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Firm Sees RP as Hub for
Outsourced Search Engine Jobs
A British Isle company that has been hiring Filipinos to
do search engine marketing jobs for a consortium of small- to
medium-sized hotels worldwide said the Philippines can become
the hub for offshore search engine marketing jobs.
Search engine marketing is a relatively new field that converts
web traffic into revenues for companies. It uses search engine
optimization (SEO) techniques to increase visibility of websites
and blogs in popular search engines like Google, Yahoo! and MSN.
Directwithhotels.com has established a representative office in
the Philippines on November 2004, pouring in about 1.5 million
dollars in capital investment, according to Emiliano Zulberti,
chief executive officer of this relatively new outsourcing
service company.
Hiring more than 30 Filipinos to develop a "holistic approach"
to search engine marketing, Zulberti said that
Directwithhotels.com expects to double its headcount in the
country with new deals coming in from Europe this year.
"In the area of creativity, the Philippines is way ahead of
other countries in the region," he said, noting the reasons why
Directwithhotels.com has decided to put its back office
operations in the country.
Directwithhotels.com currently uses search engine marketing to
lure people to a consortium of small- and medium-sized hotels
with which they have signed agreements. Zulberti said they
expect to sign up
20 to 30 hotels a month as they expand their services to other
countries.
Search engine marketing uses various methods
to make sure people "convert" upon their visit to websites they
find in search engines like Google. In the case of
Directwithhotels.com, converting visits means people would
eventually book one of the hotels being pushed or marketed to
them.
"Not all people who visit websites for the first time will
convert. So we analyze how they behave using search engine
marketing techniques," said Jonathan Casuncad, lead of quality
traffic service at Directwithhotels.com
Directwithhotels.com treats each member-hotel as a "store" that
offers unique services for a specific group of travelers.
The online travel booking service is now a huge industry in the
US. Figures vary depending on whose talking but Zulberti said
that the rate of online travel bookings is increasing by 20 to
25 percent every year.
"With more people buying PCs, going online with broadband
Internet access and more suppliers providing online services,
the demand will increase," he added.
Directwithhotels.com is currently building a "guest loyalty
management system" that would allow small and medium-sized
hotels to keep tab on their clients.
The company, however, faces the challenge of finding more people
to man their growing operations in the Philippines. They are
currently looking for copywriters, software engineers, web
designers and SEO experts, Zulberti said.
The company is also torn between the idea of recruiting
experienced search engine marketing professionals who are
currently "freelancing" for local and foreign companies or
training fresh college graduates.
"Most of the college graduates with good communications skills
are funneled to call centers. We're looking to hire fresh
graduates," Zulberti added.
India and Eastern European countries are also involved in
outsourced search engine marketing contract jobs. In the case of
Directwithhotels.com, it now earns 7,500 dollars to 15,000
dollars a month doing contract work, according to the executive.
The Philippines is however still a small market for such
services, he said.
By
Erwin Lemuel Oliva
First posted 10:19pm (Mla time) April 04, 2006
Source: INQ7.net
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