Hi there,
If you’ve read my SEO sales pipeline post, you’d understand that work has been fruitful for the last several quarters.
As projects have kicked off, I’ve wanted to make them more efficient and not as overwhelming.
To help accomplish this, I found myself taking on my first SEO contractor.
I wouldn’t have pictured me taking on a contrac in a hundred years but it became a necessity, given my projects and goals.
Today, I’d like to share about my experience bringing on a SEO contractor to my practice.
Enjoy.
Understanding the need for a contractor
Before even searching for an SEO contractor, I had to understand the needs I was trying to fulfill.
In doing so, I better underwood where support was needed.
- There were several projects in my sales pipeline going into the first quarters of 2023.
- I wanted to prepare for new business to better streamline tasks, particularly those around keyword research, coding, and content updates.
- I also had projects that required a Spanish speaker for translations.
- I was faced with a backlog of tasks from other projects, I just hadn’t had a chance to get to – I needed support tackling these.
- Lastly, I’ve been wanting to hire a virtual assistant for a while and felt that hiring an SEO contractor would be a good step in understanding what delegating to a VA would look like.
Side note: a virtual assistant and a contractor aren’t the same thing. They may share commonalities but there are differences in each and my contractor was meant to tackle specific SEO tasks, whereas a VA could be seen as more of a generalist.
Based on the needs I had above, I knew how to better leverage a relationship with a contractor to help my practice.
Finding the right resources
Because I understood the need for a contractor, it came down to finding one.
I was fortunate enough to be a mentor in The Freelance Coalition for Developing Countries, a non-profit organization specializing in building skills for digital marketing in developing countries.
In 2022, I mentored an individual from Mexico who specialized in SEO and we had a good rapport.
I reached out to him this past year to gauge his interest in contracting with me.
He was interested.
It felt like a weight off my shoulders.
In terms of rates, I asked him to mull over what he’d want to earn. I won’t share his rate because that’s more his business but it was one I could afford.
Long story short: I lucked out. He’s great – smart, inquisitive, and dependable.
But not all searches for contractors are as straightforward.
Because I’m still looking for other contractors and resources to help manage other areas of my practice, I had to research other areas where I could make hires.
- I looked at Fiverr – I learned folks here are great for one time projects but not for regular contracting work.
- I looked at Upwork – I didn’t get too far but I’ve heard success stories.
- I even looked at a few Philippine-based resources.
I’ve done research on how to make an effective contract / virtual assistant hire and there are common tips, including,
- Create a detailed description of the role (this is probably the most important)
- Interview candidates (depending on your language, an interview helps determine language skills)
- Have candidates perform paid sample work (you’d need to understand if candidates can perform; sample work is a great determinant)
I’m still looking for additional resources but thankfully, I knew an SEOer already, so it was much easier to make the decision.
Working together
Once on the same page, I had to ensure that I began the onboarding process for my new contract hire.
Service agreement
I created a service agreement that we both were aligned to.
I trust my contractor but I wanted to make sure that we both get a feel for what the contracting process felt like – for him (someone newly contracting) and me (someone making a contract hire).
The service agreement included his rate, legal jargon around ownership, employment status, etc.
I assembled the service from my experience contracting on behalf of other agencies.
I trimmed it a ton over the last year, based on advice I heard from Nick LeRoy when he interviewed Kristine Schachinger – see podcast here.
Tax filings
We then moved on to tax fillings, which was totally new for me.
I talked to my accountant and she advised that I have him fill out a W8BEN form, which is a withholding tax form for those in “partner” countries.
So get this…
The US has a relationship with select countries where the employer withholds a % of the contractors earnings, to be paid during the yearly filings.
That’s how I understood it.
I’m supposed to withhold 10% of my contractors earnings, based on my understanding.
So, for the next season, the 10% will go to the tax man, and if we find that it wasn’t necessary to withhold, I’ll pay it back to the contractor.
Click Up: A PM tool
In order to keep track of work items, I had to identify a project management tool that can be nimble and affordable.
I found ClickUp as the best option for bringing on my contractor.
ClickUp (full transparency: this is an affiliate link so if you sign up, I get a lil’ somethin’ somethin’)
I researched several free PM tools that could help me manage my projects, including,
- Asana
- Trello
- Jira
- Monday
- Notion
But they all kept falling short before having to pay for a subscription (per user!).
After watching a YouTube video on streamlining the video editing process, the creator mentioned she used ClickUp.
I did a bit of research and toyed with it.
I liked ClickUp a ton.
It’s a PM tool where you can create and assign tasks via a list or Kanban board, it has “Wiki”-like capabilities where you create documents and store files.
Additionally, ClickUp is easy to navigate; I say this because I wanted to fall in love with Notion for its Wiki-type features but just couldn’t wrap my head around it. ClickUp is more straightforward for me.
I pulled the trigger on using it as a tool to assign out tasks but also to manage my client’s responsibilities.
I migrated my clients to ClickUp on a Friday and by Monday everyone was set up.
I now communicate with my SEO contractor exclusively on ClickUp.
Best thing of all, it has a pretty robust free plan that I’m currently working with!
Be sure to check them out.
Time tracking
Now, as far as time tracking goes, I wanted to be budget-conscious and thought I had to use my invoicing software, FreshBooks. I was disappointed because time-keeping was an additional fee per user.
My contractor shared a tool called Clockify; it was free and, although it wasn’t super robust, it did do exactly what I wanted – track time.
It’s straightforward, easy to use, and, again, free!
Assigning work
Now that we had some foundational pieces in place, I began to assign out work.
The first major task was to review the Spanish translations and optimizations opportunities for a top performing blog post.
When I assigned the task, I treated it like an SEO dev ticket, with a due date.
Reason being, dev tickets do a great job of outlining the background and requirements for a task on a timeline.
To remove assumptions, I also used Loom to speak to the task.
Using both approaches, I ensured that I’m providing as much detail on what’s expected.
What’s more, assigning out work has shown me that I needed standard operating procedures (SOPs), which is a set of written instructions, outlining a step-by-step process that must be taken to properly perform a task.
SOPs are a heavy effort and one that I’m nowhere near finished.
But based on how efficiently they make tasks, there is definitive value.
Reviewing work
I’m still working out how to best provide feedback on completed work but this is how it’s been so far…
Upon completion of a task, I ask my contractor to confirm it’s ready for review.
That means 1) tagging me in a comment confirming completion and 2) assigning the task to me for review.
I created subsequent “review” tasks assigned to me but they haven’t been as efficient as I thought they would be so I manage the review in the original task.
Upon review, I list out areas that I feel need updates / improvements, this includes formatting. This is done via constructive feedback and, when necessary, why the changes are required.
Of course, accolades are critical, particularly with this individual. He’s just getting started with contracting and I think it’s necessary to let him know when he’s doing something above and beyond. I feel it’s necessary for his growth.
Paying invoices
As the first month came and went, I requested the amount of time my contractor billed and, based on his rate, we calculated total payment for the month.
I honestly thought it was going to be easier to send a payment to an international recipient…
I was wrong.
There are transfer fees associated with several financial institutions, including mine.
They were pretty steep – upwards of 25% of the total invoice balance.
No thanks.
So I looked around for solutions that would help me forward a payment.
I tried Stripe but I wasn’t able to navigate the solution. It looks as if it’s meant to build payment solutions at a larger scale rather than sending payments directly to a vendor.
I might not be using Stripe correctly, but that’s fine. I just wanted to send out a payment
I did a bit more research and found Wise.
The solution appears as it was meant to send direct payments. Exactly what I needed.
There were still transfer fees but they were less than going through my bank. The fees were tacked on to my end so my contractor wouldn’t have to feel it nor would I like to tack on fees for him.
There is a verification process that takes a few days but it isn’t unbearable.
Summary
I’ve heard if a contractor or virtual assistant fails to perform, it’s your fault.
This makes sense.
Their output is determined by your input.
If your relationship was founded on a shaky foundation, it will make hiring a contractor more difficult.
This was my first time hiring a contractor and it’s totally different from what I’ve been exposed to.
There is no HR, no accounting; it’s just me and although I’ve led teams before, I’ve never hired a contractor.
It’s a great learning experience and one I hope to refine.
I hope this has been an enjoyable read.
If you’ve hired a contractor and feel I’m missing something, feel free to share!
All the best!
