Website flipping is the act of acquiring or building a website with the intention of reselling them at a later date for profit.
If you’re interested in making some money off a website you have acquired, you might be wondering how to flip a website.
In this article, I will cover 8 things you need to know about website flipping. So, if you’ve bought a website that you no longer have a use for, you know what to do with it.
So, let’s get into it.
Before we get started, let’s look at website flipping in more detail.
What is website flipping?
You will likely have heard of people talking about flipping houses, and the same principle applied to real-estate, applies to websites!
Website flipping simply refers to purchasing a website that can make you profit, and improving it before you sell (or flip) it to a buyer.
Seems simple enough, right? There’s a little more to it in the finer detail, as I explore below!
8 Things You Need to Know About Website Flipping
- The funds it takes to get started
If you’re interested in buying a website with the intention of reselling it, I know what you’re thinking. How much money am I going to need?
This entirely depends! If you’re just starting out and you have the skills to, I recommend building a website from scratch.
That being said, if you’re looking to buy a site that’s earning a minimum of $100/mo, it could cost you anywhere from $3000 to $3500.
- Where to buy and sell websites
There are two main places to buy and sell websites:
- Website brokerages
- Private website owners directly
Typically speaking, flippers tend to most commonly use website brokerages such as:
- Flippa: Flippa is a public auction marketplace that has the largest amount of active websites and mobile apps for sale amongst other digital assets.
- Empire Flippers: Empire Flippers are a private brokerage for content websites and e-commerce businesses.
- The skills needed to flip websites
Having a technical background helps when flipping websites, but isn’t necessary.
However, it’s essential that you are able to manage a team. While in the beginning it will just be you, as you grow as a business, you will need to know how to manage other people.
In addition, you will need to be able to learn quickly and on the go and have a basic understanding of data.
Lastly, you will need to ensure that you keep the goal in mind. If the goal is to make profit and sell, don’t become too attached to your business.
- Be wary
When purchasing websites, you need to be wary of getting ripped off, as someone else is always out to make a profit. Make sure you research the seller, and know their reason for the sale.
Always make sure that you verify traffic numbers and are aware of falsified traffic data.
In addition to this, you will need to verify the profit and loss statement as well as check the quality of the backlinks with third party tools like Ahrefs.
Remember, if it seems like a deal is too good to be true, it probably is!
- Avoid using a difficult domain name
This is a big one. You don’t want to use a difficult and long domain name that someone is likely to forget.
In addition to this, you should try to opt for a .com website if you can, as the average user tends to use this as the default.
- Don’t take a gamble
Make sure that the website that you are buying and planning to resell isn’t a huge gamble with your time and money.
You need the website to be profitable, as this is the goal you’ve set out. If you’re going to be doing all of the work yourself, you will need to think carefully about what’s worth your time and effort.
- Be aware of the competition
Always make sure that you’re checking out your competitors and are putting the time into researching.
You could spend a lot of time and money, but if you’re not up to scratch with your competitors, you won’t be in the same league!
- Avoid rushing it
Last, but by no means least, avoid rushing the process. When purchasing websites, you want to be able to negotiate without feeling desperate to reach an agreement.
If you’re not in a rush to sell your website, you have more time to hold out for a better deal.