Millions of highly qualified professionals are working online. Thanks to freelance marketplaces like oDesk and Elance, your agency can now tap into this labor pool and hire affordable online workers.

Web designers, freelance writers, technology consultants and sales professionals are ready to work for your agency. But here’s the problem: you have millions of people to choose from. How do you get started? And how do you avoid hiring a bad contractor? Here are four ways to master outsourcing at your agency.

Let oDesk help you. oDesk recently launched its “Enterprise Solutions” service, aimed at simplifying the outsourcing process. Participation in this program is much different from the traditional online outsourcing model: Instead of posting your own jobs and manually recruiting freelancers, oDesk does it all for you. Based on your needs, oDesk offers a mix of recruiting, staffing and project management services particularly useful when recruiting content writers, customer support representatives and technical resources.

Hire a certified expert. Stop and think about all of the different software platforms and online services that your agency utilizes. Now, stop and think about who is in charge of managing these tools. Are you getting the results that you need?

Take for example Google AdWords, a popular CPC (cost-per-click) platform that helps agencies get found online. If you wanted to run advertisements via AdWords, how would you get started? A logical approach might be to check and see if there are any certified Google Partners that meet your needs. Recruiting an expert consultant will likely deliver better results than opening up the Yellow Pages and throwing darts at company names.

Use an outsourcing agency. Much like “headhunters” of full-time talent, the outsourcing world has companies that specialize in placing freelance talent, including Hubstaff and Bolton Remote. Start by explaining your needs and budget, and these firms quickly go to work, matching you with online workers who can get the job done.

Place an order. Don’t care to meet the people to whom you are outsourcing work? No problem! Many niche services shield you from the entire process and deliver a finished product to your inbox.

Consider HitTail, a keyword analysis and content generation service. After logging in and enabling your account, you simply “order” an article for the keyword you want to focus on. Behind the scenes, HitTail’s team does all of the research, writing and quality assurance and delivers you a finished product. In a few business days, you will receive a notification that your article is ready for pick up.

Outsourcing can yield significant benefits to your agency—if you do it correctly. Instead of going too fast and getting frustrated with poorly vetted freelancers, start slow, look for ways to reduce your risk and focus on retaining quality talent.

Matt Keener is president of Keener Marketing Solutions, LLC and author of “Executive in Sweatpants: A Handbook for Launching Your Work from Home Career.”