The Essential Guide to Buying Your First Website on Flippa
You finally feel ready to take that big step and buy your very own first website, but how on Earth do you actually do it?
It may seem as though it’s a complex task riddled with risk, but you shouldn’t be scared of buying your first website on Flippa.
To give you a helping hand, SellMySite’s going to put it’s experienced arm around you and show you a few tips!
Choose Your Niche Very Carefully
One of the keys to a great site is one that has a regular turnover of new and engaging content, so you need to focus on a niche you can get excited about.
Say you’re really into your bodybuilding, do you think that buying a site about flower arranging would be a good idea?
No, because who wants to look at some crushed up flowers you’ve forced into a vase with your strong old hands?
However, I bet you could write a killer guide on how to build those mighty guns to a level Arnie would be proud of.
And you’re probably bursting at the seams already with more ideas.
I think you’re beginning to realize that there needs to be a passion behind any great site.
Decide on a Budget Which Won’t Bankrupt You
Sites can sell from as little as $50 up to $35 million, so it’s tough for a newbie to know how much money they should pay.
Ultimately, it comes down to your finances, but if you can afford a $35 million dollar website you probably don’t have to worry about money too much!
You also have to realize that you aren’t going to get a fully optimized, revenue busting site at the lower end of the market.
Flippa have a dedicated ‘Starter Sites’ section which caters to the flipping beginner, but you need to be wary of the sites on offer here. They’re all fairly new sites with little to no traffic and no revenue, so there’s a lot of work still to be done. If you want to start from scratch, but don’t want to wait for a site to be built, however, then they’re great.
Flippa’s ‘Starter Store’ is a great place for newbies to head
If you’re happy to start investing over the $400 mark then it’s possible to snare yourself a decent website which is already pulling in punters and revenue such as sportmonger.com
The site’s fairly generic WordPress design is in bad need of a revamp, but just look at the verified traffic and revenue stats. They’re very attractive when you see that the site sold for just $465.
Get Your Researching Hat On
You have to make sure that you do your research before hitting that alluring ‘Place Bid’ button or you could end up buying a turkey.
Pay keen attention to the following areas:
- Check out the Competition
That great site you’ve spotted in the e-commerce niche may look very appealing, but what’s the competition like?
You need to get deep into site metrics here to understand how your rivals operate. Platforms such as SimilarWeb give you so much info on your rivals that you’ll know if they’re struggling or dominating the market.
This should give you a good idea of whether to dip a foot in or try a different market.
Platforms such as SimilarWeb can really help you understand the competition
- Carry out keyword research
A clever way to see just how many people are searching for your niche is to do some keyword research. If there’s a high demand then there’s a higher chance of revenue.
Let’s use sportsmonger.com as an example. Now, they’re duking it out in the sportswear market, but just how many searches are being done each month?
Google’s Keyword Planner uses some algorithm magic to give us an estimate; as you can see, there’s around 110,000 monthly searches for this keyword.
Keyword research can reveal the potential of a niche
Impressive figures, but just think how cool it would be to win the majority of that traffic? And the associated revenue?! It’s enough to break the bank!
Don’t get greedy though and assume you can sprint straight to that position. Sportswear is a highly competitive niche and progress is difficult.
- Just How Crowded Is That Niche?
A quick way to find out the answer to this is with a quick Google search.
Searching for “sportswear” brings up around 87 million results
Google search results for “sportswear”
Sportsmonger may just have their work cut out in this niche!
Anything with under 150,000 search results presents a viable market where there’s room to make an impact. This means that a site dedicated to ‘spanish omelette recipe books’ may be more lucrative than you think.
Low search results indicate a potentially lucrative niche
- Don’t Pay Over the Odds
Without years of experience it’s easy to pay way too much for a site.
A simple way to acquaint yourself with the correct value is to search through Flippa’s ‘Just Sold’ section. This should allow you to value a site in a specific niche – you’ll need to take into account metrics such as revenue and traffic, but you’ll soon get the hang of it and become an expert.
Don’t Be Afraid to Ask Questions
There’s no such thing as a stupid question and a good seller on Flippa will always answer your questions.
Perhaps there’s something you don’t quite understand in the listing. It’s best to ask now rather than buy a site and discover you’ve got a huge problem on your hands.
Just head to the comments section at the bottom of the bidding page and ask away.
If you don’t get the answer you want, then don’t bid.
Be Brave, Go Forth and BID!
We hope that this guide has allayed a few of your fears and that you feel confident to make that first purchase.
Just make sure you plan a budget you can afford, carry out the right research and, most importantly, invest in a niche you love.
Go on, don’t be scared, get bidding!
