with the Site Admin and Webmaster, the Web Designer works as one of the caretakers of a website. However, the Web Designer’s job is to maintain how a website looks to the user and make sure it appears as it should be across the most popular browsers. 

With the wide use of CSS styling to design a site, web designing became an easier job to accomplish but harder to manage altogether. This is why it is better to outsource one’s website design projects to ease site design management headaches, and open up new design styles not often seen in mainstream media. Website design, after all, is an art, and Art thrives well when it comes from a diversity of origins.

Web / Graphics Designer Skills:

1. Intermediate Skills in Using XHTML in Web Design

2. Intermediate Skills in Using CSS in Web Design

3. Advanced Knowledge in Web Design

Web / Graphics Designer Tasks:

1. Site Administrators’ Tasks

2. GIF Animation

3. Photo Enhancing

4. Graphics Designing

5. Modification and customization of website design

Site Admin

The Site Admin (as it is commonly referred to) manages a website’s popularity and growth. Unlike the webmaster which takes care of the site’s functions and database, the site admin makes sure the site works as it should be when used or navigated through by visitors. Links are checked and site processes such as signing up for membership is queued for Quality Assurance. Simply put: site admins work as assistants to Webmasters.

Site Admin Skills:

1. Intermediate HTML

2. Beginner CSS Styling

3. Beginner Writing Skills

4. Beginner Graphics Design

Site Admin Tasks:

1. Can Do Basic Link Building

2. Maintaining and modifying Websites/CMS

3. Managing Adwords / Adsense Accounts

4. Reciprocal Linking and Three-way Linking / Banner Ads Management

5. Basic Image Cropping and Enhancing

Webmaster

Websites take time to grow and flourish that is why they need people who have the technical expertise and the know-how to maintain a site’s popularity. To run a website it needs a team, and included in this team is the Webmaster. The Webmaster takes care of the site’s database, its content management system and its server setup. They also make sure the site’s domain is duly registered and protected from domain flippers and schemers.

A webmaster must have an extensive range of technical and creative skills to maintain a site efficiently. The following are just the main tasks and skills a webmaster is required to develop.

Webmaster Skills:

1. Advanced HTML

2. Advanced CSS Styling

3. Intermediate Graphics Design

Webmaster Tasks:

1. Site Administrator’s Tasks

2. Setup Servers

3. Domain Registry and Setup

4. Create and Customize Website using CMS

Programming Support

The first in the hierarchy is the PHP Programming Support, which was created as a lower-level skill position nearest to a Web Developer. The PHP Programming Support does what the Web Developer does but has less authority to do so. He works in a team with Web Developers and functions like an apprentice to a guild master in learning the craft of web programming.

PHP Programming Support Skills:

1. Beginner PHP Programming

2. Intermediate HTML

3. Intermediate CSS Styling

4. Beginner MySQL

5. Beginner Javascript

6. Beginner Graphics Design

PHP Programming Support Tasks:

1. Site Administrator’s Tasks

2. Create Dynamic Websites

Web Developer

The First-Level Web Developer is a more experienced and better skilled programmer who takes on more complicated tasks than a PHP Programming Support does. Web Developer I programmers serve as mentors to PHP Programming Support, like the Juniors leading the Freshmen through the intricacies of Teendom.

First-Level Web Developer Skills:

1. Intermediate PHP Programming

2. Intermediate MySQL

3. Intermediate HTML

4. Intermediate CSS Styling

5. Intermediate Javascript

6. Beginner Graphics Design

First-Level Web Developer Tasks:

1. Tasks of Webmasters

2. Create and Maintain Static, Dynamic and/or Data-Driven Sites

The Second-Level Web Developer is a highly experienced and skilled programmer who takes bigger and more data driven tasks than a Web Developer II does. If a project needs the big guns, then they are the persons to call on.

Second-Level Web Developer Skills:

1. Advanced PHP Programming

2. Advanced MySQL

3. Intermediate HTML

4. Intermediate CSS Styling

5. Intermediate Javascript

6. Beginner Graphics Design

Second-Level Web Developer Tasks:

1. Tasks of a First-Level Web Developer

2. Create and Maintain Static, Dynamic and/or Data-Driven Sites

Philippines named 2nd top BPO destination in Asia-Pacific

      The City of Manila has been named the second top Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) destination in the Asia-Pacific region by the International Data Corporation (IDC), just three months after the Philippines was named as the ‘Offshoring Destination of the Year‘ by the United Kingdom’s National Outsourcing Association last October.

       In the IDC list, Manila was ranked no. 2, second only to Bangalore, India. 

       Three other Philippine cities have been included by the London Financial Times in the survey of ‘Top Ten Asian Cities of the Future‘, thus validating the country’s position as a major player in the global offshoring and outsourcing (O&O) market.

       Quezon City ranked 7th, Cebu 8th and Davao 10th in the survey commissioned by the London Times, comparable with cities like Hongkong, Singapore and Taipei which were the top three.

       President Gloria-Macapagal-Arroyo announced that her administration has targeted a 40% growth rate in the country’s O&O sector for this year and 40% growth target in the workforce “in order to cope with the industry demands”.

       “These distinctions from the O&O sector and global ICT firms provide our investor friends, who have come to E-services Philippines, with objective third party assessments of our O&O capabilities,” the President stressed.

       According to the President, the runaway growth of the O&O industry has echoed throughout the entire system, spawning impressive growth on other sectors like real estate, telecommunications, food and retail among others.

Philippines is Top Choice Among US Companies for Finance and BPO services

       

      Consul General Cecilia Rebong of the Philippine Consulate General in New York, USA reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that a capital markets analyst has said that the Philippines is the top choice among a growing number of major U.S. companies for finance, technology, telecommunications and consumer products, and accounting business process outsourcing (BPO) services.

      Consul General Rebong said this was essentially the message of Ms. Cynthia Houlton, Senior Analyst of RBC Capital Markets, in speaking on “Global Sourcing and Finance and Accounting Business Process Outsourcing Services” during a well-attended business networking reception organized by the Business Process Outsourcing Council, the Philippine Consulate General, and the Philippine Trade Office in New York on 23 May 2007.Welcoming the guests who were mostly CEOs, presidents, and managers of major American financial, banking, and investment companies based in New York, Consul General Rebong said, “The reception is only our second offering since the creation of the Business Process Outsourcing Council one month ago, and the goal remains to be to facilitate dialogue, information, and greater understanding of the Philippines Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector among potential global partners.”
 
       The Philippines was selected because of the country’s advantages over alternative Asian sites: Labor costs equivalent to China; lower and more stable than India; prevalence of spoken American English; cultural and social affinity with the US; modern and stable infrastructure such as water, power, roads, telecommunications; large pool of qualified college graduates seeking white-collar employment; access to specialized skills aligned with US professional standards; government support and tax breaks for the industry; and more familiar environment for expatriate trainers and managers than other Asian alternatives.

      “The ‘advantages’ clearly show that the Philippines’ attractiveness as a BPO destination is no longer limited to cost-reduction but also to being able to provide global partners with a human resource possessing the right skill sets and competencies supported by a sophisticated telecommunications infrastructure,” Consul General Rebong observed.

Philippine President Targets 40% BPO Growth

      Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is looking for a 40% growth in the country’s Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry for 2008.

      Speaking at the e-Services Global Sourcing Conference and Exhibition, Arroyo said while the Philippines currently employ 300,000 people in the BPO and contact center industry, she wants these increased by at least 40% to meet the growing demand worldwide. She said the Philippines at present is only second to India in terms of supplying the workforce in the BPO industry, but it has already been recognized as the “premiere global destination for these types of IT enabled services”.

      “We are proud of what we had achieved but we are anxious to solidify our gains. We’re anxious not to be complacent in the face of rapid change,” Arroyo said. “For 2008, we have targeted to grow our O & O (offshore and outsourcing) workforce by 40% in order to cope with the industry demands and also to achieve a 40% growth rate in the O & O sector.”

Why Outsource in the Philippines?

 

      What makes the Philippine call center outsourcing service better than the rest? A question that is often asked by foreign companies, who would want to outsource there business in the Philippines.

       According to facts, the Philippines being a past American colony, its education system is a blue print after an American education system that embraces American-style diction and pronunciation of the English language. This gives Filipino’s a neutral American accent. An assurance of a better understanding with most American clients is also an advantage being. Aside from the fact that Filipinos are good at speaking English, most of them are college graduates, too.

      In the current global business outsourcing market, the Philippines is considered to be the most dominant rival of India. All because India is a former British colony, Indians are educated in British-style English that is compounded by the heavy Indian accent, resulting in a language barrier. Because of this accent and twang edge, Filipinos are understood to be the best outsourcing location outside the United States, for US based businesses.

      To prove this overall standpoint, there was research performed that shows that Filipino outsourcing employees tend to work harder, with skill and will factors that is held to exceed expectations and be dedicated in what they do. Without a doubt, the Philippines is the fastest growing country in terms of expansion in the outsourcing industry, with another 20% expected in 2009.

       And did you know that in 2005, the Philippines ranked 3rd in the world for top business process outsourcing destinations? Now that’s something to think about! With all being said, surely, people who are in doubt are now able to answer the question that has been on their minds…

      Why outsource to the Philippines? Why not?!

Outsourcing to Philippines

      Over the past few years, the Philippines has established itself as one of the top countries in the global outsourcing industry. The industry has grown rapidly because it has the ingredients critical to outsourcing service providers and customers. These include large-scale people resources, with close to half-a-million English-speaking students graduating from college yearly, a well-deserved reputation for excellence in communication skills, interpersonal warmth, customer-service orientation, problem-solving abilities, and cultural affinity with Western markets and customs, and an operational cost advantage, with costs competitive with any supplier country in the world.

 

 

     

Specific Advantages of Outsourcing

       Outsourcing has become a very popular alternative for a number of very valid reasons. Outsourcing initially emerged as a way for companies to cut costs by having processes such as manufacturing and assembly done in overseas locations where costs were much lower. Lower wages and operating costs both contributed to these reduced costs.

      These lower costs were appealing because they greatly improved the profit margins for the companies. However, outsourcing is now gaining in popularity for a variety of other reasons. While cost reduction is still a primary advantage, other elements such as access to industry experts, a larger workforce and more flexible options are being embraced as welcomed advantages offered by outsourcing.

 

Cost Reductions from Outsourcing
      As previously mentioned reducing costs was the original purpose of outsourcing and although outsourcing has since been demonstrated to have other significant advantages, cost reduction still remains one of the prime advantages.

      Companies look to outsource tasks which would be more costly to complete in-house. An example of this type of task would be a software related task requiring specialized training. Companies who do not have an on staff employee qualified to complete this task can benefit financially by outsourcing this task.

      There may be significant fees required to retain the services of an industry expert on a contractual basis but the efficiency of this individual will enable him to complete the task much more quickly than it could have been done in-house. If the task were not outsourced an in-house employee would have had to complete the task and may have taken significantly longer costing the company more in the long run.

 

On Call Experts
     In the previous section we discussed how having industry experts available to complete outsourced tasks can result in a cost savings for the company but having these experts on call also provides the potential for new opportunities for the company. With experts waiting in the wings to assist, the company is able to go after larger and more specialized types of work. This is important because in doing this the company can find themselves enjoying greater prosperity. 

A Larger Workforce
      Still another advantage to outsourcing is the benefit of enjoying a larger workforce when necessary without the hassle of maintaining a larger staff. Through outsourcing companies can bring in additional employees on a contract basis during times of prosperity without worrying about having to lay them off or keep them utilized when the surge of work begins to wane. This is particularly relevant in industries which enjoy peak seasons as well as off seasons.

      Another advantage of having a larger workforce is the ability to generate a larger profit. This is important because smaller companies can find themselves in a position where they can compete with larger companies for bigger jobs by outsourcing a portion of the workload.

More Flexibility
      Finally, more flexibility is another considerable advantage to outsourcing work. Even the most well planned projects may suddenly end up behind schedule or under a time crunch due to minor errors, changes in plans or other incidental activities.

      Smaller companies who do not have the resources to compensate for these inevitable mishaps may find themselves in serious trouble without the ability to outsource work when necessary. These companies can take advantage of outsourcing in times of trouble to help them deal with problems without alienating clients or performing poorly on a project.