How do you add value to a website?

[Clinton]

Was just reading the WebsiteBrokers article on adding value to a website and it left me very unimpressed.

The main (and almost only) point they have is ...SE relevance! Huh! That's exactly what I don't want in a site: highly SEOed and highly reliant on a single source of traffic.

They end with this gem

consider the always-important level of current revenue. Does your site bring in $100 in ad revenue every month? That’s nice, but a site that brings in $1,000 in ad revenue each month will probably be considered more valuable.

Can we do any better? What adds value to a site? If you're a buyer what would persuade you to pay more (apart from earnings)?

[Thomas]

Depends on the niche and my buying strategy. If I'm buying for synergies with my current portfolio, I might "over" pay, whereas other times I'll buy purely on ROI.

Few things that can add value IMO:

- an opt in list
- unique coding/IP/etc.
- quality WH links (that bring in traffic)
- active membership (if a forum)
- reliable outsourcers (content writers etc)
- well systemised (if it's service based)
- active affiliates (if appropriate)
- exclusive deals with suppliers/affiliate networks
- quality content (clearly written by someone with a brain)
- and more...

I actually would prefer to buy a site that hasn't got much going for it (other than "potential" ). That way I can increase value and realise all the upside myself rather than having to pay for it. Some of my clients may look for the above if they are looking for passive investments.

As a seller, it's well worth optimising as WebsiteBroker try to point out

[DomainMagnate]

If you're a buyer what would persuade you to pay more (apart from earnings)?

here are some thoughts:
- growth potential - this is pretty ambiguous and always abused by sellers, so let me elaborate. SEO potential: moderate competition, serps and traffic can be improved with reasonable effort. This compared to sites that already rank #1 for main term, or are stuck somewhere in the serps between some .gov sites and a wikipedia page. Also in terms of seo potential - more keywords in the niche which aren't used much on the site so more relevant unique content can be added.
Better monetization potential - naturally so revenue can be increased either by tweaking ads, or experimenting with other aff offers.
Niche growth potential - new, rapidly expanding niche.
- stable traffic/revenue history years back
- high quality, natural backlinks
- high quality, interesting content

[Kay]

Meathead's posting covered most bases for me.

I've only ever bought one site - happy with it but I usually just buy domains - so this is hypothetical. I would like if I could see a trend, opportunity, or niche that isn't big now but I had either some kind of info or even a gut feeling that it was going to take off in the next year or so.

Say I've discovered that the law will change soon and that by 2013 every car must remove their round wheels and change them for pentagonal wheels, then I would like to buy up sites from nutters who are already promoting pentagonal wheels. BTW, if any of you think that this might actually happen, the dot com is still available. (Remember, you read it here first.)

[Clinton]

I put together a list of the top 30 things you can do to add value to your site.

I originally posted it here, but decided to move it to the VIP Lounge - why give everything away to the lurkers who don't contribute?

It's now at this location. Enjoy.

If you like it, post your comments in here please to tease the lurkers

[Kay]

I know that usually we should just click the "thanks" button but I had to say that this list is awesome. Thanks. There's more in there than some people have in their stupid e-books that sell for $79.99.

[Clinton]

Thanks Kay, that's one of the posts that I've had the most "Thank Yous" for. And since the date of your post others have added their own tips to mine ... and I've added a few more.

I'm writing today because for the third time this week I've been contacted by PM about access to that above thread - maybe this page is showing up in SEs or somewhere.. People are signing up and expecting access just because they registered on this forum.

That's not how it works! For any new visitors to this thread coming directly from search engines or anywhere else, don't bother registering just to get access to the VIP section. Details of how to get free access are here - you need to become a regular contributing member to gain VIP access.

One more thing - you can't become a "contributing member" by posting just any old nonsense in quick one line replies to build post count! We have strong anti-fluff rules and you'll just get banned. Join only if you think this is one of the best forums on the net and you want to be a regular long term poster! Otherwise, thanks for dropping by and have a nice day.

[rob]

Audit trail for stuff you have done to add value.

Simple terms - stock photo receipts, previous offers on domains & sites and the like.

[Magnus]

This one is crude - but it's worked for me ...

Taking a nice-looking site (in terms of design, pleasing to the eye, colours, etc.) that has its main income from advertising (big Goog.) ... and make it, well, "uglier".

Well, ugly is perhaps not the right word ...I think simpler would be right way to put it.

• If it's got links to other pages on the site - then only have one side-menu
• Only have three colours - White as background, black writing and one colour for headlines and such (that is matched to advertisment links)
• Usual optimisation stuff really...

EDIT: Not sure if that's adding value - but it adds to the profits at least.

[KenW3]

That one thread would make access to the VIP lounge worthwhile. It details exactly how to increase asset values of web sites. Following the list adds substantial value to any site being offered for sale. Buyers can look at the thread, see ways to improve properties, and know the best sites to bid on for future resale.

Audit trail for stuff you have done to add value.

Simple terms - stock photo receipts, previous offers on domains & sites and the like.

Rob, your post reminded me of something I have done since starting to build sites. I've told a couple people here about it, but will write it up to add to the VIP thread.