An Article by Natalie Wilson

Before you start a new blog or a new business venture with a recently created domain, you might want to consider buying one that already generates traffic.

Smart people are buying and selling websites for a living and some when launching a new business will buy an existing website in their chosen niche rather than register a new domain name. [Especially if that web domain that matches their business idea perfectly]

But buying a website does come with risk and you should always be sure of the final costs.

There are plenty of horror stories to read about, but if you’re looking for some advice on websites before you buy, here’s what you need to know:

Where Can You Buy a Website?

The short answer is mainly online, but essentially there are 2 ways to find a website to purchase, one being much easier than the other.

Use a Website Purchase Platform

Businesses such as Midascode Ltd offer their users the aid they need to buy or sell a website. This is the suggested approach as the platform can help weigh in on your purchase and offer you recommendations. It also serves as a safer option rather than purchasing privately, which can turn pear shaped pretty easily.

Useful Links: 

Buying an Existing Website – The Alternative Web Start Up

Marketplace for buying and selling websites

DIY Sales & Business Broker Led Sales

Private Purchase

If you wanted a very specific domain because it includes your product, service or brand name, approaching the website directly for purchase is the ideal solution. This option does include more risk as you have to make sure you’re asking all the right questions and negotiate price on your own.

Should You Purchase an Established Website?

Depending on your circumstances and what you want to gain varies on whether or not you should buy an already known website. But it’s worth noting the following points to help you with your decision.

Do You Want to Change the Websites Topic?

If you’re looking to buy the website strictly for its name and URL you’re likely going to lose the websites current traffic.

For example, if the traffic is expecting an e-commerce store and you’ve changed it to a fitness blog they may not be interested in reading about it (so they’ll just leave the site). If you plan on doing this, make sure you’re not paying an inflated sum for the current traffic levels, but if you intend on keeping the topic of the site the same but enhance it, it might be worth investing in.

Is there an SEO Value From the Website

There are tools available online to allow you to measure the value of a website. Domain Authority is a tool you can use to measure the website history and this one of the most generic ways to measure websites current online value. There are also tools such as Majestic which can help you review the websites topical Trust Flow, which essential reviews it current backlinks. To further review the website, you can also investigate its current rankings, to help identify how it stands for current search terms. Another important check to conduct is to use a tool like the Wayback Machine to review the history of the site. Often, sites can be bought just to be sold, and you wouldn’t want to find out what you thought was a family website was an adult site up until 4 months ago.

Are You Buying it to Guide Users to Your Current Websites?

This takes a lot of assessment to find value in. If your an e-commerce website looking to generate more direct traffic you can buy URLs and lead the redirected traffic to your website. This will likely cost you more to do though, as the site you buy should have a lot of direct traffic, and you also need to be sure that the new traffic is going to be interested in what you offer.

Are Your Trying to Acquire a Mailing List?

Another reason to buy a website is to acquire its mailing list. If the site can provide statistics about their audience and mailing list, you can begin targeting these users to increase revenue or traffic to your current site. It’s worth evaluating the response rate of the mail list too, as some lists can be spammy and lack efficiency.

Some Final Notes:

Site Ownership

Make sure you confirm you are speaking and buying the site from the webmaster. Too often does money get exchanged and the new “owner” actually paid the wrong person and the website cuts them out of the website. You’ll likely have little evidence to prove you legitimately bought the website, which is another reason you should use a buy or sell website platform.

Learn About the Websites Assets

The domain isn’t the only thing you might be able to gain, as mentioned mailing lists, access to experts in technical due diligence and web developers for example may have already been bought and paid for, so these could also help the further advancement of your new acquisition.

Stability

If it is a high-value website, it’s worth digging into profit or traffic projections along with access to the websites Google Analytics so you can view the data first hand.

The Buying Process

You can scare off most hustlers with a simple phone call, so asking for as many details as possible before you pay will help legitimise the transactions. Making sure you follow the steps above will assure you that the website you are gaining is ideal for your future progression.

An Article by Natalie Wilson