Introduction
Everyone knows that online businesses are a big opportunity, but what about the actual business of buying and selling websites? There’s money to be made in this practice, and today we’re giving you an introduction to the world of buying and selling websites. We’ll outline both practices in turn, and give you some “best practices” along the way.
How Do I Buy Websites?
Buying websites is a big opportunity within online commerce. Most people buy websites for one of two reasons – they either want to run the site themselves, capitalizing on the site’s revenue model, or they want to “flip” the website for more money down the line. Both of these practices require a keen awareness of the marketplace, and an ability to spot value.
But the world of website buying is complicated, and you might not even know where to start. So to begin, let’s outline where you can get your start buying websites.
Where Do I Buy a Website?
Before you get started in buying websites online, you’ll want to know the best places to do it. There are several services and online marketplaces which specialize in website buying and selling. Online marketplaces such as Flippa and Empire Flippers offer websites for sale, and you can peruse a broad category of sites for purchase.
In fact, you’ll find that there are many website purchasing marketplaces to choose from, and the choices available might even become somewhat overwhelming. Successful website buyers tend to pick a niche, and really focus in on that niche. We recommend you settle on an online niche that you are comfortable with, or have experience with already. This way, you become an expert at evaluating offerings, and can spot value when it’s available.
As you can imagine, the key to successful website buying is ascertaining the website for a fair price, and that becomes easier to do it you are an expert within your niche.
How Much Due Diligence is Required?
Due diligence is a term that investors are all too familiar with. Essentially, due diligence refers to the research required in evaluating an investment opportunity. You want to be sure that the offer is honest about what it includes, and that there is a real opportunity for return-on-investment.
The amount of due diligence in buying a website will largely depend on where you buy the website from. Some online marketplaces will individually vet each web asset before listing them on their website. With these services, you can be more confident that the offers are honest and transparent, lowering the amount of individual due diligence required.
Alternatively, some marketplaces have a “lower bar” for having a listing approved. These marketplaces will require a higher level of due diligence in order to properly understand the value on offer. The flip side is that proper due diligence may allow savvy investors to find web assets which are “undervalued”, netting them a higher return-on-investment.
It is for this reason that due diligence is both a barrier and an opportunity. If done correctly, it is one of the most effective tools for any investor. Effective due diligence will uncover the good and the bad, which can let you know which opportunities to pursue and which to avoid.
What Type of Website Do I Buy?
As we mentioned in the previous section, the best way to spot value is to become an expert in a certain niche. One way to do this is to become familiar with a certain type of website. Here are a few categories of website which are typically available for purchase:
Turnkey Website: A “turnkey website” borrows its name from a “turnkey home”. Essentially, it means a website that is pre-built, and has an established business model. The website is “turnkey” in the sense that it is ready-to-run as soon as you buy it. It is ready to make revenue, and won’t require additional work to get up and running (unless you want to make your own changes as you see fit).
These sites can be good opportunities for buying, but you also need to consider that you will be paying extra for the fact that they can be making revenue right away. There might be less “potential” in these websites, because they are already almost fully realized.
Affiliate Site: You might see many options to purchase “affiliate” websites. Affiliate websites make their revenue through an Affiliate Program. The most common Affiliate Program is offered by Amazon. These sites will feature content with links to Amazon products. If a user clicks the link and purchases a product from Amazon (or a similar Affiliate Program), then the website gets a percentage of this sale.
You will find many affiliate websites available for purchase. As we mentioned above, it is much easier to evaluate an affiliate site within a niche that you are familiar with.
Domain Name: If you’re looking to purchase the most “basic” option, you might consider simply purchasing a domain name. Buying an undeveloped name means that you have total freedom to develop the site as you please. You’ll have to put the work in yourself, but it gives you the opportunity to fully realize your vision, and also create a site within a niche that you are familiar with.
And More: This was just a few examples of what you can expect. The world of e-commerce and online marketing is huge, and you’ll find many different opportunities. The best approach is always to do your research, to know where to look, and to know how to identify potential.
How Much Does It Cost to Buy a Website?
This is one of the most common questions about buying websites. The answer, as you might expect, is that it depends on a wide variety of factors. The better question is how you can identify good value. You don’t want to consider the price as an isolated variable. Instead, you want to consider the price in comparison to how much money you can expect to make (either from “flipping” the website or by operating it yourself).
How Do I Sell Websites?
Now that we’ve given a basic rundown on buying websites, the next logical area of focus is on the selling side. If might be the case that you are purchasing a website in order to sell it later (also known as website flipping), or you might just have an online asset you are looking to sell. Whatever the case may be, selling a website can be a complicated endeavor, and expert sellers know how to capture the best value out of a sale.
Let’s cover the basics of selling in this section.
Where Can I Sell a Website?
We’ll start with the most commonly asked question about website selling – where do I sell a website? There are many online marketplaces through which you can sell your website. The key is to find a marketplace that allows you to capture the most value possible. Different online marketplaces offer different services as they relate to selling.
One important distinction is between selling your website with a broker, or by listing it yourself. Let’s talk about this distinction.
Broker
A website broker is similar to a broker in most other areas of selling. Essentially, a broker assists you with selling your asset, in exchange for a cut of the sale, or for a fee. Depending on the level of service offered by the broker, they will typically assist you with all sales-related activities. This can include creating a listing, marketing a listing, finding potential buyers, and with the legal aspects involved with completing and transferring a sale.
When using a broker, you are hoping that the services they provide will offer more value than the fee you are paying in exchange for their services. They can also save you quite a bit of time, allowing you to focus on your other business activities.
Online Marketplace
If you’re interested in a more DIY approach, then you can list your website yourself. Many online marketplaces allow you to create a listing yourself, and market the listing on your own terms. Needless to say, this is a more time-intensive process, but it saves you the costs associated with marketing your listing through a broker. It also allows you to create a listing to your exact specifications.
If you think that the best person to handle the selling of your website is you, then listing on an online marketplace might be the best approach. However, it is worth noting that many website brokers host their own online marketplaces, and you will only be able to list with them by using their brokerage services.
Which Website is Best for Selling?
So how do you pick the best website to list or sell your website? Simply put, the best place to sell your website is where it will reach the most people who might be interested in buying it. To do this, you need to know your target market, and also know where they are going to look. Selling a website is similar to selling anything. It’s about knowing your target group of customers, and also knowing the best ways to reach them.
Listing on a popular online marketplace such as Flippa will certainly reach a lot of people, but you also need to consider that you will be competing against many other sellers. For this reason, many choose to sell through a smaller online marketplace, such as Motion Invest. You need to evaluate the pros & cons of each approach, and decide which will best help you capture what you know your website to be worth.
The best website for selling is really just the site that best aligns with your goals.
How Do You Flip a Website for Money?
So, we’ve gone over the basics of both buying and selling websites. The next logical step is to put it all together! That’s right, we’re talking about flipping a website for money. This can be quite a lucrative practice for many online investors. It requires buying a website for great value, and selling it at a profit. In between, investors typically make changes to the website to increase its value.
The most important step in this entire process is expert-level knowledge of the market. You need to be able to find and identify value. You need to know which websites will be good opportunities. This takes us back to a point that we have stressed many times in this article – find your niche! You can’t hope to be an expert in all areas of online commerce, so you need to narrow your focus.
The market is too competitive to succeed in all areas. You need to know where to look, how to look, and the due diligence required to properly ascertain value.
And once you have identified good value, the work may just be beginning. You also need to be aware of how you can add value to the website that you purchase. Many online investors know how to achieve that increase to a website’s value, so that they can get the most of their investment.
Successfully flipping websites is all about expert-level knowledge of the market, superior due diligence, and a great understanding of your own skills and expertise. By combining these variables, you can achieve consistent success with “website flipping”.
What is the Best Platform to Sell Online?
Our top choice is (no surprise here) – Motion Invest! We are confident in our own offering, and we think you will love it too! So now that we’ve given you a comprehensive guide to buying and selling, allow us to promote ourselves for a little bit.
At Motion Invest, we offer various services related to buying and selling websites. We actually work with sellers who have revenue streams on the lower end ($500-$2000/month) as compared to many brokers who require a higher revenue stream. If you don’t think that you qualify for an online brokerage or online marketplace, then Motion Invest may be exactly what you’re looking for.
As a seller, you can be confident that we attract high quality buyers to our online marketplace. We do so with our history of high-quality offerings. We list online assets that we are confident in, and this value has established our reputation amongst consumers. Often, we will outright purchase an asset ourselves before listing it for sale. This represents the level of faith we have in any asset that we list for sale. Listing on Motion Invest means that real, high-quality buyers will be considering your offering, increasing your chances of a higher return.
As a buyer, you can also be confident that we have vetted the assets on our marketplace, and that these are honest, upfront representations of what you can expect to purchase. We are a platform that places honesty and accuracy at the forefront of our mission. Our goal is always to provide both buyers and sellers with an intuitive, trustworthy, and value-based platform.
Conclusion
As you can see, the world of buying and selling websites is complex. “Website flipping” is more than just buying and selling. It’s about proper research, analysis, and hard work. We hope our article has helped you understand the basics of this complicated area of online commerce. If you’d like to get started, then Motion Invest can help – check out their services today!
FAQs
Is Domain Flipping Still Profitable?
Yes, but only if you do it correctly. Domain flipping isn’t guaranteed to be profitable, but it is no coincidence that certain investors achieve consistent success in this area. If you are an expert in your niche, you know your target market, and you are willing to put the due diligence into evaluating each potential investment, then you will greatly increase your chances of success.
Profitable domain flipping is all about identifying opportunities that show potential. The only way to do this with consistency is to be willing to put in the work. You need to know your niche inside and out, so that you know where to look, know how to measure value, and know how you can operate a site for success. It’s no coincidence that the hardest workers are the ones who are most consistently successful!
What is the Cheapest Platform to Sell Online?
It depends what you mean by “cheap”. There are certainly websites that have lower fees than others. You could even put a website up for sale on Kijiji if you want to. But you also have to consider that these marketplaces will be much more competitive, and you may struggle to receive a selling price that you are comfortable with. You need to balance the lower up-front costs against the fact that you probably won’t receive the same value as if you were to sell on a specialized marketplace or through a website broker.
