Teach Yourself VISUALLY Search Engine Optimization (2013)
Chapter 14. Building and Managing an SEO Team
If you have a large website, it is important to consider either hiring a team to work with you or hiring a SEO company to help you optimize your website.
Find the Best SEO Companies
Hire an SEO Expert on Elance
Post a Job on Elance
Hire an SEO Expert on oDesk
Post an SEO Job on oDesk
Create a Freedcamp Project
Find the Best SEO Companies
When you search for an SEO company to help you optimize your website, you need to make sure it is trustworthy and professional. You do not want to hire a company that might perform the wrong SEO steps or take your money for doing virtually nothing. Thus, finding the right SEO company for your needs means reviewing different companies in the market. You can do this by reading reviews of SEO companies or visiting trusted SEO forums that recommend SEO companies to hire. The /www.topseos.com website lists the best web marketing service providers based on categories, including the SEO companies.
Find the SEO Best Companies
Type www.topseos.com in the web browser and press 
.
The TopSEOs page appears.
Position your mouse pointer over View Rankings.
Click Search Engine Optimization.
The Top 100 SEO Companies page appears.
Click one of the companies.
The SEO company information and reviews appears.
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How can I determine the best SEO based on cost?
While many SEO companies are very expensive due to their reputation and clients, you can still find good SEO companies that are more affordable. To lower your costs, you must know what your website needs and then ask for the specific SEO options only; for example, you can request quotes for link building.
Where can I find other good SEO companies?
You can find suggestions for the best SEO companies to use on SEO forums that cover optimization topics; for example, https://forums.digitalpoint.com and www.webmasterworld.com. If you are a paid subscriber of the Warrior Forum (www.warriorforum.com), you can receive professional SEO advice.
Hire an SEO Expert on Elance
If you do not want to hire an entire company and spend a lot of money on SEO techniques that you can do yourself, you can simply hire an SEO expert to assist you in optimizing your website. You can use someone who works remotely, which means the person works from a different location outside your company and delivers the work through the Internet, and as an independent contractor. One of the services you can use to hire an independent contractor is Elance at www.elance.com. On the website, you can hire a SEO expert or post a job request, and other experts can apply for your job.
Hire an SEO Expert on Elance
Type https://www.elance.com in the web browser and press .
The Elance page appears.
Click Sign In.
Note: If you do not already have an account, you can create one by clicking the Join link in the top-right of the Elance web page.
The Welcome to Elance Sign In page appears.
Type your username or E-mail address.
Type your password.
Click Sign In.
Your Elance personal page appears.
Position your mouse pointer over Hire.
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What are Elance contractors?
When you sign up in Elance for the first time, you will have to choose whether you want to create an account to find a job or hire others for your own projects. The experts that you hire for the job are called contractors, and can be either individuals or companies. Contractor profiles will help you determine if the contractor is a person or a company. Some people prefer to hire an individual person, because they can follow the work more closely and contact one person directly, whereas often with a company, a technical person is not provided as a contact.
Elance provides a marketplace, with many categories, where professionals and employers can meet. When you try to find a good SEO service provider, you must search for prospects with strong skills and experience with projects and websites similar to yours. Some SEO experts are only good at promoting small sites, while others can really help with websites that are larger and more complex. To find an SEO expert who matches your needs, either search for candidates using the left menu options or type SEO in the search field at the top of the search contractor page.
Click Search Contractors.
The Search Contractors page appears.
Scroll down to the By Tested Skills menu on the left.
The By Tested Skills menu comes into view.
Click the down arrow (
) and select Search Engine Optimization from the drop-down list.
A The SEO contractors appear.
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How do I explore experts by category or skills?
You can explore the individuals and companies listed on Elance based on categories or professional skills. You can do this using the left menu on the Contractors search page, or you can click the Hire menu link and then click Browse in the submenu. On the Browse page, you can search contractors by business category. You can also narrow your search by clicking the Skills link, which lets you search the database of available skills. You review all the skills listed on a page and click the one you need.
Post a Job on Elance
Along with searching for experts on Elance, you can also add a job posting where you include details about your project and outline the SEO help that you need for your website. When contractors see your job post, they apply to it with their cost bids and you are notified. Then you can review and communicate with each contractor to choose the best fit for the job and the price that works with your budget. After you reach an agreement with one of the contractors, you are ready to assign him the job.
Post a Job on Elance
Position your mouse pointer over Hire.
Click Post a Job.
The Job Description form appears.
Complete the form by clicking and selecting your options.
Click Continue.
The Job Verify package selection appears.
Click Select to choose the package of your choice.
Note: When you choose the Verified package, a Verification Seal appears next to your profile to help you attract more candidates, as well as indicate that you are serious about the job.
The Job Preview page appears.
Click Post This Job.
After the job is approved by the Elance team, you will start receiving bids from contractors and freelancers who are interested.
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What is the difference between an hourly and a fixed rate?
There are two payment models in Elance as well as most other freelance websites. The first payment model is the hourly rate, which refers to paying the contractor based on the number of hours that she works. With this method, you have to monitor the contractor to make sure that the hours she works match the amount of work completed and the money spent. The second payment model is the fixed cost, where you pay a set amount of money for a specific job. With this method, you do not pay for each hour. Instead, you pay for the whole project at once.
Hire an SEO Expert on oDesk
Odesk is another online workplace website that connects you with different experts and service buyers around the world, including ones in SEO and web marketing services. oDesk allows you to search for contractors among their huge database or you can post a job contractors can apply for. It has a wide database of users because it is free and it does not require payments from contractors. Instead it takes a 10 percent charge from the contractor’s rate or the job revenue if it is a fixed rate job. When you search online for SEO help, it is wise to consider various online workspace websites; this way you can find the best, and most reliable, contractors.
Hire an SEO Expert on oDesk
Type https://www.odesk.com in the web browser and press .
Click Log in.
The oDesk login page appears.
Type your username.
Type your password.
Click Sign In.
Note: If you do not have an account, click Sign up to create an account. Make sure to click I need a contractor to create a buyer profile, post jobs, and search contractors.
The oDesk home page appears.
Click Find Contractors.
The categories appear.
Click SEO - Search Engine Optimization.
The contractors with SEO skills database link appears.
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What is the oDesk Team application?
Buyers can use the oDesk Team application to track how far along a contractor is on the job. The tool records the contractor’s progress using screenshots of the contractor’s screen that are taken every few minutes. Then, you can preview these information through the Work Diary next to your current jobs’ list. Also, once the employer reviews and approves a contractor’s hours for the week, payments can be issued automatically. This tool helps give both employers and contractors confidence that the project is on track, enabling them to focus on the work process instead of payment and time-related issues.
Post an SEO Job on oDesk
When you post a job listing on oDesk, include the SEO help you seek, job details, the skills you need, and the estimated cost and timeframe. You can post the job for all public contractors to view or set it to remain hidden. With a hidden job, you invite contractors to review the job; therefore, public contractors cannot see it or apply for it. When you identify potential contractors, you can interview them through different channels, including e-mail; phone interviews; Skype, Yahoo, and MSN chat applications; and conference applications such as Adobe Connect and WebEx.
Post an SEO Job on oDesk
On the oDesk buyer profile home page, click Post a Job.
The new job form appears.
Click the Category pop-up menu and select Sales & Marketing.
Click the Subcategory pop-up menu and select SEO - Search Engine Optimization.
Type the job title.
Type the job description.
Scroll down to complete the form.
Type the desired skills.
Click the Job Type option to select the job type (
changes to 
).
Click the Estimated Duration pop-up menu and select the duration of the job.
Click the Estimated Workload pop-up menu and select the number of hours per week.
Click the Contractor Preference options that apply to the position (
changes to 
).
Click the Job Post Visibility option to determine who can view the job posting ( changes to ).
Click Post a Job.
The Job appears in your profile. After oDesk approves it, you will start to receive contractor submissions for the job.
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What is the workload rate?
The workload rate refers to the number of hours that the contractor needs to work during the week. Many contractors have other job obligations. You need to include the estimated workload in order to give the contractor a clear vision of your project. The workload varies from task to task, especially in the SEO process. Most SEO tasks require the contractor to check your website over several days to follow up with the changes, so you have to account for this as well.
Create a Freedcamp Project
The SEO process is complex and requires you to do a lot of small tasks on a regular basis until you achieve your target results. Therefore, it is important to manage the workflow for these tasks well, especially when there is a team helping you. Many project management tools help you keep up-to-date with your team’s progress. One of these free, comprehensive tools is Freedcamp, which allows you to create multiple projects and add tasks to each one. It also allows you to invite team members to work on projects and manage them through the Freedcamp platform.
Create a Freedcamp Project
Type www.freedcamp.com in your web browser and press .
Click Login.
Note: If you do not have an account, click Sign Up to create a new account.
The Login page appears.
Type your e-mail address.
Type your password.
Click Login.
The Dashboard page appears.
Click Create Project.
The Add Project dialog box appears.
Type the project name.
Click the Project Group pop-up menu and select the type of project.
Type a description of the project.
Click Next.
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What is the different between online and desktop project management tools?
Online tools are project management applications that team members can access online without needing to install them on their desktop computers. This can enable members to manage a project from different places and devices. With the online tools, you do not have to buy a license for your team; instead you can use the free versions of project management tools or purchase monthly subscriptions. Alternatively, the desktop tools are more complex and hard to use with remote teams where members work from various places. Desktop applications that provide free project management include Gantt Project (www.ganttproject.biz). and 2-plan (http://2-plan.com).
Freed Camp projects give you the option to install modules known as applications. These applications are tools such as the To-dos list that allows you to create tasks and assign these tasks to experts on your team. The Discussions module enables you to discuss the project with the team and archive these discussions; and you use Milestones to schedule important dates in the delivery timeline for the project. You can also upload files up to 20MB and share them, and you can upgrade your account to get more storage space.
The Applications dialog box appears.
Click Install next to the application you want in the project.
Click Next.
The Invitations for SEO Process dialog box appears.
Type the team member’s e-mail address that you would like to invite to the project.
Click Next.
The Project Created dialog box appears.
Click Close.
Click Choose Project.
Click the project you created.
The project dashboard appears to let you manage it.
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What is the project group?
The project group allows you to view multiple projects under one group. When you view the projects in the Choose Project drop-down list, you will find similar projects grouped together. You can use the groups feature to arrange different SEO projects; for example, if you are running the same SEO campaign on different projects, you can group them by SEO campaign.
What are the Freedcamp widgets?
In addition to the applications that you can install for each project, you can create widgets that appear on your personal dashboard. For example, you can create a widget that displays a calendar for a specific project or all your projects. You can also create widgets such as To-dos, Activity, Bug Tracker, and Milestones.