Work at Home Moms Talk Radio

It is challenging to put a price on a website.  We put countless hours of our time into developing a website and in some cases also invest money into custom graphics, original content and modified scripts, etc. 

There are some resources on the web that claim to be able to determine a websites value just by the domain name.  Others take Google PageRank and Alexa numbers into consideration.  I’ve seen some crazy numbers based on these rating systems so I don’t put a lot of faith in their opinions.

So much more needs to be considered.  You want to know what the traffic has been like and where the traffic has been coming from.  You need to know how many back links there are pointing at the website and where those links are coming from. (The more high quality links – especially deep links – from websites on similar topics, the better for the long range health of your search engine traffic.)

Most website buyers are really interested in one thing: How much money has the website been making? 

But you know, while it is good to know that a website has been generating income – that too can be misleading.  I’ve seen several websites built and promoted heavily – selling massive amounts of long term advertising.  The site owner then offers it up for sale telling the honest truth that they’ve made X amount of dollars with the site.  The new owner gives them their asking price and goes on to realize that the long term ads are clogging up the system and it is hard to sell any other ads becuase of this pre-existing competing ads.

In other cases – the website has been profitable and has long term potential – making it a good buy for the right person.   Why do I say that?  Well, I’ve seen a good site that was run well, sell for a good price only to have it driven quickly into the ground by someone who didn’t share the same skill set at the previous owner. 

Websites – especially websites in the Work at Home Mom community are successful largely because of the skills, management ability and personality of the owner.  So – that really has to be taken into consideration by the potential new owner.  You have to ask yourself if you can hack it.

If you’re thinking about buying an existing website – do take your time and be cautious.  I recommend avoiding the hyped up ebay auctions that promise huge turnkey profits.  Always take your time and research the history of a website.  If you’re new to the web, ask some more experienced marketers to give you a hand in reviewing potential purchases.  There’s so much you might not be aware of and you don’t want to be taken.

If you’re thinking about selling a website – I can tell you that I will happily pay an amount equal to about 75% of a website’s currently annual income if I believe the income is sustainable. I would not pay more than that – the internet is too changable and investing anymore would be a risk. I’m not suggesting this as a rule for pricing – just sharing my personal rules for engagement.

In some cases, a buyer will see potential that hasn’t been plucked yet and will offer you more than a current year’s income becuase they know they can turn things around and make it more profitable.

In the end – your price is your price.  Represent your website honestly and ask what you want.  You may get a full price offer right away – or you may get none and have to adapt your asking price.  Either way, don’t be afraid to put a value on your hard work.