oDesk is the marketplace for online workteams with the best business model for both buyers and providers

For buyers: Guaranteed workEvery hour billed is an hour worked

For providers: Guaranteed paymentEvery hour worked is an hour paid

Background

24 Employees, 43 remote oDesk consultants

HQ in Menlo Park, CA

Funded by Benchmark, Sigma, Globespan, & DAG raised $29MM to date ($16MM in the bank)

Started in 2004

Where are we today?Over 208,000 tested and rated knowledge workers representing hundreds of technical disciplines & skills Both individual freelancers and development companies from 150+ countriesBuyers post both Fixed Price Jobs and Time-Based assignmentsBuyers pay by the successful job or for verified hours worked Avg. time to hire is <4 days; Avg. # candidates per job is >18

Over $62MM in gross services deliveredOver $62MM in gross services delivered

WHAT IS oDESK

WHAT IS oDESK

Average Job Size of $4,227Work categories include software development, web development, graphic design, data entry and writingSummary statistics available in our oConomy

Hire, Manage, and Pay contractors as if they were in your own officeDo more with lessAccess a global client base and talent poolBe Agile

Summary of US Freelance EconomyThe Bad NewsThe Good NewsConclusions

SEO/SEM on oDeskSummary StatsSample SEO jobsSample SEO providers

Grow your businessTips for marketing yourself betterTips for raising your pricesTips for expanding your work

AppendixAnatomy of a good resume (on oDesk)Anatomy of a good coverletter (on oDesk)

AGENDA

SUMMARY OF US FREELANCE ECONOMY

US providers are more expensive than their global counterparts

The difficult economy has increased competition for jobs

12 months ago, 11% of providers found jobs within 90 days. Today, number is 3%

The Bad News

SUMMARY OF US FREELANCE ECONOMY

US providers have higher feedback than their global counterparts

Rates are holding steady

Rates for skilled categories like SEO are actually increasing

The Good News

SUMMARY OF US FREELANCE ECONOMY

Skilled US professionals can still find work. In fact, work done in the US grew at a rate of 367%, 50% faster than oDesk’s overall rate of growth.

Homeshoring as a trend continues to grow

But, skilled professionals need to market themselves well intoday’s competitive environment

Conclusions

SEO/SEM ON oDESK

SEO:Jobs posted on oDesk: 7,019 Professionals on oDesk: 20,708Currently open SEO jobs: 491New SEO jobs per month: 802

SEM:Jobs posted on oDesk: 3,272 Professionals on oDesk: 18,467Currently open SEM jobs: 268New SEM jobs per month: 426

Summary StatisticsBoth SEO & SEM are rapidly growing job categories on oDesk

SEO/SEM on oDesk

Substantial SEO/SEM work is being done onoDesk

Sample SEO/SEM jobs

SEO/SEM ON oDESK

Sample SEO/SEM providers

A wide range of rates and skilllevels are available on oDesk

GROW YOUR BUSINESS

Tips for marketing yourself better

Save your powder. Apply for fewer jobs, but the ones that require the skill sets you absolutely master

The hook. The better you understand your client’s ‘pain’ and implications of those problems, the more effectively you can respond to their needs. Many job posts give specific details. So do some research, and respond appropriately

Sell benefits, not features. Don’t spend more than a couple of lines writing about your skills, knowledge, or experience. That’s what your profile is for. Focus on the buyer’s needs and what you can do for them.

Show instead of tell. Demonstrate efficacy on past projects. Point to previous clients & their search rankings for certain keywords. If you don’t have a good client list, start a blog and apply your SEO skills to your blog to demonstrate your skills.

GROW YOUR BUSINESS

Tips for raising your prices

Have referrals. Providers with strong feedback from past clients get more jobs at better rates

Sharpen the saw. Continue to keep your skills fresh; your expertise will allow you to charge a premium

Don’t sell price; sell value.

Rates holding steady or increasing

However, raising prices in today’s environment is difficult nonetheless

GROW YOUR BUSINESS

Tips for expanding your work

Grow business among existing clients. Once you understand your clients’ needs, sell more based on what you know

Augment your team. Don’t have the skill-set or manpower in-house to sell additional work? Add to your team with a flexible bench of contractors

Access a global talent pool. Don’t limit yourself to a single geographic area. Leverage global wages

Questions?

gary@odesk.com

(Visit our exhibitor booth for a $50 certificate to get started on oDesk)

Appendix

GROW YOUR BUSINESS

Anatomy of a good resume (on oDesk)

History of work showing types of work proficiency

Good overviewdescription

Certificationsshowing skill proficiency

Substantial # of hours & high feedback scores

GROW YOUR BUSINESS

Greetings

Thank you for your invitation to interview.

I have 2+ years experience in SEO, Internet Marketing, Content Writing and related areas. I'm interested to work on your project. I believe we can negotiate mutually beneficial terms and price for the project as well as build good relationships.

Here is what I’ve been able to achieve with my recent clients in Organic SEO:

With your project as a first stage i will need to do researches on best keywords for your website and competition of your market niche.

I am happy to provide prior client referrals if you are interested.

If you wish us to proceed further, you can choose my candidacy at oDesk by clicking selecting me and clicking on the hire button. I will be glad to work for you and undertake your SEO work.

We could talk more about everything through Skype (my ID# XXX). Waiting for your reply

Regards,XXXX

http://www.1WVUShop.com (WVU apparel shop) TOP 10 positions reached in Yahoo and GoogleGoogle:wvu apparel – 6th placewvu shirts – 4th placewvu shop – 3rd place wvu apparel – 6th place Yahoo:wvu apparel – 1st placewvu merchandise – 2nd placewvu shirts – 1st placewvu shop – 2nd place

http://gpsplanet.com/ (GPS rental services) TOP 10 positions reached in Google andGoogleGPS Rental Services – 2nd placeRent GPS for trip – 4th placeGPS navigation system rental – 4th placeYahooGPS Rental Services – 1st placeGPS Rental – 3rd placeRent gps – 2nd placeRent gps for trip – 1st place

Demonstration of efficacy on past projects

Offer to provide client referrals

Short & sweet introduction

Anatomy of a Good Cover Letter (on oDesk)