Want to sell your website for a premium? There are a probably a dozen different things you can do achieve that, but the bottom line is that you must work to increase its value. Before you even venture down the website marketplaces, you must ask yourself if your website really is fit for sale. In other words, will a potential buyer find value in it?
If you can answer that question confidently, then it’s time to start assessing your website’s true monetary value. And more importantly, how can you get top dollar from the sale. Unfortunately, some websites sell for far less than their true value either due to poor monetization strategies or just plain desperation.
So how are websites valued? Let’s understand that first before we look at the optimization strategies.
Basic Website Valuation
Website valuation is usually done as an earnings multiple. That means your website is valued at 1 to 3 times its yearly earnings. But this method is not necessarily the only way to value a site, and you’ll likely not get the amount you expect from your calculations. However, it’s still a good way to estimate the amount of money your site is currently worth, so that you can work to raise that figure.
Strategies to improve Website Value
If all you’re looking for is a quick sale, and you’ve little worry about the cash involved – which is rarely the case – then the 5 strategies outlined below are of no good to you. But assuming you want to multiply the potential sales price to a fairly enviable figure, you should try out all of the following tips that apply:
1. Fine-tune Content and Processes
By all means, the priority of any webmaster is to create a quality user experience. Whether it’s through valuable content, user-friendly processes, engagement, freebies or any other things they’ll appreciate, you want to keep your website visitors happy if you have any hope of monetizing the site.
In addition, scan and fix all code bugs in your site. Improve the design where you think it needs a little reworking; you need to make your website error-free and better looking as part of preparation for potential investors.
2. Build email Subscriber List
We all know how email subscriber lists are put to use – you can maintain visitor loyalty and improve revenue overall. For most content websites, having a subscriber list is a must. And the bigger your subscriber base grows the more powerful of an asset it becomes. You’re probably thinking, “But buyers are only interested in the profits.” Yes they are, but how can these profits be achieved or maximized without assets such as a subscriber list?
3. Build Traffic
It’s really a no-brainer when it comes to web business – you got to have loads and loads of traffic in exchange for loads of cash. However you choose to monetize your site, the real asset here is the number of visitors you’re receiving. So do all you can to bring people in: SEO, social media promotion, PPC advertising, affiliate marketing, article writing – remember that when selling your website, all these efforts will pay off in the end.
A point to note here is that you shouldn’t rely entirely on traffic form one source (read search engines) but diversify to spread your risks.
4. Diversify
Consider yourself an investor. When you’re building your wealth, won’t you do so from multiple income streams? So it only makes sense when you capitalize on the traffic you’re getting on your site to make money through several revenue models. From subscriptions to affiliate marketing to AdSense, experiment all possible monetization methods to see which one works best for your site. If your site is built around a revenue model other than advertising (e.g. services such as outsourcing or consulting) then find ways improve it and net more customers.
5. Find the Right Selling Platform
When you finally get your site out for sale, it’s important that you understand the different website marketplaces and how they operate. Flippa is already the most popular auction site where countless websites have been sold. But not without a few scams here and there. Even non-first time buyers can get scammed, so tread carefully on Flippa and forums like DigitalPoint.
Tom writes for www.valuator.com.au they can find where you can increase the value of your website business.