Selling your website could be a good decision if you feel like there’s trouble on the horizon for your niche or you simply don’t feel like managing it anymore. Or maybe you planned to sell your site all along and you feel like the time is right. Either way, there are plenty of things that you can do before and during your sale to make sure that the transaction goes smoothly and that you get the most value possible from your site. Here are a few of them.
Make it Pretty
The very first thing you should consider is giving your site a makeover. If the style looks somewhat outdated, try a few design changes and test them through A/B testing. If you get an increase in sales, this probably means that the changes are appreciated and you’ll be able to increase your sales right before you sell your site.
Choose the Right Broker or Platform
If you want to sell your website, you usually have two options: sell it through a website marketplace like Flippa or use a broker. Both options have their pros and cons.
With a broker, you’ll have access to their large network of buyers and resources. All these people do is sell businesses and websites and they will often be able to sell your site much faster and for more.
This is especially true for niche sites. A broker that specializes in or has sold sites in your niche will be better able to set a realistic value for it. They might also already know people who are in the market for these types of sites and accelerate the sale that way.
If you decide to go with a broker, however, you need to check their track record. You have to check if they’ve ever sold on sites like yours, and how many. Ask them what technique they use to value the site and also if they work from an actual office. There are some good brokers that work from home, don’t get us wrong, but they won’t have the same resources as a whole team of brokers.
As far as platforms go, it’s always better to go with the big names and remember that you will still be responsible for all the aftercare service. You also have to take precautions to not get swindled or make mistakes that could compromise your site.
Consider Waiting
If your website and domain are still new, you should consider aging them a bit before selling them. Just waiting 12 months more could add a lot of value to your website without doing much work. If you feel like your niche and site will still be profitable one year from now, you should think about this option.
Have Your Data In Order
The more data you have on your website and how well organized it is will also have a direct effect on your site’s value. Your books need to be clean and you need to have as much information as possible on the traffic you have coming to your site. If you sell products, then you need to show conversion rates as well.
Tracking your traffic sources might be one of the most underrated factors when selling a website. A prospective buyer will love seeing that you’ve done the effort to build a solid link profile and have lots of traffic coming from search engines. This lets them know that they will be able to capitalize on this long after the sale.
These are all things that you’ll need to do if you want to extract maximum value from your website. It starts by choosing the right avenue to sell it and making your site as attractive as possible before you do.