How to Make Money Buying and Selling Websites in Your Spare Time

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The world is becoming digital. Each day more of our lives moves to the internet. This is no different for the world of real estate. But not the real estate you might be thinking about; we’re talking about digital real estate.

Buying and selling websites is a great way to make money in your spare time, if you know how to do it. If you don’t, you may end up losing a bunch of money and regretting you ever got started in the first place.

To make sure this doesn’t happen, let’s look at how to navigate the digital world to bring in a little extra income.

Know where the value is

Not every website is valuable. In fact, the vast majority of them are not. So, then what makes one valuable? There are a couple of different factors to consider.

For example, how much money is the website making now? Generally speaking, a business is worth 2.5 times its yearly revenues.

This brings us to the next point: growth prospects. The way to make money buying and selling websites is, obviously, by increasing their value. To do this, you are going to need to find ways to make it grow. Using the 2.5x rule we just discussed, try to figure out what you think you can grow the site to. This will give you an idea about how much of a return to expect so that you can make a sound investment.

Another aspect of value to look for is the website’s search engine optimization (SEO) standing. SEO is crucial for making money with your websites. You need to have a solid profile of backlinks (links pointing towards your site) and you also need to rank well for high-value keywords.

Go after sites that are already positioned in a less competitive market. This way you can optimize them and generate new profits, boosting the value and increasing your return.

Keep it hands off

Your goal here is to make some money in your spare time, not to sign up for a second full-time job. You want to try and find sites that are already functional. Perhaps they have a small team in place to manage content, or maybe they are already performing well but just need that extra push.

This way, when you step in, you won’t be pouring over the site for 50 hours a week. Instead, you can spend a little time here and there making sure things are going smoothly. Then, when the site has some value built into it, you sell it and cash in.

Use a brokerage service

When it comes time to sell your site, you could list it on buy/sell platforms such as Flippa however you’ll likely be disappointed with the results. The people that use that service are looking for a deal, and they aren’t likely to want to pay exactly what you’re asking.

However, if you use a business broker, they will use their network to get in touch with serious buyers, those who are willing to pay what your website is actually worth. They end up taking a small commission, but it is worth it, as they will ultimately get you a better deal.

Ready to earn some money?

Learning how to make money buying and selling websites also involves a lot of trial and error. You’ll figure out what works and what doesn’t, and you’ll also notice how things change depending on the niche. But use this advice to get started, and before you know it, you’ll be enjoying a nice increase in your cash flow. You might even find you enjoy working on your new found income stream.