How Much Is My Website Worth?

It sounds obvious, but remember that your website is only worth as much as someone is willing to pay for it. This means that all those sites that 'calculate' the value of your website don't do it accurately. Usually they will say something like, 'Your website's estimated value is $10,454!' Until you have that amount sitting in your bank account, don't believe it for a second.

This also means that the nice people on forums who say, 'I like your site, I think it's worth about $1500', can't possibly know how much your site is worth to someone else. It's possible to gauge a rough estimate if you have experience in the topic; however, it does come down to the individual, their budget, and their plans for the domain name or website.

Avoid paying for an appraisal for your website unless absolutely necessary, and make sure it's a trustworthy source before handing over your money. In many cases they aren't worth the email or webpage they're written on!

• Domain name. E.g. www.squidoorocks.com (instead of www.squidoorocks.blogspot.com).


• Strong design. If your website is well designed then it will be worth more. If you have a custom design this also helps; sites built from pre-made templates (even if they are customised) will be worth less. You will also need to check the terms of a pre-made template to make sure you can legally sell it as part of your website.


• Income. If you're already making money from your site, then it has proven worth. The more you make, the more your website is worth. However, it's important to remember that inconsistent, fluctuating income gives a buyer room for negotiation.


• A good domain name. As a general rule, short domain names composed of dictionary words are more valuable...particularly in money-making fields such as gambling, insurance, loans and similar. Having said that, domain names are most important to affiliate marketers and domainers, so if you're not selling your website to either of those then your domain name shouldn't be much of an issue as long as it's appropriate for your website.


• Age. The older your domain name is, the more valuable it becomes.


• Metrics. It's a numbers game, so the number of visitors you get, your Alexa rank and Google PageRank will all play a part.


• Content. If you have plenty of original, high-quality content, then this will add value to your website. It doesn't have to be viral videos; even some well-written, informative text based pages can do the job.


• Features. If your website uses custom-made scripts or technologies that can't easily be found or recreated, then your site will be more valuable.


• Added extras. If you have 'extras' such as a mailing list database, Twitter account with a large number of followers or Facebook page with lots of fans, then you can expect to value your site more highly.


• Search engine position. If your site ranks highly in Google (first page) for valuable keywords, this will add a lot of value to your website even if you aren't currently making much (if any) money from it, as people will rate it based on its potential.
  

If you choose not to sell your website via auction, then you may need to negotiate the sale of your website with a private seller.

Think about:

• Who the seller is. Are they a one-man-band with a limited budget, or are they a representative of a rich company that can afford to pay more?


• What price they're offering. Normally, they will offer the lowest price they think they can get away with, so don't be afraid to offer a higher price. Try not to accept the first offer unless you're desperate to sell.


• How you can hold your nerve. Communicating via email means you don't have to make an instant decision, and it's also harder to be pushed into a final answer. If a buyer doesn't get back to you, wait at least a week and they may well give in before you do, or at least contact you to re-open negotiations.


• How you're going to complete the sale. How will the buyer know that you aren't just going to run off with their money?

Only sell at a price you are happy with - but make sure your expectations are reasonable. You could wait all your life to sell ejhdfhdfs.com for a million dollars, but it's not going to happen.

A great domain name is the key factor in selling your website, and can be essential in getting a buyer's interest. Even if the website doesn't make as much money as expected, it still has a high resale value and can be considered an investment.

Have a look at my domain name tips page for advice on buying a good domain name. Always research the niche thoroughly before buying, particularly if the name is free to register (and you aren't buying it from a seller directly); there may be a reason why it hasn't been registered yet.

If you're lucky you may strike it rich. www.fb.com was recently sold for $5.8 million.

Here are some places you can sell your website, or get a more accurate idea of its value. You should go through your website and check every page for errors, typos and broken images before listing your website for sale or appraisal.

• Sedo.com - A big domain marketplace.


• GoDaddy.com Auctions - Good for a quick sale.


• AcornDomains.co.uk - Although they primarily like UK websites, you can sell other domain name extensions as well.


• Businessesforsale.com - More general.


• eBay - Don't forget to advertise your listing all over the web.

If you're selling via a public website, make sure you advertise it (on your other websites, friends' websites, forums, Twitter, Facebook and other places) so people know where it's listed. Make sure you also put a clear link on the homepage of the website you're selling, whether it's a fully-fledged business or an untouched holding page.