If you want to buy or sell a website, here are a few things you’ll want to consider…
1. Will there be a broker involved? Website brokers can put buyers and sellers together but there will be a commission for doing so. Know who the broker is representing (you or the other side).
2. Will the website’s assets be sold (e.g. domain name, customer list, etc.) or will the entity (e.g. corporation or limited liability company) that owns the website be sold? There are different liability issues depending upon how the sale is structured.
3. If only part of the purchase price is being paid up front, how will the intellectual property (e.g. domain name, copyrights, etc.) be protected if payments stop? Who will own it? The buyer or the seller?
It’s a great time to buy websites if you’re looking to own your own business. It’s also a nice time to sell websites because many downsized employees are looking to own their own business.
Just be careful when structuring the transaction so that you’re not getting burned in the process.
TIP: A great way to pick up some websites related to what you’re already doing online is to search for a keyword/key phrase in your business on Google. Find some aged sites with stale content that are still ranking on pages 2 or 3 of the search results for your keyword or phrase, and make the website owner a lowball offer for the site.
