Using a virtual assistant service for doing manual SEO tasks

Like I said before, it all comes down to what your own time is worth to you. I know mine is worth ten times what I pay a VA. It took about fifteen minutes of my time to train someone to do what took me two hours per day to do. I have a spreadsheet that the VA fills out every day, showing what things they have done. My "babysitting" consists of checking that spreadsheet once per week to make sure things are still being done correctly (total time of "babysitting" - 5 minutes per week). After a period of time, I'll move my "babysitting" checks to every other week and then later, once per month.

The best part of all is that the VA is doing a WAY better job, which has resulted in far more exposure and backlinks, than when I was doing it. Admittedly, I just didn't have the time and would blow things off when I had other more pressing things to do.

Really, a lot of this comes down to the person you choose. In my case, I chose someone who I had worked with in the past that had shown that they were very competent and reliable. You may have to go through a few people until you can find the right one. Then, use that person for more and more things.

I like Corey's idea of creating a video of the steps someone needs to take to do the job correctly (screen recording software would do the trick for most things). That way, if one person doesn't work out, you can train the next person with the same video - zero training time lost. I also like the idea of using a relative, friend or relative/friend of a friend who needs a little extra pocket money. Might as well hep out people you know. The only downside to that is when the person does not work out and feelings get hurt.