Market Savvy: How and where to sell your online business
Posted on 12. Feb, 2010 by Matthew Toren in Websites
Sometimes it’s unavoidable.
You spend countless hours designing, building, and promoting your website. You put your blood, sweat, and tears into your business. Then the unpredictability of life happens and you’re faced with the unthinkable: your creation must be sold.
Thousands of websites change hands every year. While not all of the scenarios are as dramatic as above, it can still be a very daunting prospect to many website owners who have no idea where to start. Before slapping a “This Website for Sale” sign on your website, here are some things to consider.
A Lesson from the Boy Scouts’ Motto – Be Prepared
There are several things you can do to prep your online business for the sale. Information gathering is one of the best ways to be prepared for negotiations with potential buyers.
Traffic Statistics
Buyers are going to want to know specifics, such as how many visitors you get each month, how many times visitors view the pages on your website, how you get found, popular keywords, and more. Google Analytics is a great tool to use for this purpose. Have at least three months worth of statistics to show your buyers, though a year would be preferable.
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Rankings
Not all buyers will ask for this, but it’s good to be prepared just in case. Find your Google page rank with a free page rank checker like PRChecker. You can also see how your website traffic ranks against others at Alexa.com.
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Average Monthly Revenue
Get your financials in order. Buyers will almost always want to see records that substantiate your revenue claims. You’ll want to have 12 months of records, if possible. Often buyers will pay the equivalent of one year’s worth of revenue.
How Much Would it Cost to Duplicate
Consider how much it would cost to rebuild your business, including designing the website, acquiring quality content, finding relevant links, building traffic. If it would be easy and inexpensive to duplicate, your site may lose some of its value. In preparation for a sale, beef up your business by adding value through the design and content. Make your site irresistible!
Brand & Reputation
A good, strong brand is important. You can increase your brand’s visibility by consistently getting your logo and business name out there. You can place ads on relevant websites, develop strategic alliances and link exchanges, write articles in which you position yourself (and your company) as an expert, create a strong social media presence (Facebook, Twitter, social bookmarking sites like Digg and StumbleUpon, etc.). Collect documentation for all of these things. Also, ask your previous customers for testimonials on your products and service. This will help attest to your good reputation.
What it’s Worth
There are all kinds of website valuation tools on the web. But the reality is it’s difficult to determine exactly how much a website is worth because it depends on so many factors. At the end of the day, the only thing that really matters is how much a buyer is willing to pay.
Where to Sell Your Website
There are a number of website marketplaces on which you can list your website. Here are a few of our favorites:
YoungEntrepreneur.com – Websites for Sale
And Remember…
As with anything in business, you’ll want to protect yourself against getting burned. Do your research, work only with reputable companies, and go with your gut. Be a savvy seller and it will be “smooth sale-ing” all the way to the bank.
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24 Responses to “Market Savvy: How and where to sell your online business”
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Credit Girl
12. Feb, 2010
Thanks for the tips! I really wouldn’t know where to go to sell my online business so thanks for the website suggestions. I’ll definitely have to check those out. Keep the great posts coming!
Legitimate Work From Home Jobs
12. Feb, 2010
I think the hardest part of selling an online business is putting a price on it. In many cases, a lot of time and effort was spent on the business; having specific information available upfront is very important. Also, I would like to add that not only the seller should protect him/herself. Buyers must be savvy of the business in question.
hotblogtips
13. Feb, 2010
I have bought and sold several websites (online businesses) and you can’t look at it as personal, it is business, and it must remain that way if you plan to make any money from it.
Rinaldi Syahran
13. Feb, 2010
i know where i can sell my online business but i don’t how to sell it. Fortunately, i see your post here describing what i want to know.
used tires
13. Feb, 2010
Those are some great suggestions. It’s definitely not easy to sell your site but with experience, you learn the right and wrong ways to go about it. Just about everyone makes the wrong or rash decisions about selling it at first.
Till then,
Jean
eBay Coach
13. Feb, 2010
Some savvy bloggers start a blog for the sole purpose of selling it one day. Create a passive stream of income on a blog, and sell it. Some people are good at building things to sell – websites and blogs are no different.
rosario
13. Feb, 2010
Thanks for the website suggestions :)
The Allergy Free Shop
13. Feb, 2010
@hotblogtips — That’s not true! I love what I do and think of it as a personal hobby that I just happen to make money from :)
teknoloji
14. Feb, 2010
I don’t think Sedo is for selling websites, only domain names I believe.
Manoj
14. Feb, 2010
Thanks for this article. I was looking for this information and I found it here. I have bookmarked your blog. I am a new entrepreneur and this blog seems to be useful for me.
ProBusinessGuy
14. Feb, 2010
Ya this is a good outline on how to sell a website.
Alot of people when they sell a website have no idea what they are doing. You need to make sure you have your fact together, this includes traffic, money made, alexa ect. good article bookmarked.
Marksteve
14. Feb, 2010
To sell online business is not so easy stuff,for that we need that type of the quality and quantity type of the business, to attract the client. And the most important the online business which should be prolific and long lasting. And the online business must have the competitive and useful business to be stable in the market.
Consolidation School Loan
15. Feb, 2010
This is really a great post with super useful info all in one place… a must read for people (like myself) interested in selling/buying websites!
Janey Kirsch
15. Feb, 2010
i want to setup an Online Business with a credit card processor and i am still researching about it. my current online business is just selling handbags and some stuffs on e-bay.
Laptop Briefcases
15. Feb, 2010
This post should be very useful for anyone that is considering selling their online business. While most of us would rather hold onto a website and make more money long term, sometimes it is still a good idea to sell your business. It is tough trying to figure out a reasonable price though. Usually you put more value on your efforts than your business’s revenue reflects.
Cash Genie
16. Feb, 2010
Great tips!
I believe that these would be really handy when I want to sell my website.
For me I would not sell it until I am getting a real good amount for it. Furthermore it is going good and I am enjoying but would refer back to this article while selling.
Payroll Outsourcing
16. Feb, 2010
Brand, Reputation and cost are most important factors in any business and as you mentioned tips and tricks for online business become very helpful for most of online business owners.
Cash Genie
16. Feb, 2010
Could you suggest any website which would give me a good worth of my site? I know there are few websites but have not come across any great site which would tell me actual worth based on certain parameters.
It is always good to know the worth of it, it gives confidence.
hobby exchange
16. Feb, 2010
very useful article. i like it. thanks. best regards
teknoloji
16. Feb, 2010
I know there are few websites but have not come across any great site which would tell me actual worth based on certain parameters.
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21. Feb, 2010
very useful article. i like it. thanks. best regards
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21. Feb, 2010
Thanks for the tips – I have had friends who have done really well selling their sites on Flippa
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22. Feb, 2010
I can help you but I need to know what kind of business you are starting and what you need before I can say yes, send me a some details…
jen
09. Mar, 2010
Thanks for the sites! I have 2 sites that I would like to sell but never knew how to go about it.