Judging your own site’s value can be difficult. It’s tempting to use online valuation tools and pick and choose the ones that offer the highest estimations for an accurate asking price on your website.
But that’s not a good way to approach the actual evaluation of your site; instead, it’s simply wishful thinking. A better way to go about it is to use good, solid criteria to gauge the value of your site, which is why we’re going to introduce five such criteria right here that you can start using today. You don’t have to list your site for sale at WebsiteBroker.com just yet, but the results of your evaluation may surprise you.
1. The Financial Statement
The bottom line truth about selling and buying websites online is that it’s all about money. This shouldn’t exactly come as a shock to anyone who’s been buying and selling websites for some time, but it’s important for you to realize it if this is the first time you’ve been evaluating a website’s value. The financial statement is important: income, expenses, revenue, profits – they’re all part of the overall package, and are probably the most important part.
2. Traffic
Getting traffic is the name of the game online, though it’s not as simple as pushing feet through the door. Targeted, high-quality traffic is also important to have. In other words, good traffic isn’t always bought – it’s organic, a result of high placement in search engines for highly relevant terms. Does your website generate traffic, and is it traffic that actually enjoys your site?
3. Search Engine Results
Yes, this plugs in to the section on traffic, but it’s worth spending some time thinking about how a site is placed on Google and Yahoo. If you were buying a site from someone else, it would be wise to run a few keyword searches to see how it places – you can assume that other buyers will do the same for your site. The higher you place for better terms, the more your site is worth.
4. Monetization (or Lack Thereof)
Although monetizing doesn’t always come naturally to certain website builders, the truth is that a site can still be worth a lot if it simply hasn’t been monetized properly. Maybe it has a lot of relevant and participating traffic but simply hasn’t been displaying ads. If a site is under-monetized, its profit potential can spell big bucks for the seller.
5. Infrastructure
No, we’re not talking about subways and railways; the infrastructure of your site might seem less impressive, but it can have a giant impact on your site’s value. Does it have its own content management system? Is it easy to use? Easy to navigate? Is the structure for what your site wants to accomplish already in place?
Use these criteria and point them at your own site to give you a better idea at how much your site may be worth. Compare your results for some of the bids at WebsiteBroker.com and you’ll have a great idea where your site may lie.
