Buying Sites

[jmizzle]

I find myself browsing flippa every once in a while and have almost pulled the trigger on a couple $XXX priced sites. Small change but mostly out of curiosity. Main reason I didn't end up buying them is because I have no clue how to do proper due-diligence.

I did some searching around here but mostly come across threads on domaining or stuff from BST. I have seen a few sites the last few days that I was pretty curious about and, by looking at them, see a number of ways that they could immediately be improved and better monetized. But again, my ignorance and somewhat conservative ways when it comes to risk has stopped me.

I loathe asking for handouts but does anyone have some tips or resources to reference when looking at sites and do the proper due diligence? Hell, if someone with experience buying some sites doesn't mind taking a look at a couple of the expired ones I passed on to give an opinion would be awesome.

If I did buy a site, I'd like to create a journal of (hopefully) turning it into a more profitable site.

Thanks for any help.

 

[REIMktg]

Do not buy a site. Build a site. (unless you are buying a site to improve - but it appears you are not ready for this)

Trust me on this.

This forum has everything you need.

 

[rockstar45177]

Do not buy a site. Build a site. (unless you are buying a site to improve - but it appears you are not ready for this)

Trust me on this.

This forum has everything you need.

Building a site will take six months out of your life as you wait for it to get trust with Google.

Also if you plan to go into competitive niches you are going to need to buy a site.

an aged site can give you a huge advantage and be a nice time and money saver.

OP things you want to look for and due diligence on are the following:

• lots of age more then 4 year is usually good
• lots of indexed content
• lots of backlinks
• good consistency with archive.org
• after purchase keep domain register , hosting and whois the same
• forget flippa search Google for sites that rank within the top 250 of Google for keywords you want to rank for and contact the site owners and make them an offer to purchase their site.

good luck

 

[REIMktg]

Building a site will take six months out of your life as you wait for it to get trust with Google.

Also if you plan to go into competitive niches you are going to need to buy a site.

an aged site can give you a huge advantage and be a nice time and money saver.

OP things you want to look for and due diligence on are the following:

• lots of age more then 4 year is usually good
• lots of indexed content
• lots of backlinks
• good consistency with archive.org
• after purchase keep domain register , hosting and whois the same
• forget flippa search Google for sites that rank within the top 250 of Google for keywords you want to rank for and contact the site owners and make them an offer to purchase their site.

good luck

better advice than what I offered

- in the end it depends on what you are targeting. I presumed, probably in error, you would not be going after a competitive niche and that you would be better off moving in slowly. But certainly if you can find something that fits the criteria abvove - it could work to your benefit. Finding someone that is not targeting the site for sale may be wise too because they will not be intentionally manipulating any data when you find them - many Flippa sites are not what they appear on the surface.

 

[Wicked Weasel]

Do not buy a site. Build a site. (unless you are buying a site to improve - but it appears you are not ready for this)

Trust me on this.

This forum has everything you need.

I know people that own thousands of sites. Instead of buying one $500 site, why don't you make your own 50 sites and build them instead?!

 

[JTP50]

In addition to the great bullet points given above you want to look for a site that has potential for improvement. Think about on-site SEO. What are the keyword phrases a site targets and how are those keywords present on the site?

Also, are the articles on the site original? How long are they?

These are all areas for potential improvement that would provide you with an opportunity to make the site even better and thus rank higher.

 

[hrgottlieb]

The downside, though, is existing page structure and how much you plan on changing existing pages.

 

[Agent Star]

Buying sites off Flippa has its ups and downs. You should get to know the person behind buying the sites. Seems like many of them are just quick to get a few quick dollars in their PayPal.

yes i am jaded..

Due diligence is testing the traffic, getting involved in the sites daily regiments. Bottom line, get involved and if they knock the idea, run away

 

[1yerrot]

I really don't trust it, too many shady people out here. If you do buy ALWAYS pay through escrow and and ask for a week or so inspection period. That way you can atleast see the traffic numbers and income potential first-hand. Always ask for proof of income like screenshots (although these can be altered), and most of all ASK tons of questions.

Check the site's backlink profile, see if the owner gave it the links it needed or if their is opportunity to really push it over the edge with some quality backlinks.

If they are monetizing with adsense, ask if they have ever had an adsense ban, ask them WHY are they selling it. Ask how far are they willing to go to prove income.

You really need to be anal about it, I am not that type of person so I rather not even buy. Beside that, even after you do all of that, there is no guarantee that you can work the site the way they did, so you might get a perfectly good site and still not see the profit that they did.

I'd definitely vote for building your own site, but that's just me.

 

[blogspotter]

• lots of age more then 4 year is usually good
• lots of indexed content
• lots of backlinks
• good consistency with archive.org
  [*]after purchase keep domain register , hosting and whois the same
• forget flippa search Google for sites that rank within the top 250 of Google for keywords you want to rank for and contact the site owners and make them an offer to purchase their site.

good luck

ALl of this.

You will not get such site on Flippa. Well you will see it but when you are thinking about it, it will have been BINed. For sites that qualify the above 4 list, you will get buyers who will pay 36 months to 60 months multiples if you are a good seller. If you can buy it for 24to 36 months multiple, it is still is a good buy..



I underlined what I didn't agree. Not necessary at all. And you have to change the Whois at some point of time. You can't keep the registration details in the name of the old owner. When do you change? Plus, as long as you are not buying a dropped domain, it is fine.

 

[omgyams]

I target sites with zero backlinks as I that's the thing that'll make/break any site purchase which I may not be able to fix. I hate fucking around with banned/penalized domains.

 

[iSynergy Media]

Build a site, as the head ache involved will be much less than modifying an old existing one to suit your needs. Research on the best methods and get someone to build it for you.