If you are no longer interested in running your website, you could sell it for a good price depending on the website. The one thing most people who want to sell a website do not realise is that it can be incredibly challenging to do so while also ensuring you get the price you want for it. Even when you know you have a fantastic and valuable website, the market will dictate what you get for it. However, there are a few things you can do to ensure you not only sell your website successfully, but that you also get what you want for it.
Research Your Audience
It can be confusing to hear someone tell you to research your audience when launching your website and when you want to sell it. The reason for doing so is to understand who to market your website to. Different buyers and investors buy websites with an audience they know they can leverage and are therefore usually looking for websites with a certain audience.
If you can prove that the audience you have aligns with the type of audience a buyer or investor is looking for, there is a greater chance they will be interested in your website. Additionally, you can also get a better price if you can prove your website gets a large number of the “right” type of visitors. The reasoning is that a smaller audience will be of little help to a buyer or investor who is looking to scale the website fast once they acquire it.
Know What Your Business (and Website) is Worth
It is almost impossible to know what to ask for from a buyer if you do not know how much your website and consequently the business it facilitates is worth. A few things to think about here is whether your website is unique enough, whether it has potential for long-term growth, and if its niche is unique enough.
However, every criterion you identify that can add to or affect the value of the business will either enable or hinder revenue and long-term growth. Think about how much profit the website will make in the coming years, what value it offers visitors, where it can be scaled and other factors that attract buyers and investors.
There is so much to learn to know how to value your website. It would be best to learn everything you can about internet business valuation to know the different factors that affect valuation, as well as the methods and tools to use to end up with a final figure.
Optimise Your Traffic Sources
When thinking of other factors that will impact how much your business is worth, it is important to think about how much value the right traffic sources will bring to the website. Businesses that rely on paid ads and traffic are often seen as a liability because they use money to create the traffic, which may not always be sustainable. It may also not be something an investor or buyer wants to continue doing.
Businesses with a high value have a lot of organic traffic. The reason is that organic traffic sources often lead to a higher profit margin. A steady stream of organic traffic means the new owner will not have to go broke trying to keep the same levels of traffic. Additionally, organic traffic is sustainable and much easier to manage. This is seen as more valuable.
To show that your website has the right type of traffic (organic) you can use the Search Console and Google Analytics and traffic analysis reports. These tools and reports give a clear, undisputed view of the types of traffic your website gets, and the higher the organic traffic levels, the better your website will be valued.
Create Financial Reports
As with all other investments, potential buyers want to see your website is making money and has been doing so for some time. Many brokers and buyers require at least six months of financial reports, all of which need to be verified depending on the documentation they ask for.
The good news here is that you can get sales and financial data from the tools you use to sell on your website. If your website is an ecommerce one, doing so is even easier.
Some financial reports you will need to create and show include:
- Proof of sales
- Profit & Loss documentation
- Ad spend
Create a Marketing Funnel
Since you have been running your website for some time, you already understand what a marketing or lead funnel is. Just like you would use it to raise the awareness of your products and services and lead customers down a path to becoming paying customers, you can use this tool to lead potential buyers along the same path.
Use your website’s marketing funnel to create awareness, capture leads, market to qualified leads and turn potential buyers into real buyers.
Research Website Selling Marketplaces
Even in cases where you have a marketing funnel, it is still important to research website marketplaces. There are lots of marketplaces available for different types of websites and niches, and instead of going with your gut on which would be best for you, do your research.
Find out which of these marketplaces are successful and why, why they are different from their competitors, how they market the websites on their platforms, how they sell your business and what criteria they use to accept a website for listing.
One important thing to check is the fees. Many of these marketplaces do not charge you to list a website but charge a percentage of the sale. Ensure you understand how these fees are charged before you list your website with any marketplace.
Once you have a general idea of all these, consider noting their dos and don’ts so you can apply these criteria when listing your website on these marketplaces.
Selling your website can be exciting at first, but these feelings can fade when you discover what it takes to sell one. With the right preparation and knowing what you need to do to attract potential buyers, the process can be a lot smoother, and you are likely to end up selling for the price you always hoped for.
