Assorted Thoughts on Website Buying, Selling and Monetizing

There are opportunities I've been able to profit from (or avoid losing money on) purely because I keep fairly up-to-date on webmaster news and buzz. I consider being news aware as critical to due diligence. It's also important tool for website sellers too, providing opportunities to sell at the right time or realise a higher price.

For example, a site listed for sale that got most of its traffic from Google looked like a fantastic deal. Fortunately, I had read in a webmaster forum that there was a major Google ranking change that day. After dragging out the discussion for a couple of days to monitor the site's traffic for change, it turned out that the originally stated reason for selling the site may not have been true after all. The seller had noticed his Google traffic had almost completely evaporated and was bailing.

Similarly, changes in PR, a new vulernability to a key platform, changes in the terms and conditions of major programs like CJ or Adsense can all be flags. When Adsense took a strong stand against arbitrage there was a flood of Adsense arbitrage sites on the market - sites that had become adept at buying traffic from Adwords on cheap terms, getting visitors to click on Adsense ads on more expensive terms and making a profit in the bargain. The very fact that Google's terms on a major program had changed was a warning itself. That there was a sudden rush of a particular type of site should have also set some alarm bells ringing. Chitika recently decided to do a manual review of all publisher sites in its network. Should a site come to the market today that earns primarily from Chitika, it doesn't matter if it has a multi-year history of strong profits, the chances are that earnings are going to disappear.

It doesn't matter what the news it, it could still be useful. A Google-slap to a major referrer - or to the main source of a site's PR - could be what sparks some sellers to make for the exit. When Squidoo got a Google slap for all the "lenses" they had on spammy topics, the creators of those lenses soon realised that the ultimate destination sites those lenses were created to benefit were going to be affected, and they started putting those sites up for sale. Great timing for sellers looking to get out of the market, but not so good for the buyers who end up with a site that's never going to perform to the standard demonstrated by all the genuine proof of income and proof of traffic provided.

Sometimes the battle for value between sellers and buyers relies on who's more clued up to what's happening in the market.

It's not just webmaster news that's useful. It pays to keep an eye on general news as well. The Federal Trade Commission's recent tightening up of rules on affiliate relationships, testimonials etc., has serious implications across internet marketing and many online business models. Is your seller getting the hell out because he realises his business model is doomed? Similarly, Apple's warning on a purge of certain apps spells trouble for some online businesses.

There are good webmaster newsletters and good forums for keeping up to date with news. Some suggestions:

SEO Roundtable
SE Watch
Mashable
The Webmaster World homepage
BBC Technology News
SEO Moz
Google Blog and Matt Cutts
Affiliate News and News at Affliliates4U

What's your favourite source for webmaster and technology news?

Tracking news from multiple sources could be an all day job in itself, so here's a suggestion if you're looking to buy a website: Post a thread in our due diligence section and benefit from other eyes and ears in the community to warn you of risks.