10 Things You Don't Know About Working From Home as A Virtual Assistant

Maybe right now you might already know a lot about Virtual Assistants, how it works, how to avoid scam, what are the skills needed, and other important aspects concerning working from home as a virtual assistant. But allow me to share with you 10 things you don't know about working from home as a VA.

 I don't know if this will inspire you or not but it really depends on how you manage and value your time with you family at home. The list below actually happens in real VA life scenario and it might happen to you as well.  Good thing is that you are already aware of the good and the bad side. 

1. You'll suddenly realize that housewives are totally busy people -with hardly any breaks.
2. You'll be challenged not to work because your cute baby is staring at you, saying "play!".
3. You'll be asked constantly, "What do you want to eat today" by your spouse.
4. If you're not careful, that DVD collection will be your #1 distraction from work.
5. You don't remember when was the last time you took a bath/shaved.
6. You're suddenly more interested in nice looking shorts and pajamas in the mall.
7. Your cellphone isn't getting much use unlike before.
8. When you walk to the neighborhood park, pool, all you see are yayas and their wards.
9. When it rains, you're happy you're indoors and won't be going anywhere!
10. In the hot months, you're happy that you can afford an aircon for your room!


-Jomarhilario.com


So there it is --the honest good and bad.  Find out how you can work from your nice bahay --even if you're already abroad: http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=4371417


P.S. Don't worry, this is no s-c-*a-m. I know the guy. Read and judge for yourself: http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=4371417

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What are the skills needed to become a Virtual Assistant?

Maybe you still wondering right now what skills do you need to become a virtual assistant. Do I need to be programmer, web designer, a computer geek, an IT or Computer Science graduate?,  These are some of the frequently asked questions from newbies in the Virtual Assistant Industry.


If you have this questions in mind, It's alright, it just simply mean that you are a normal earthling (who knows some aliens are reading this blog LOL!!). I once also asked these questions and I was surprise with the answer, which is a big NO. You DON't need to be a programmer, web designer, or a computer expert to become a virtual assistant.


Of course, it would be your great advantage if you have these skills but there are so many other skills aside from these. When I was just started out, I was surprise when I found out that I already possesd some of the skills in-demand for a VA job and this might be true to you as well.


You can be a virtual assistant if you can do the following?


1. Answer letters and emails.
2. Do research.
3. Remind people for their schedules.
4. Write an article.
5. Event planning.
6. Collect data and store them in a database.
7. Book a flight.
8. Do transcription.


These are just few of  the very basic jobs in VA industry today. Please note that there are many jobs I have not mentioned here and you may check them at Odesk.com. You can see above that you do not need a sophisticated skills to do those things,  right? Whatever skills you have currently, you might want to use it as a virtual assistant service.


If you still confused, you may post your  questions on the comment box below and I would gladly answer them as soon as I can. You can also attend one of my mentor's seminar "How to Become A Virttual Assistant" so you will know that Virtual Assistants in the Philippines really exist and they are real.


My mentor is Jomar Hilario and his the man behind the Internet Marketing succceess of Bro. Bo Sanchez.  I believed that every successful man ever exist succeeded because they have a mentor who guides them.


To become a kung fu master you must first need to learn from an existing kung fu master. So I highly suggest you get a mentor to guide you on your Virtual Assistant journey. Keep reading about virtual assistants and good luck to your first VA gig.

P.S. My mentor Jomar Hilario is offering a BUY one TAKE one ticket promo for the upcoming How To Become A Virtual Assistant in Cebu City on July 09, 2011. Click here for details.


P.S. You may also Check other seminar schedules here - http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=4371417

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The Best Benefit of Being a Virtual Assistant

There are many benefits that you may get when you become a virtual assistant. One of it is be able to earn money while working at the comfort of your home. However the best benefit that I get from being a Virtual Assistant is FREEDOM.

I am an employee and I know the feeling of morning rush. I’ve experience taking a bath for only five minutes and escape breakfast just to get in the office on time. I rose from bed not because I’m excited for the next day, instead I woke every morning with FEAR.

 

Fear of being late, fear of not meeting the deadline, fear of my boss, and fear of losing my job. But all these fears are just fruits of my greatest fear, the fear of not having money. Larry Gamboa in his book Think Rich Pinoy, he defined FEAR as False Expectation Appearing Real. His point is that most of our fears are not really real but for us they appear real because we believe they are real.

Thanks God, things change when I became a virtual assistant. Though, I cannot deny the fact being a virtual assistant is still an employee. You still have a boss that you need to follow but you are not just an ordinary employee. An employee with freedom to speak out one’s mind for the good and fairness of both parties (employee and employer).

Terminate your employer!

In usual settings, employers are the ones that terminates employee right? But have you ever heard an employee terminates an employer. I guess you heard it already but this is very rare to happen. Terminate you Employer! Yes you read it right. This is the beauty of being a Virtual Assistant, you always have a choice to choose the kind of employer you want. If your boss has bad mouth and making you life miserable then do not hesitate to terminate him and look for a better one.

We are living in a free world and we should not be slaves by our own job or our boss. God has given us abundant resources where we can always choose the best job that works for us. Choose a job where there is life and FREEDOM.

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I Did Not Sleep Because Of My Virtual Assistant GIG.

On the night of May 22, 2011, something strange happened. It was a rainy cold night and supposed to be a perfect time to grab a pillow and blanket and sleep like a baby. 

However, the opposite thing did happened. I was not able to sleep. I was just lying in my bed but my eyes were widely open and my mind was flying away.

I was really active, completely high and it feels like I have taken HIGH dose of energy drink. I wonder if I have drunk a coffee or cola early that night, but I haven't. The truth is, I was not able to sleep because of intense EXCITEMENT. You know the feeling right? I was so excited to see the next morning because the next day of that will be my webinar for blog commenting. 

The Webinar Was AWESOME!

During the webinar, I noticed that some of the participants are also my classmates during my Virtual Assistants Training. Also some participants are experienced Filipino Virtual Assistants and most of them are writers.

The speaker was an Australian and he is the client. he explained the project in details very well. He also taught us some techniques on how to do blog commenting in a most effective way. Another thing I have noticed during the webinar is that Australian English accent is more clearer and easy to comprehend unlike the European English accent.

I can say that because I'm actually dealing with European Clients in my full time job now. And talking to them is really challenging to me because of their accent. Most of the time I need to ask them to repeat what they are saying and that very frustrating for me and form them. So I think communication wise, its much easier to deal with Australian, Canadian, and Americans.

Is Blog Commenting Part of SEO?

The answer is YES! This is the first reason why I grab this opportunity. I know that it is something that will contribute to my SEO skills. In my next post I'll be discussing why Blog Commenting is also part of SEO.

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Where To Put Keywords In Your Blog To Rank Number 1 In Google

As I mentioned in my previous post that I'm going to give you a tactic of what paricular area in your article where you should put your keywords. Well here it is! I also mentioned that my blog Virtual Assistants Training Philippines is now in the first page of Google.

However, I did not mentioned that you should search this exact phraise "Virtual Assistants Training Philippines" in google so that  my blog will appear in the 1st page. If you will use other phrase like "Virtual Assistants" or this one "Virtual Assistant Philippines", then my blog will not appear in the first page of Google page result.

Ask me Why? 

It's simply because I optimized my blog using this keyword "Virtual Assistants Training Philippines". If you type keywords other than thismy blog wont't be in the first page but maybe somewhere in page 2 - page 5. My goal before is to be in the first page of Google using the mentioned keyword. And now that I have acheived my goal, I'm planning to optimize this blog with other keywords related to Virtual Assistant. By the way, when I say optimize, just think of a process of ranking your site way up on-top of Google Search Engine.

To rank your site, you have to consider the proper placement of keywords in your page. You need to do this because you have follow how Google crawls to your site. Crawling is just the same as reading. Google crawls/read your page and evaluate if it contains information relevant to the keyword that peoples search. Basically, Google crawls from the top most and then left to right.

It is adviced that keyword should be present in the following sections of your blog.

        1. In the URL.
        2. In the blog title
        3. In the blog description 
        4. In the blog post title or headline
        5. In the blog content
        6. In the file name of embeded image and video

Put your keywords in these areas and notice how it will improve you're ranking in the Search Engine Result Page (SERP). However, not all times you can put your keyword in these areas. There will be cases that it can be challenging specially in the post title or headline.  The best example of this is this post. Obviously, I cannot insert this keyword "Virtual assistants Training Phiilippines" in the post tittle. If I do that, the readers will not understand my message. 

Note that the readdability of your post should not be sacrficed just for the sake of using the keyword. It is really case to case basis but put in mind that your goal is to put your keywords in those six areas of your blog and it should be readable by both machine and human.
 
Now it's your time to try! 

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My Blog Virtual Assistants Training Philippines is Now in the First Page of Google

In just a span of less than 1 month, my blog Virtual Assistants Training Philippines is now positioned in the first page of Google search engine. It's just amazing to know that the things I've learned in my Virtual Assistants Training and Seminars, are really working in real life.

Of course I have to give credits to my mentors who taught me real online lessons and startegies. I say "Real" because these stratgies are proven and tested that works in real life online scenario, if just applied religiously. 

Today I have 3 Mentors who are experts on their own areas. First is Mr. Jomar Hilario, Internet Marketer Guro. He is being considered as the Tim Ferriss of the Philippines. Second is my friend and more likely an "ate" to me (feeling close LOL!!) because she is very generous and really helped me personally. We call her "Misty" but her real name is Ms. Kristina Godinez, shes an expert on Effective Online Article Writing. The last but not the least is Sir Mark Acsay, who taught me the hands-on and theory of SEO and his really awesome on this field.

To others it may sound no big deal that my blog is now in the first page of Google, but for me it is already a big accomplishment. It means that my SEO strategies are really working and this is just my first step of climbing up the whole staircase.

How did I do it?

I did not applied any rocket science to rank my blog. It was just a very basic On-Page and Off-Page SEO strategies and I'm not going to tackle the details in here since this is a way long of discussions. But maybe some of these days, i may post some of these strategies here. Anyway I just give you the most important thing to consider in SEO. The first thing that you should think before writing your very first blog post is KEYWORDS!! Keywords!!! keywords!!. 

YES, start first with you keyword research. This is the first step, if you miss this stage then you will miss the concept of page ranking. Your keywords must be the keyword that the human searchers used to search answers in Google. If you already have the keywords, the next step is to strategically position them into your blog post.

Watch out for my next post because I'm going to tell you where to put your keywords to improve your page rank in Google.

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How to Use Google Calendar?

Finally, this is my 10th blog post for 10 applications/websites/tools which are very helpful on my journey as a Virtual Assistant. Though my goal before was to share only 10 tools on this blog, I realized that it’s a lot of fun making presentations and imparting my knowledge to others. So expect more tools to come one of these days.

Ok, let’s go back to the main topic. Google Calendar can help you organized schedules for meetings, appointments, events, and other activities that you don’t want to miss. Whether it is personal or business matters, Google Calendar can help you manage your schedules effectively.

Google Calendar is like my personal digital Virtual Assistant that reminds me on my daily schedule. When I am the organizer of an event, it will also remind other participants that they have a scheduled event and this done automatically.

Go ahead, view the presentation below and follow the step by step procedure on how to use this wonderful tool from Google. 

How to Use Google Calendar

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How to keep notes efficiently Using Evernote?

Conventionally we use a piece of paper or a notebook to take and keep notes of things that we want to remember. In a computer, we might be using notepad, MS Word, and other MS Office tools to keep notes organized. 

Those are good tools way back then and somehow I’m still using it up until now, in some cases. However, the whole ball game has already changed; people are now into mobile lifestyle. Carrying a paper notebook or a laptop is just too much inconvenient in the world of mobility. We need a tool that stores our notes where we can access it conveniently anytime anywhere. 

This is the idea behind Evernote, it’s a digital repository which organized all your notes and keeps them searchable so you can find your notes easily. Your files are being stored in the “Cloud” or internet so there is no need to carry your own laptop. Just drop by in an internet café then you can already access all your notes. 

If you hate to go to an internet café, then install Evernote in your smart phones. Evernote works in iPhone, the BlackBerry, phone running Google’s Android operating system, the latest PALM phones, and windows mobile phones.

What if there is no internet connection?

You can still access your notes offline since Evernote synchronized your data. These means that, Evernote on your Smart phone, Laptop, Desktop, and your internet account will all have the same data content. Synchronization of data happens by the time you are online.

As a Virtual Assistant, this tool is very vital to my day to day work productivity. It makes a lot easier to keep track of all my notes and access them fast and convenient.

I have created a presentation for a step by step procedure on how to install and use some of the basic functions of Evernote. Please go through the presentation below and I would appreciate if you can write some comments for this blog post.

How to Use Evernote

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How to Use Talk Shoe?

TalkShoe is a service that enables anyone to easily create, join,or listen to Live Interactive Discussions, Conversations, Podcast and Audio blogs.You could be a pod caster or talk radio host instantly even if you are not a "Techie" person.

Below are the benefits you can get with TalkShoe:

• Community Calls can be recorded and listened to
• FREE recording
• FREE storage
• FREE bandwidth
• Uploading of existing podcast episodes
• Unlimited recording hours
• Detailed statistics reports
• Earn money with TalkShoe Cash 

How it Works.

TalkShoe is really a great tool for Pod casting, audio blogging, or even just simply adding interactivity to any online event. I'm new to TalkShoe but it seems that I feel I'm not a beginner because the application is very user friendly and you can easily find free tutorials online on how to use the application.

You could use this service to interview others, get a discussion going on, host a teleseminar or workshop, record your own audio or even upload an existing pre-recorded podcast/audio recording too. At the end of the day, the best part of this great tool is that its for FREE!!

I created a PowerPoint which is step by step procedure on how to install and use some of the basic functions of TalkShoe.

How to Use Talkshoe

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How to Use Backupify?



 In this post I’m going to share with you another useful tool in the Internet, his name Backupify. Backupify (www.backupify.com) is a website that provides backup on your online data such as Gmail emails or maybe Facebook pictures.

In the presentation below, you will know the rest of the sites that are supported by Backupify. You can open an account for free but the storage space is just minimal (only 2GB), or you may opt to pay a dollar for a much larger storage space.

How Backupify can help you?

When I was still in college, I lost two email accounts because I forgot the passwords. I tried to recover the account by answering the security questions, but still it did not work.

Those accounts contain files and emails for my thesis, and it was really painful because I did the rework from scratch. Fortunately, I have saved some of the files in my thumb drive and still able to deliver the thesis just in time.

If only I have a Backupify that time, there should never be a problem because my files/emails will be backed up.

So diffenetely, Backupify can help recover your data on your Gmail, facebook, and other accounts when S***** happens.

How to Use Backupify

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Be an Effective Virtual Assistant, Use Jing Screen Capture.

Jing is a screen capture software powered by Techsmith, it enables you to capture images or record on screen tutorial videos.

Whether you are a business man, Teacher, Entrepreneur, or just a high school student helping an onshore grandpa how to upload photos in Facebook, Jing is good to go.

Often times just words are not enough, inefficient, vague, and sometimes leads to miscommunication.

Adding visual elements to your online conversations will make it a lot easier to understand a certain discussion. With Jing, explaining Ideas, giving feedback, collaborating on projects, or simply sharing information’s becomes so much easier.

There are other screen capture applications out there, but I prefer to use Jing screen capture because besides it is free it is also user friendly and amazingly reliable.

This is a great tool for virtual assistants like me. If the client instructions are not clear, I can simply record an on screen video, send it to the client and ask this question “Is this what you want me to do?”. That’s it, by this way I can eliminate unnecessary exchange of emails and most importantly, I save some of my precious time.

Personally I’m very glad I learned this application, it makes my life much fun and easier

How to Use Jing Screen Capture Read More......

How to Use Dropbox?

I want to share another tool called Dropbox, which is very helpful to me as a Virtual Assistant.

Dropbox syncs files online to your local Computer. It means, you can transfer files to your local computer even if you are hundreds of miles away to your office, but provided you have an internet connection.

Sync what??? 

Ok let’s explain this piece by piece.
Let’s say you’re working on an onshore site or perhaps you are on vacation in the Philippines, specifically in the beautiful island called Cebu (no bias,I’m from Cebu). 

You’re in the middle of your enjoyment then unexpectedly your phones rings, an assistant asking for a customer files (orders) and if you cannot send her the files right away you will lose $1 million every 2 hours.

Fortunately, you found out that the files were saved in your laptop. But the problem is how are you going to send an 80 GB file? You can’t attach that large amount of file and send it through email.

But luckily you have a Dropbox account and you have installed Dropbox on your office computer. So you just find an internet connection for your laptop and Log in to your Dropbox account and upload all the needed files. Dropbox will then gradually transfer your 80 GB file to your Office computer. Sync means synchronization of data. So whatever you uploaded in your dropbox online account, it will also appear to your local computer.

 Dropbox save the day!!! It’s amazing, isn’t it?

Dropbox is also very useful when you are working in different sites. For instance, you are working on 3 countries and travels often. But you are the kind of person that hates carrying a laptop or a storage device for your files.

So all you need to do is to install Dropbox on your computers in each office (country), upload your files on Dropbox, and then you can work on any of the 3 offices because you have all the files needed. Sounds good ha!

Click here this link to create an account http://db.tt/5pKfe2d

How to Use Dropbox

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How to Convert MS Word to PDF Online.

I just want to share with you this another tool which I learned from my Virtual Assitants Training. I've been using this for quite some time now and so far I find it very realiable and useful.

There are other ways to convert word doc to PDF and there are a lot existing applications in the market now that do this function.Some of them are legal and some are illegal but don’t worry what I’m going to show is a legal way and the good thing is that, it’s FREE!!!

Though one thing you must have is internet connection. Yes, you should be online to do the conversion. No internet, no convertion.

Three Reasons why you should use PDF instead of MS Word.

1. PDF files are generally more compact (smaller in size) than the Word document and they easily preserve the original formatting.
2. Unlike Word and other popular document formats, the contents of a PDF file cannot be modified easily. You still need an application to edit/modify it.
3. You can view PDF files on almost any computer or even mobile phone using the web browser.

Ok I’ll stop the talking now and let you do the actual. It’s very easy, have fun!

How to Convert Word Doc to PDF

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How to Protect Your Computer from Spywares?

Spybot is just another tool I learned during my Virtual Assistants Training in the Philippines. This is a freeware designed to detect and remove spywares which are very rampant in the web today. Spyware silently tracks your surfing behavior to create a marketing profile for you that is transmitted without your knowledge to the compilers and sold to advertising companies.

Months ago, I received an email from an unknown company offering a discount for a malicious product. I wonder how they get my email. My friend’s PC often shutdowns itself even there is no power failure. Worst case is when they hijack your email account and use it for their advantage. 

These are just example of spyware infections and some of it symptoms are hardly noticeable. 

To get rid of these spywares, you must install anti-spyware just like Spybot and scan your computer twice a month.Now you might be asking this question “Why I still need to have Spybot while I already have an anti-virus? The answer is, hybrid spywares are not easily detected by an ordinary anti-virus, so to be safe better have an anti-virus plus Spybot to have double protection on your computer.

Please find below the step by step procedure on how to install and use Spybot Search and Destroy.

How to Use Spybot Search and Destroy

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How to use Google Chrome?

Are you looking for a fast and convenient internet browser? 


Google Chrome is just right for you. 

I use internet explorer before but when I joined the Virtual Assistant Seminar by Jomar Hilario, I found out that Google
Chrome is much better internet browser.

Google Chrome is an internet browser developed by Google.

Some of its advantages are:

1. Light Weight

2. Colorful – You can set your own theme.

3. Easy browsing facility

4. Contains own task manager

5. Great bookmark facility

6. Displays your most visited websites (saves time of typing the websites URL)

There is also a mode in browsing that they call Incognito Mode. When you are in incognito mode you can set your browser not to store information’s from the visited websites. In other words, the website you visited won’t appear in your browser history. Cookies are also deleted auto automatically after you close the website.

I created a presentation for a step by step procedure on How to install and use Google Chrome. I hope you'll find this blog post helpful. I would appreciate if you can leave a comment below.

How to Use Google Chrome

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How to Share Documents Effectively Using Google Docs?

                                                             
Usually, we share documents through email but this often leads to problem such as listed below:

1. Cannot attach big files.

2. Lost or delayed emails.

3. Unreadable attachments.

4. Confusing document versions.

5. Lost data integrity.

These are some of the common problems that you and I have probably encountered using emails as a medium of sharing documents. But since the birth of Google Docs these problems seems to be not an issue anymore.

How Google Docs Work? 

Google Docs provide a storage place where you can put all your documents. Since it is online you can access it anywhere, anytime provided you have internet connection. You can share your documents to others by just giving them the link through email or chat. You can also set restriction to your documents. This means that you can select few people whom you trusted to edit your documents. Others will have view-only, they can view the document but they can't edit it.

Google Docs is really helpful when it comes to team collaboration. Instead of exchanging emails with documents attached on it, the team members can access directly the document and work on it at the same time. With Google Docs, less hassle more efficiency.

Get the detailed procedure on the presentation below on how to share documents using Google Docs.

How Share Documents Effectively Use Google Docs Read More......

Virtual Assistants Training Philippines: How to increase your blog traffic?

Are you wondering why your blog gets few visitors in spites of great contents? Virtual Assistants Training Philippines help me understand why.

What I love with this Virtual Assistants Training is that it’s not only beneficial for Virtual Assistants but also for bloggers and businessmen. In my case, I’m a blogger and I’m trying the best I can to write quality content that would satisfy my readers. However, my blogs still get few visitors. Through this training I found out that great content is important but it is not enough to bring more traffic into your blog. Virtual Assistants Training Philippines focus on teaching SEO (Search Engine Optimizition) and SEO copy writing.

What is SEO?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in search engines via the "natural" or un-paid ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results. In plain words, SEO is just a strategy of getting your website on the top-most of the first page of a search Engine (ex. Google, yahoo, bing).

How SEO can Increase traffic?

Most of the searchers focus only on the website in the first page result of Google. They don’t want to bother anymore of viewing the second page. You don’t want your blog to be in the second page because it has lesser chances of being viewed by a searcher. So if your website is optimized and it is in the first page of Google, the possibility of getting click by a searcher is higher. The chance of getting visitors is higher and this also means Increase in traffic is higher.

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Virtual Assistants Traning Philippines: Five reasons why you should join this training.

Most of us may have one common reason of joining the Virtual Assistants Training Philippines, and that is to earn extra income. However, I will give you another 5 reasons why you should join this training and be part of the growing numbers of home based Philippines Virtual Assistant industry.

1. You will learn SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and earn 1000$ above. 

     As I checked remotestaff.com yesterday, I found out that 20% of Virtual Assistant jobs in the Philippines are for Search Engine Optimization. This means that you have a lot of opportunity when you graduate from this Virtual Assistants Training. 

2. Experienced Filipino Virtual Assistant will be your classmate. 

    Some of your classmates are already experienced virtual assistants. The good thing on this is that they can give you tips in finding a virtual assistant job while the training is still going on. The reason experienced virtual assistants are still joining this training even though they have already gig or job, is that SEO is of the high paid virtual assistant job.

3. The training is so convenient. 

    The training is online using gotomeeting and it is so convenient that if you’re using a laptop you can actually lie on your bed while learning. But of course you have the freedom to choose the most comfortable part of your house where you can listen and watch the training presentation. I think the best word here is comfort.

4. You can apply your SEO skills in your own business or Blog by increasing traffic into it. 

    For me this is the most valuable thing that you will get of joining this training. If you don’t want to be a virtual assistant because you are already sick and tired of being an employee, then you can make use of this skills to position your own blog or your business on the first page of Google. And when your business website gets into the top page of Google, this means that your website will gain a lot of visitors and visitors might be customers and customers turns into profit.

5. You get SEO training for a bargain price. 

    The payment for an SEO training is usually around $1000 – $2000, but you can get this for only $47. But there is more, the best thing is that you can avail the Virtual Assistants Training Philippines by installment basis which is paying only P300 per session. 

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