源码值多少钱_您的网站值多少钱？

源码值多少钱

Every day, we hear of yet another enormous company that’s paid an even more unbelievable sum for an online entity that — it often seems from where you and I are sitting — doesn’t actually generate much of an income. In the last few years, Yahoo! has bought MyBlogLog (for a rumoured $10-12 million), MusicMatch (for $160 million) and Flickr (for an undisclosed value); Google has snapped up Jaiku and MeasureMap for undisclosed sums, and YouTube for the much-touted figure of $1.65 billion.

每天，我们听说还有另一家巨大的公司，该公司为在线实体支付了甚至更高的价格，而这在您和我所坐的地方通常似乎并没有产生多少收入。 在过去的几年中，雅虎！ 已购买MyBlogLog(据传为10-12百万美元)，MusicMatch(以1.6亿美元)和Flickr(未公开价值)； 谷歌以未公开的价格收购了Jaiku和MeasureMap，YouTube以16.5亿美元的价格被抢购一空。

That’s right: $1.65 billion.

没错：16.5 亿美元 。

Sums like this may remind some pundits a little too much of the Bad Old Days of the web bubble — some have even questioned big sites’ valuations — but, quite naturally, they lead site owners the world over to ask themselves, "Well, just how much is my site worth?"

像这样的总结可能会让一些专家想起网络泡沫的糟糕时光- 有些甚至质疑大型网站的估值 -但是，很自然地，它们导致世界各地的网站所有者问自己：“嗯，只是我的网站值多少钱？”

Ask in any forum how you should value your web site, and countless would-be online investment experts will give you intriguing, but often contradictory advice. There are the accounting formulae, the professional appraisers, the online tools (just enter a few facts about your site and we’ll give you a rough valuation!), the endless cries of, "if I see value in the site, then it doesn’t matter what anyone else says. I’ll pay whatever’s necessary to get it!" … none of which are very helpful.

在任何论坛中提问，您应该如何评价您的网站，无数的潜在在线投资专家会为您提供有趣但经常相互矛盾的建议。这里有会计公式，专业评估师，在线工具(只需输入一些有关您网站的事实，我们将为您提供一个粗略的估价！)，无休止的呼喊：“如果我看到网站的价值，那别人怎么说都没关系。我会付出一切必要的代价！” ……这些都不是很有帮助。

So recently, SitePoint set out to find something approaching a clear answer on site valuation. We asked several experts — people who have, for years, made their livings online, and have first-hand experience buying and selling web properties of various types — for their insights into the web property market, and for tips and advice on valuing sites. We also scoured the stats from the SitePoint Marketplace, in an effort to get a more complete, balanced picture of what’s going on at the everyday end of the site sales market.

因此，最近，SitePoint着手寻找一些可以明确评估网站价值的方法。我们询问了几位专家-他们已经在网上谋生了很多年，并且在购买和出售各种类型的Web资产方面有第一手的经验-他们对Web资产市场的见解以及有关评估网站的技巧和建议。我们还从SitePoint市场中搜集了统计数据，以便更全面，更平衡地了解网站销售市场的日常活动。

The ultimate aim of all this was not, of course, to produce yet another formula or tool into which you could plug a few figures and a domain name to get some kind of valuation for your site. Instead, we wanted to clarify the issues surrounding site valuations, and give site owners a clear picture of the factors that were affecting their sites’ values. We wanted also to provide starting points from which you could work to translate those factors into dollar values.

当然，所有这一切的最终目的不是产生另一个公式或工具，您可以在其中插入一些数字和域名来为您的网站进行某种评估。相反，我们希望澄清有关网站价值的问题，并让网站所有者清楚了解影响其网站价值的因素。我们还想提供一个起点，您可以从这些起点将这些因素转化为美元价值。

But before we jump into the complexities of site appraisals, let’s shed a little light on the technique that investors have traditionally used to value businesses: financial formulae.

但是，在进入现场评估的复杂性之前，让我们先了解一下投资者传统上用来评估企业价值的技术：财务公式。

使用财务公式评估站点 (Valuing a Site Using Financial Formulae)

Many of us find the valuations given to online entities baffling — the YouTube sale was a case in point. Sure, big companies might pay big bucks, but if Joe Average wants to sell his online forum or ecommerce site, he knows he’s unlikely to sell it to Google. And so, rather than relying on their, apparently generous, valuation, Joe needs a guideline of his own.

我们中的许多人发现对在线实体的估值令人困惑-YouTube的出售就是一个例子。当然，大公司可能会为此付出高昂的代价，但是如果乔·阿维德想要出售他的在线论坛或电子商务网站，他知道他不太可能将其出售给Google。因此，乔需要依靠自己的指导方针，而不是依靠他们看似慷慨的估价。

Many people in this situation turn to age-old accounting formulae. One common version of these rules of thumb states that the value of an online business lies somewhere between five and seven times its net monthly revenues; another states that the value is around 50% of the business’s turnover.

在这种情况下，许多人转向古老的会计公式。这些经验法则的一个常见版本指出，在线业务的价值大约是其每月净收入的五到七倍；另一则声明其价值约为公司营业额的50％。

A quick search online will turn up countless similar rules of thumb. One business broker lists four common methods for business valuation:

在线快速搜索将发现无数类似的经验法则。一位商业经纪人列出了四种常见的商业评估方法：

profit-based valuation, which obviously requires the business to have reliable profit figures
基于利润的估值 ，这显然要求企业拥有可靠的利润数据
asset-based valuation, which is commonly used by buyers who aren’t really interested in running the business, but want to obtain the assets in question
基于资产的评估 ，通常由对运营业务不感兴趣但希望获取相关资产的买方常用
the comparable sales method, which considers the sales prices of similar, recently-sold businesses, and makes a comparative valuation on that basis
可比销售方法 ，该方法考虑了最近出售的类似企业的销售价格，并在此基础上进行了比较估值
the "Rule of Thumb" approach, which compares the industry standard figure for a value that’s considered important (e.g. sales or gross profits) with the business’s own figures. So, for example, you might obtain the average ratio of sales to gross profits for businesses in the industry in question, then compare it to the same ratio for the single business in question. Ultimately, this compares the business to its industry average, but is used in specific industries.
“经验法则”方法 ，它将被认为重要的行业标准数字(例如销售额或毛利润)与企业自身的数字进行比较。因此，例如，您可以获取所涉及行业中企业的销售与毛利的平均比率，然后将其与所涉及单个企业的相同比率进行比较。最终，这会将企业与其行业平均水平进行比较，但用于特定行业。

Rob May, owner of ValueOnTheWeb.com, a company that developed and sells a web site valuation system that allows customers to tap into a raft of web property market data in order to gain insight into their own sites’ values, makes an important distinction between these formulae, suggesting that "what really matters is cashflow and net profit." In this vein we find another rule of thumb that’s long been used to assess the value of an investment: the "discounted cashflow approach", where the projected income from the site over a given time period is discounted by the rate of interest you want to earn on your money within that time period. This approach is used to determine what you should pay for that investment now — in today’s dollars.

ValueOnTheWeb.com的所有者Rob May是一家开发和销售网站评估系统的公司，该系统使客户可以利用大量的网络房地产市场数据来深入了解自己网站的价值，这些公式表明，“真正重要的是现金流量和净利润”。在这种情况下，我们发现了长期用于评估投资价值的另一条经验法则：“ 现金流量折现法”，其中给定时间段内来自站点的预期收入被您想要的利率折现。在该时间段内赚钱。该方法用于确定您现在应该为该投资支付的金额(以今天的美元计算)。

This sounds good, but can cashflow- and profit-based formulae like this really be relied upon in the volatile online market? Rob doesn’t believe so. He contends that, "when it comes to web sites, those values can vary dramatically from owner to owner because the cost structure can change with a new owner. For instance, if a site has both programming and content work to be done, I’ll outsource the programming, but might sometimes write the content. Another owner may outsource the content and do the programming. Another owner may outsource both."

这听起来不错，但是在瞬息万变的在线市场中，真的可以依赖像这样基于现金流量和利润的公式吗？罗布不这么认为。他认为，“在网站上，这些价值在所有者之间可能会发生巨大变化，因为成本结构可能会随着新所有者的变化而变化。例如，如果一个站点同时要进行编程和内容工作，我会将外包程序，但有时可能会编写内容。另一个所有者可以将内容外包并进行编程。另一个所有者可以将两者都外包。”

So although a formula might give a buyer a valuation of the site as it stands, from a purely financial viewpoint, it can’t take into account the value a new owner might be able to add — that takes foresight, vision, and a thorough assessment of the skills and capabilities that the potential buyer can bring to the table. And that’s probably why, though there are numerous valuation techniques, many pundits advise site owners to ignore all such rules, or at the very least, to consider them as only one piece of a much larger jigsaw.

因此，尽管公式可以使买家对网站的现状进行评估，但从纯粹的财务角度来看，它不能考虑新所有者可能能够增加的价值，这需要具有远见，远见和全面评估潜在买家可以带来的技能和能力。这就是可能的原因，尽管有许多估值技术，但许多专家建议网站所有者不要理会所有这些规则，或者至少将它们视为更大拼图中的一个。

Yet Dan Grossman, of Awio.com — a network of sites that provides tools and information for site owners — believes that there are some cases in which a formula might be worth considering as one aspect of a valuation. "If you’re going to buy a web site just to continue operating it, then basing the buying price on expected future revenues is fair," he comments. But again, he points out that "it’s not always that simple. When I browse the SitePoint Marketplace and other similar venues, I’m looking for two things: a web site with great content or technology that could grow significantly if it were exposed to the right market, or one that would integrate well with my existing sites to grow their revenue. The price of that kind of purchase isn’t strictly based on the revenue the site is currently earning, but what value it can potentially bring."

然而， Awio.com的 Dan Grossman(一个为网站所有者提供工具和信息的网站网络)认为，在某些情况下，公式可能值得考虑作为估值的一个方面。他说：“如果要购买一个网站只是为了继续运行它，那么将购买价格基于预期的未来收入是合理的。” 但是他再次指出：“这并不总是那么简单。当我浏览SitePoint市场和其他类似场所时，我正在寻找两件事：一个内容丰富或技术先进的网站，如果将其暴露给他人，它可能会显着增长。合适的市场，或者可以与我现有的站点很好地整合以增加收入的市场。这种购买的价格并不严格基于站点当前的收入，而是潜在地带来的价值。”

That sentiment is echoed by Chris Beasley, web publishing stalwart and Editor of websitepublisher.net. "As a buyer what matters is what a website is worth to you," he comments. "If think you can make 10 times more than what the current owner makes, then limiting yourself to a multiple based on the current owner’s revenue is dumb."

网络出版的坚定者和websitepublisher.net的编辑Chris Beasley对此表示赞同。他说：“作为买家，最重要的是网站对您的价值。” “如果认为您的收入是当前所有者的10倍，那么基于当前所有者的收入将自己限制为倍数是愚蠢的。”

These comments hint at the miasma of factors that can impact on a site’s ultimate sale price — factors we’ll get to in a moment. But in addition to the nuances of the site itself, there are two broader considerations that a formula simply cannot take into account. Yaro Starak, an online businessman who tracks his adventures online at Entrepreneur’s Journey, identifies one of these considerations. "As with all investments, what someone is willing to spend is what something is worth," he says. "As long as we’re dealing with people, the potential to manipulate price is very real."

这些评论暗示了可能会影响网站最终销售价格的因素的混乱状态-我们稍后将讨论这些因素。但是，除了网站本身的细微差别外，公式还不能考虑两个更广泛的考虑因素。在线商人Yaro Starak(他在Entrepreneur's Journey上在线跟踪他的冒险经历)指出了这些考虑因素之一。他说：“与所有投资一样，某人愿意花的钱就是物有所值。” “只要我们与人打交道，操纵价格的潜力就非常现实。”

What we might call the "human factor" obviously varies with each sale, and each of the parties involved — there’s no accounting for either gullibility or ruthlessness!

我们可以称之为“人为因素”的显然是随每次销售而变化的，并且涉及的各方各不相同-不管是轻信还是冷酷无情！

Of course, in the changing world of the Web, site sellers need to beware of more than just intentional manipulation. "The Internet is fast moving and situations can change very quickly if a new site comes to the market in your niche," advises PrimitiveNetwork’s Tim Dickinson. "Paying more than the predicted profit for the next year or two can be risky, and even if a site offers more than just profit to you or your users, you still normally need to break even on a site at worst."

当然，在瞬息万变的Web世界中，网站卖家需要提防的不仅仅是故意操纵。 PrimitiveNetwork的Tim Dickinson建议说：“如果您的利基市场有新网站，那么互联网正在快速发展，情况可能会Swift改变。” “付出超过未来一两年的预期利润可能会带来风险，即使一个网站为您或您的用户提供的不仅仅是利润，您通常仍需要在最坏的情况下实现收支平衡。”

Again, no formula could have anticipated the explosive popularity of social networking sites — that kind of foresight requires more than an ability to crunch numbers.

再次，没有任何公式可以预料到社交网站的爆炸式普及-这种远见卓识不仅需要处理数字的能力。

It seems that, while a formula may provide site owners with a starting point, the limits of a formula-based approach may greatly restrict its relevance to many of the deals being made today. So, if formulae and accounting equations only give us a part of the picture — at best — what else should we consider in valuing our sites?

看来，虽然公式可以为网站所有者提供一个起点，但基于公式的方法的局限性可能会极大地限制其与当今许多交易的相关性。因此，如果公式和会计方程式仅给我们一部分(最多)，那么在评估站点价值时，我们还应考虑什么？

网站价值因素 (Site Value Factors)

There are nearly as many factors that are seen to contribute to a site’s value as there are people who have bought or sold web properties. Among the lists of factors that can impact on a site’s value are:

促成网站价值的因素几乎与购买或出售网站资产的人一样多。可能影响网站价值的因素包括：

the nature of the online property (for example, blog, informational content site, social network, online community etc.)
在线资产(例如，博客，信息内容的网站，社交网络，在线社区等)的性质
the age of the property and its domain
财产的年龄及其领域
the perceived value of the brand, and goodwill associated with it
品牌的感知价值以及与之相关的商誉
the profits or earnings generated by the property, and the revenue model through which they’re earned
物业产生的利润或收益，以及赚取收益的收入模型
the projected life of the site and its niche
网站的预期寿命及其利基市场
the amount of traffic the site receives, and where that traffic comes from
网站收到的流量以及该流量来自何处
the site’s SEO strategy, and its PageRank
网站的SEO策略及其PageRank
the number and quality of backlinks to the property
指向该属性的反向链接的数量和质量
the costs of running the site, including promotional costs, time costs, and so on
网站运行成本，包括促销成本，时间成本等
the risk involved in purchase — a factor that may depend equally on the buyers’ perception as it does on available critical "wisdom" or research regarding the market segment in which the site operates
购买中涉及的风险 –一个因素可能同样取决于买家的看法，就像它取决于可用的关键“智慧”或有关网站运营所在的细分市场的研究一样
the property’s or business’s position within the market, its uniqueness, and the levels and types of competition it faces
房地产或企业在市场中的地位，其独特性以及所面临的竞争水平和类型
the comparative cost to the buyer of developing the site themselves
买方自行开发网站的相对成本
the barriers to entry to the market that the potential buyer would face if they were to enter the market themselves, building a separate business from the ground up
潜在买家自己进入市场将面临的进入市场的障碍，从头开始建立独立的业务
the number and value of perceived opportunities available to the site
该站点可用的机会的数量和价值
the property’s strategic fit within the potential buyer’s operations
物业在潜在买家经营中的战略契合度
the property’s appropriateness to the potential buyer’s skillset
物业对潜在买家技能的适用性
the ease with which that buyer can monetize the site further, including the expense of any changes the buyer might like to make to the site after its acquisition
买方可以轻松通过该网站进一步获利，包括买方在收购网站后可能希望对该网站进行的任何更改的费用

Yes — that’s a stack of considerations, and working out the value of each in reference to your own site will be quite a task. Moreover, this list is far from all-encompassing: different factors may affect different sites’ valuations at various times throughout its life.

是的-这是一堆注意事项，要根据您自己的网站确定每一项的价值将是一项艰巨的任务。此外，该列表远非包罗万象：不同的因素可能会影响其整个生命周期中不同时间的估值。

If you’re beginning to think that site valuation is an incredibly complex task, you’re right. Fortunately, our experts were keen to wade through the list and identify the factors that they felt had the greatest importance in a site’s valuation.

如果您开始认为网站评估是一项极其复杂的任务，那么您是对的。幸运的是，我们的专家热衷于仔细研究清单，并确定他们认为对网站估值最重要的因素。

The Top 3 Value Factors

前三大价值因素

1. Domains and Traffic

1.域和流量

Of all the factors, advises Andrew Johnson, owner of the popular webpublishingblog.com, "domain name value is number one. It only applies to a few, but …if your site is sitting on a generic domain name, the amount of money the content side throws off may have no bearing on its sales price."

流行的webpublishingblog.com的所有者安德鲁·约翰逊(Andrew Johnson)建议说，在所有因素中，“域名价值是第一位。它仅适用于少数几个域名，但是……如果您的网站使用的是通用域名，那么内容方面的问题可能与其销售价格无关。”

Yaro focuses particularly on "traffic growth over the long term (sustainability), sources of traffic (do you have to pay for it to keep it coming, or is it organic?) and revenues." And he believes that site buyers are keen to know "how much revenue a site makes, how much profit there is after expenses, how much traffic it gets today." He suggests that they’ll want to see "a month by month history of traffic, and if possible, a breakdown of each traffic and income source." Tim backs this position, contending that "traffic demographics are all-important. For instance, advertisers tend to pay more for visitors from western nations, and for users with relatively high disposable incomes." This point may be especially pertinent if, like Tim, a potential buyer of your site believes that "ad targeting is the name of the game."

Yaro特别关注“长期的交通增长(可持续性)，交通来源(您必须为此付费以使其持续增长，还是有机的？”)和收入。他认为，网站购买者渴望知道“网站赚多少钱，扣除费用后有多少利润，今天得到多少流量”。他建议他们将要查看“每月的流量历史记录，并在可能的情况下查看每个流量和收入来源的明细”。蒂姆支持这一立场，认为“人口统计学非常重要。例如，广告商倾向于为来自西方国家的访客以及可支配收入相对较高的用户支付更高的费用。” 如果您像网站的潜在购买者一样，蒂姆(Tim)认为“广告定位是游戏的名称”，则这一点可能特别相关。

These arguments are reflected in site sales from the Marketplace. There, sites that receive fewer than 2000 unique visitors per month (a total of 477 sites sold) sold for an average of US$906 — significantly below the total average sale price of US$1560. By contrast, of the 89 sites that sold which attracted between 20,000 and 30,000 uniques per month, the average price was US$2843. And sites with more than 40,000 unique visitors each month — all 27 of them — averaged a sale price of US$17,401, though the highest selling price in that category was US$185,000. Here’s the complete breakdown.

这些论点反映在Marketplace的网站销售中。在那里，每个月收到的唯一身份访问者少于2000个的网站(总共售出477个网站)，平均售价为906美元，远低于1560美元的总平均售价。相比之下，在售出的89个网站中，每月吸引了20,000至30,000个唯一身份的商品，平ASP格为2843美元。每月拥有40,000多位唯一身份访问者的网站(全部27个网站)的平均销售价格为17,401美元，尽管该类别中最高的销售价格为185,000美元。这是完整的细分。

A graph showing the increase of unique visitors with sales price

As you’d expect, the sales price breakdown was similar when pageviews per month were considered. Sites that attracted fewer than 1000 pageviews a month — including those who didn’t’ provide pageview figures — sold for an average of US$903, and those with four-figure monthly pageview counts didn’t fare much better — US$959, on average. At the other end of the spectrum, sites clocking up hundreds of thousands of pageviews each month sold for an average of US$5563 — though there were only 289 of them, and the average sale price for the 13 sites that totalled 10 million or more pageviews per month was US$20,186.

如您所料，当考虑每月的网页浏览量时，销售价格明细相似。每月吸引不到1000次浏览量的网站(包括那些没有提供浏览量数据的网站)的平均售价为903美元，而每月浏览量为四位数的网站的销售情况却没有好得多，平均为959美元。另一方面，每个月获得数十万次网页浏览的网站平均售价为5563美元，尽管其中只有289个，这13个网站的平均销售价格总计超过1000万次每月是20,186美元。

Can you produce traffic figures and a demographic breakdown of visitors to your site? If so, you’ll be in a better position than other site owners in your niche. Yaro predicts that the importance of traffic will continue to grow in future sales. "I expect more and more large companies are going to go the rout of buying sites as a means to acquire new traffic sources rather than, or in addition to, all the traditional ways to build traffic online, like SEO, PPC and content creation." Chris also supports this argument, albeit more broadly…

您能否产生访问量和访问者的人口统计细分？如果是这样，您的位置将比其他网站所有者更好。 Yaro预测，流量的重要性在未来的销售中将继续增长。 “我希望越来越多的大公司会大肆购买网站，以此来获取新的流量来源，而不是或者除了所有传统的在线建立流量的传统方式之外，例如SEO，PPC和内容创建。 ” 克里斯也支持这种观点，尽管范围更广……

2. Stability and Profits

2.稳定性和利润

"What I’m concerned with are assets and net profit," Chris says. "Assets would be things like domains, software, intellectual property, and even link weight." If you think Chris prefers older sites to turnkey ventures, you’re right. "One of the more important factors for me is stability and age. I would characterize an “established" site as being three years old or older," he reveals. "Stability of income is an unsung hero of web site publishing."

克里斯说：“我关心的是资产和净利润。” “资产将是域，软件，知识产权，甚至是链接权重之类的东西。” 如果您认为Chris更喜欢旧站点而不是总承包业务，那您是对的。他透露：“对我来说，更重要的因素之一是稳定性和年龄。我将一个“老牌”网站的特征定为三岁或更老。收入的稳定性是网站发布的无名英雄。

It’s certainly true that of the sites for sale a disproportionate amount are recent developments. Of the sites sold in the SitePoint Marketplace, more than 85% were less than two years old. In Chris’s three-year-plus category, we find just 110 sites, or just over 5% of the total sites sold. Obviously such sites are rare, which buyers would expect to translate to a premium price.

可以肯定的是，在待售网站中，不成比例的是最近的事态发展。在SitePoint市场中出售的网站中，超过85％的网站不到两年的时间。在克里斯三年以上的类别中，我们发现只有110个网站，占售出网站总数的5％以上。显然，此类网站很少见，买家希望将其转化为高价。

Tim reveals one outstanding benefit of stability. "Advertisers tend to feel safer with recognised web sites and established brands," he says, "so web sites that are recognised and well established in their niche can be worth more, as they could earn greater profits for the same amount of upkeep."

蒂姆(Tim)揭示了稳定性的一个突出好处。他说：“广告商使用公认的网站和知名品牌往往会感到更加安全，因此，在其利基市场得到认可和良好树立的网站可能会价值更高，因为在进行同样数量的维护的情况下它们可以获得更多的利润。”

But stability can boost profitability in more ways than one, as Rob points out. "Sites that require less work, like well-established forums or article directories, command a higher premium," he says, "because buyers want to make as much money as possible with as little work as possible. And as Tim suggests, "web sites that have to attract new customers from search engines are risky investments, because your customer acquisition costs can fluctuate dramatically over time."

正如罗布指出的那样，稳定性可以通过多种方式提高盈利能力。他说：“需要较少工作的站点，例如建立良好的论坛或文章目录，要求较高的溢价，因为购买者希望通过尽可能少的工作来获得尽可能多的收入。正如蒂姆建议的那样，”必须从搜索引擎吸引新客户的网站是有风险的投资，因为您的客户获取成本可能会随着时间大幅波动。”

Andrew summarises that, "in terms of long-term value, you want a site that has a diversified range of traffic sources that will not disappear over night," and Rob agrees. "In general, I think PageRank is worth less," he says. "Steady organic traffic is worth more, and stable monthly revenue matters a lot." He points out, of course, that the balance between these factors varies with the type of site and its revenue model. But the factors apply across the board, to some degree.

安德鲁总结说：“就长期价值而言，您希望网站的流量来源多样化，并且不会在一夜之间消失，” Rob表示同意。他说：“总的来说，我认为PageRank的价值更低。” “稳定的自然流量值得更多，稳定的月收入至关重要。” 他指出，当然，这些因素之间的平衡会因站点的类型及其收入模型而异。但是这些因素在某种程度上适用于整个领域。

Though Andrew feels that PR isn’t as important as other factors, it’s interesting to note that there was some correlation between PageRank and sales prices in the SitePoint Marketplace. Sites that listed a PR of zero sold for an average of US$459 — and there were nearly 300 of them. The 144 sites with a PR of 2 averaged a US$1145 sale price, while sites with a PR of 6 averaged US$12,061 (over 47 sales). Though other factors are inherent in every sale, the statistics do suggest that, if PR doesn’t directly impact a site’s sale price, sites that sell for larger sums tend to have better PageRank. And despite the opinions of our experts, in the site selling market, it’s likely that PR still has a role to play in a site’s valuation.

尽管安德鲁认为PR并不像其他因素那么重要，但有趣的是注意到PageRank与SitePoint市场中的销售价格之间存在一定的相关性。 PR为零的网站平均售价为459美元-其中有将近300个。 144个PR为2的网站的平均销售价格为1145美元，而PR为6的网站的平ASP格为12,061美元(超过47个销售)。尽管其他因素是每笔销售的内在因素，但统计数据确实表明，如果PR不直接影响网站的销售价格，则以较大金额出售的网站往往会有更好的PageRank。尽管有我们专家的意见，但在网站销售市场中，公关仍可能在网站估值中发挥作用。

3. Potential

3.潜力

"Has the site owner pushed the site to its maximum income potential?" asks Andrew, highlighting a consideration that many site owners tout as the justification for what often turns out to be an unjustifiable site price tag: that a site has great potential. "In some cases," Andrew explains, "30 minutes of work can double a site’s income. That’s extreme, but it is reality."

“网站所有者是否将网站推到了最大的收入潜力？” 安德鲁问安德鲁斯，他强调了一个考虑，许多站点所有者吹捧作为通常证明站点价格不合理的理由：站点具有巨大的潜力。 “在某些情况下，”安德鲁解释说，“工作30分钟可以使网站的收入增加一倍。这很极端，但这是现实。”

Tim firmly agrees that potential impacts on value. "A site may be worth a purchase price — even if it will make a financial loss itself — if it has additional value to you in userbase targeting or spin-off sales from technology." Yaro takes a similar view. "If you can plug a traffic stream straight into your business and make a return, then it doesn’t matter if the site makes no money by itself," he says, adding that this reduces the site’s value to other buyers, "meaning you can get a bargain."

蒂姆坚决认为潜在影响价值。 “如果网站在用户群定位或技术的分拆销售方面对您具有附加价值，那么它本身可能会造成一定的经济损失，即使它本身会造成财务损失。” Yaro也持类似观点。他说：“如果您可以将流量直接插入您的业务并获得回报，那么网站本身没有赚钱就没关系，”他补充说，这会降低网站对其他买家的价值，“意味着您可以讨价还价。”

"A site buyer needs to evaluate a site as if they already owned it," Chris says, "under the concept of “What could I do with this?" rather than only worrying about what the existing owner did with it."

克里斯说：“根据“我该怎么办？”的概念，克里斯说：“一个网站购买者需要评估一个网站是否已经拥有它。” 而不是只担心现有所有者的做法。”

"If it’s going to increase your revenue," Dan summarises, "then a web site definitely has value, regardless of its current income."

Dan summarises表示：“如果这将增加您的收入，那么无论其当前收入如何，网站肯定具有价值。”

Getting to know your buyer might give you an opportunity to present them with possibilities for the site’s future development — to illuminate new directions with solid revenue potential. "As a seller," Andrew advises, "I think it is completely fair to reprice your site based on who the interested party is that is buying."

了解您的买家可能会给您一个机会，向他们介绍该站点的未来发展可能性-阐明具有可观收入潜力的新方向。 “作为卖方，”安德鲁建议说，“我认为，根据有兴趣的买家是谁来重新定价您的网站是完全公平的。”

Other Value Factors

其他价值因素

Workload

工作量

For Andrew, workload is another important determinant of site value. "Does the site require a lot of man hours to run?" he asks.

对于安德鲁来说，工作量是站点价值的另一个重要决定因素。 “该站点需要大量的工时才能运行吗？” 他问。

"Often I’ll see sites that score well in terms of domain value, traffic, and potential, but require a great deal of day-to-day work on the owner’s part. If you have a team working for you, or can profitably hire someone, this isn’t such a big deal. But the truth is, if you just let the site sit, its traffic and earnings are going to erode (something to consider if you’re buying to hold rather than buying to sell)."

“通常，我会看到在域名价值，流量和潜力方面得分很高的网站，但在所有者方面需要进行大量日常工作。如果您有团队为您工作，或者能够赚钱，雇用某人，这没什么大不了的，但事实是，如果您只坐下来，网站的访问量和收入就会受到侵蚀(要考虑的是，您是持有还是持有而不是出售) 。”

Yaro concludes that the best buys often are those that "run off models that don’t require much ongoing work or investment from the owner." This is a big consideration for those looking to sell high-maintenance sites: the more you can automate processes, the greater the potential for a higher sales price.

Yaro得出的结论是，最物有所值的商品通常是那些“不需要太多所有者持续工作或投资的模型”。对于那些希望出售高维护性站点的人来说，这是一个很大的考虑因素：您可以使流程自动化的程度越高，就可能获得更高的销售价格。

The listings in the SitePoint Marketplace reveal the importance of workload to buyers. "Attain steady income with this easy-to-earn web site" invites one seller whose property — a movie download review site — sold the next day. Another seller promotes his offering with the words "No work — easy AdSense Revenue", while another invites buyers to "Let the site do the work for you". Yet another site offers a script that crawls other sites, with permission, and feeds content back to the main site — definitely a low-maintenance affair. Just 24 hours after the site was listed in the Marketplace, it was sold. This small sample suggests that low maintenance is a big selling point!

SitePoint市场中的清单显示了工作量对买方的重要性。 “通过这个容易赚钱的网站获得稳定的收入”邀请了第二天卖出其财产的人，该人是电影下载评论网站。另一位卖家用“没有工作，轻松赚取AdSense收入”来宣传自己的产品，另一位卖家则邀请买方“让网站为您完成工作”。另一个站点提供了一个脚本，该脚本可以在未经许可的情况下对其他站点进行爬网，并将内容反馈给主站点，这绝对是一项维护成本低的事情。该网站在Marketplace中列出后仅24小时便被出售。这个小样本表明维护成本低是一大卖点！

Synergy

协同作用

"What does the buyer bring to the table?" Andrew asks. "If you study corporate acquisitions, the ones that work out are when they are closely related to the acquiring company. This is what is called "adjacent spaces." If you already run a site in your potential acquisition’s niche you may have additional market knowledge and assets others do not."

“买方带什么到桌子上？” 安德鲁问。 “如果您研究公司收购，那么成功的解决方案就是与收购公司密切相关。这就是所谓的“相邻空间”。如果您已经在潜在收购的利基市场中经营着一家工厂，那么您可能具有更多的市场知识和别人没有的资产。”

Obviously, synergy has a close tie with — and huge impact on — a site’s potential to any one buyer. And the degree of synergy will vary with each different seller who investigates the site for sale.

显然，协同作用与站点对任何购买者的潜力都有密切的关系，并对其产生巨大影响。而且，协同作用的程度将随调查该待售网站的每个卖方而有所不同。

So what exactly does Andrew mean when he talks about the assets one buyer may bring to the table that others cannot? The answer to this question takes in many factors. "Market knowledge could be a better understanding of how to structure a site to make it more profitable; assets could be a relationship with a deep pocketed advertiser. These are things that bring leverage to an acquisition."

那么，当安德鲁谈到一个买家可能带来的其他买家无法买到的资产时，究竟是什么意思呢？这个问题的答案有很多因素。 “市场知识可以更好地理解如何构建网站以使其更具利润；资产可以与实力雄厚的广告客户建立关系。这些都是为收购带来杠杆作用的原因。”

Rob makes the point that in valuing a site, the seller has "to consider whether it’s a financial acquisition or a strategic acquisition. The latter usually gets a higher price" — a point that sellers should keep in mind as they prepare — and price — a site for sale. By looking at the potential buyer’s other operations and possible plans for your site, you can get a clearer idea of your site’s value to them.

罗布(Rob)指出，对网站进行估价时，卖方必须“考虑是金融收购还是战略收购。战略收购通常会获得更高的价格” –卖方在准备资产和价格时应牢记这一点。网站出售。通过查看潜在买家的其他操作以及您网站的可能计划，您可以更清楚地了解您的网站对他们的价值。

Technology

技术

Tim points to a potential burden inherent in a site’s sale, saying "the technology behind the site and your license of it is also very important. If the site’s using a commercial script then you’d have to continue to pay license fees to run the site. If the site uses well-known open source scripts then it must do more to stand out from the crowd. If the site uses a proprietary script, then is it well made, do you have exclusive rights to it and what warranty do you get with it?"

Tim指出了网站销售中固有的潜在负担，他说：“网站背后的技术和您的许可证也很重要。如果该网站使用的是商业脚本，则您必须继续支付许可证费用才能运行该网站。如果该站点使用著名的开源脚本，那么它必须做更多的工作以脱颖而出；如果该站点使用专有脚本，那么它的制作得好吗？您是否拥有专有权？懂吗？”

If you can answer these questions about your site and, more importantly, ensure they don’t present hurdles to potential buyers, then you may be able to command a better price for your site.

如果您可以回答有关您的网站的这些问题，更重要的是，确保它们不对潜在买家造成障碍，那么您也许可以为您的网站定一个更好的价格。

Of course, technological considerations aren’t all bad news, as Tim is quick to explain. "If the proprietary script is of a high quality and sold exclusively with the site then there could be monetary value in licensing the script to other sites, or even making it open source so the development costs will not rest solely with you," he suggests. Astute buyers may well review these kinds of possibilities in assessing a sale, so be prepared to answer technical and licensing questions about your site.

当然，正如Tim可以Swift解释的那样，技术上的考虑并非全是坏消息。他说：“如果专有脚本是高质量的，并且只在网站上出售，那么将脚本授权给其他网站可能具有金钱价值，甚至可以将其开源，因此开发成本不会完全由您自己承担，”他建议。精明的买家可能会在评估销售时仔细考虑这些可能性，因此请准备好回答有关您网站的技术和许可问题。

It’s interesting to look through the sales of technology — scripts, script sites, and so on — through the SitePoint Marketplace. PHP-based sites and scripts seem popular, (one sold for $2200 in 7 days, another for $3000 in 3 days) as do sites that use standard, well-known technologies such as WordPress and VBulletin.

通过SitePoint市场查看技术的销售情况(脚本，脚本站点等)很有趣。基于PHP的网站和脚本似乎很受欢迎(一个网站在7天内售价为2200美元，另一个网站在3天内售价为3000美元)以及使用标准，知名技术(例如WordPress和VBulletin)的网站也是如此。

Comparative Cost

比较成本

We mentioned comparative cost analysis as a formula for estimating site value, and in fact Dan Grossman says that he uses this analysis as a starting point for a site evaluation. "To get a baseline, I consider what it would cost to replicate the site," he says. "If it’s got lots of original content, or a complex service, the answer is probably ‘a lot.’"

我们提到比较成本分析是估算站点价值的公式，实际上Dan Grossman表示他将这种分析作为站点评估的起点。他说：“为了获得基准，我考虑了复制站点的成本。” “如果有很多原始内容或一项复杂的服务，答案可能是'很多'。”

Dan believes that this kind of assessment can help potential buyers find bargains, as valuable sites are sold for a figure below the real cost of creation. "A lot of times this happens when there’s an individual owner or creator who doesn’t factor their years of labor into the price," he reveals. "For instance, they may only use the basic revenue multiplier to value the site."

丹(Dan)认为，这种评估可以帮助潜在买家找到便宜货，因为有价值的网站以低于实际创造成本的价格出售。他说：“很多情况下，当有个体所有者或创造者不将其多年劳动成本计入价格时，就会发生这种情况。” “例如，他们只能使用基本收入乘数来评估网站的价值。”

Chris agrees that comparative cost is an important factor in assessing a site’s worth, but from a perspective of establishment rather than development. "New sites can often simply be imitated rather than bought," he says. "Sites can be built to function identically to other existing sites, and content can be written that covers the same topics, so all existing sites have is their built up traffic, customers, and link weight." As Chris points out, these are the aspects that take time to establish, and that give a site "a perpetual head-start against any other competitors."

克里斯同意，比较成本是评估网站价值的重要因素，但从建立而非开发的角度来看。他说：“通常可以简单地模仿而不是购买新站点。” “站点可以被构建为与其他现有站点具有相同的功能，并且可以编写涵盖相同主题的内容，因此所有现有站点都具有其已建立的流量，客户和链接权重。” 正如克里斯指出的那样，这些是需要花费时间才能建立的方面，并且使网站“永远领先于其他竞争对手”。

In evaluating these factors for a site, Chris looks at the costs not just of replicating the site, but also, the investment and time required to "promote it to the point where it’s doing as well as the one you want to purchase. If the sum you come up with is less than the purchase price, that tells you something."

在评估网站的这些因素时，Chris不仅考虑了复制网站的成本，而且还考虑了“将其推广到您要购买的网站以及所要购买的网站所需的投资和时间。”你想出的总和小于购买价格，这告诉了你一些东西。”

Sellers must be wary of undervaluing their time. Experienced buyers will expect to pay for the time that’s been spent both developing a site and establishing its position within a niche. If a buyer baulks at a price that takes this time into account, you can always present them with a comparative cost analysis that shows exactly how much it would cost them to create and establish the same site from scratch. Of course, if potential buyers can design and build a similar site for less than the asking price on a turnkey proposition — and they have an equally useful domain, and other assets — then they’re likely to have difficulty seeing the value in the sale.

卖方必须警惕低估时间。经验丰富的买家将期望为开发网站和在利基市场中占据一席之地付出时间。如果购买者以考虑到这个时间的价格购买商品，则始终可以向他们提供比较成本分析，该分析可以准确显示出他们从头开始创建和建立相同站点所花费的成本。当然，如果潜在买家能够以低于交钥匙提议的要价的价格设计和建造一个类似的站点，并且他们拥有同等有用的域名和其他资产，那么他们很可能很难看到出售中的价值。

工作中的价值因素 (The Value Factors At Work)

Given these indications of what buyers are looking for, you’re probably getting an idea of the rough price range in which the value of your site might fall — toward the higher, lower, or middle areas of the price range. But there’s one key element that we haven’t considered yet, and that’s the type of site you’re selling. If we were to compare the web property market with the physical real estate market, a site’s type might be comparable to the neighbourhood in which a house was located. And as we all know, that has a big impact on a property’s value.

有了这些表明买家正在寻找什么的指示，您可能会了解一个大概的价格范围，该价格可能会降低您网站的价值-朝价格范围的较高，较低或中间区域倾斜。但是，我们尚未考虑一个关键因素，那就是您要出售的网站类型。如果我们将网络房地产市场与有形房地产市场进行比较，则站点的类型可能与房屋所在的社区相当。众所周知，这对房地产的价值影响很大。

To get an idea of the ways in which the different value factors impact on sites of different types, we asked each of our experts to comment on how they would value a particular type of site.

为了了解不同价值因素对不同类型网站的影响方式，我们要求每位专家对他们如何评价特定类型的网站进行评论。

Valuing a Content Site

评估内容网站

Chris Beasley gives us two critical questions he’d ask himself if he were assessing a content site for sale: "What is the site worth to me? How much can I make off the site?" They seem simple enough, but as usual, the answers depend on a number of factors.

克里斯·比斯利(Chris Beasley)向我们提出了两个关键问题，他会问自己是否正在评估一个内容网站，该网站对我来说有什么价值？我能从网站上赚多少钱？它们看起来很简单，但是像往常一样，答案取决于许多因素。

"If I have some exceptional synergy such as a related ecommerce business — and so I could gain both link weight and direct customers from cross-promotion — then I would likely pay a good deal for such a site," Chris explains.

克里斯解释说：“如果我有一些特殊的协同作用，例如相关的电子商务业务，那么我可以从交叉促销中获得链接权重和直接客户，那么我很可能为此网站付出了很多。”

A content site’s value may be a factor of the site’s synergy with the potential buyer’s current operations, but does this mean a valuation of a content site will always be heavily subjective? Not if the site’s being acquired for financial, rather than purely strategic, reasons.

内容网站的价值可能是该网站与潜在买家当前运营的协同作用的一个因素，但这是否意味着内容网站的估值将始终是高度主观的？如果网站是出于财务原因而非纯粹出于战略原因而被收购，则不是这样。

"If I have no synergy with the site for sale," explains Chris, "then I’d have to base the assessment off current income, or what I believe the current income could be if I controlled the site, minus the cost of the time spent bringing the site from its current state to what I’d see as its "optimal" state."

克里斯解释说：“如果我与要出售的网站没有协同作用，那么我就必须以当期收入为基础进行评估，或者如果我控制了该网站，我认为当期收入可能是多少？将网站从当前状态恢复为“最佳”状态所花费的时间。”

In valuing content sites for financial acquisition, Dan uses a mixed approach. After his comparative cost analysis, he says, "there are a couple key metrics that help you come up with a reasonable value." He considers "whether the content is original, what level of traffic the site receives from search engines and natural linking, and how long you expect that traffic to continue."

在评估内容站点以进行财务收购时，Dan采用了混合方法。经过比较成本分析后，他说：“有几个关键指标可帮助您得出合理的价值。” 他认为“内容是否原始，网站从搜索引擎和自然链接获得的流量水平以及您希望该流量持续多长时间”。

The nature of the content obviously has a role to play. "Some content lasts, while other content doesn’t, and lasting content that remains relevant for years can be more valuable in the long run," Dan says. Chris agrees that quality content holds value: "If your content is poor, the buyer could likely easily replicate it for less than they’d pay you." However, he believes the importance of quality content can decrease with increasing site stability. "As a site grows older, more popular, and more established, then the need for original content gets smaller and smaller. If your site brings in 10 million page views per day, no one’s going to care if the content is unoriginal or not unique, so long as it’s legal," he says.

内容的性质显然可以发挥作用。丹说：“某些内容可以持久保存，而其他内容则不能保存，而从长远来看，与之相关的持久内容从长远来看可能更有价值。” 克里斯(Chris)同意优质内容具有价值：“如果您的内容很差，那么购买者很可能会以比支付给您的价格低的价格轻松复制它。” 但是，他认为质量含量的重要性会随着站点稳定性的提高而降低。 “随着网站变得越来越老，越来越流行，越来越成熟，对原始内容的需求也越来越小。如果您的网站每天带来1000万次页面浏览量，那么没人会在乎内容是原创还是不唯一，只要合法即可。”他说。

Dan believes that ease of monetisation of the site is another key consideration. "If the site’s traffic is already being monetized, I look at whether I can see ways to monetize it better, which might make it worth more than current revenues."

Dan认为，简化网站货币化是另一个关键考虑因素。 “如果该网站的流量已经被货币化，我将研究是否可以更好地将其货币化，这可能使其价值超过当前收入。”

Content site owners will need to consider the nature of the potential — or most likely — buyers of their sites in valuing those sites. Obviously, the reason for acquisition can impact on the relative importance of the value factors, and as a content site seller, you’ll want to consider both strategic and financial acquisition types if you’re going to get a fair price for your site.

内容网站所有者在评估这些网站时，需要考虑其网站的潜在购买者(或最有可能的购买者)的性质。显然，收购的原因会影响价值因素的相对重要性，作为内容网站卖家，如果您要为网站获得合理的价格，则需要同时考虑战略性和财务性收购类型。

Valuing a Blog Site

评估博客网站

"Blogs are tricky to evaluate," Yaro Starak warns sellers of sites in this blossoming genre. "The value really depends how entrenched the audience is with the current writer or writers, and if you were to buy the site, whether the current writers are coming along with the sale too."

Yaro Starak警告说：“博客很难评估。” “价值的确取决于观众对现任作家有多深厚的信念，如果您要购买该网站，那么现任作家是否也会随之而来。”

For most blogs that are run single-handedly, the answer to Yaro’s second question would be a resounding "no!", but does that mean a one-person blog has no value? Absolutely not. "Some blogs have a brand with no specific personality attached it," Yaro continues, "in which case it’s easier to assess the worth of the site using the standard metrics we mentioned above."

对于大多数单手运行的博客，Yaro第二个问题的答案是“不！”，但这是否意味着一个人的博客没有价值？绝对不。 Yaro继续说：“有些博客的品牌没有特定的个性，在这种情况下，使用我们上面提到的标准指标更容易评估网站的价值。”

Of course, blogs that are driven heavily by the author’s personality — like Yaro’s own site — are a different case altogether. "If the site is driven off the back of one or several particular writers," he says, "unless you can retain them or bring in people of equal talent, you risk losing a chunk of the audience with the change of ownership."

当然，在很大程度上取决于作者个性的博客(例如Yaro自己的网站)完全不同。他说：“如果该网站被某个或几个特定的作家赶走，除非您可以保留他们或招募具有同等才能的人，否则您将有可能因所有权变更而失去一部分观众。”

That’s a big risk factor for anyone buying into this shifting market — it seems likely that the more unique and personalised the blog content, the greater its potential for success — and the more difficult it may be to sell if the writer doesn’t come with the site. So are blogs a catch-22? Not if the writing team is part of the deal, or if the value of the site lies in the nature of the blog content, or topics covered, rather than the personalities and writing styles of individuals who work on it.

对于任何人进入这个瞬息万变的市场来说，这都是一个很大的风险因素-似乎博客内容越独特和个性化，其成功潜力就越大-如果作者不愿出售，则出售就越困难。网站。那么博客是22点吗？如果写作团队是交易的一部分，或者网站的价值在于博客内容或所涵盖主题的性质，而不是工作人员的个性和写作风格，则不是这样。

There are other potential pitfalls for the would-be blog seller, though, the most prominent being the workload involved. "Blogs require a constant flow of content to keep traffic and revenues growing," Yaro warns. "If you have good writers available it’s not an issue, but if you don’t, there are better web sites you could buy that run off models that don’t require as much ongoing work or investment from the owner."

不过，潜在的博客卖家还有其他潜在的陷阱，其中最突出的是所涉及的工作量。 Yaro警告说：“博客需要持续不断的内容流，以保持流量和收入的增长。” "If you have good writers available it's not an issue, but if you don't, there are better web sites you could buy that run off models that don't require as much ongoing work or investment from the owner."

Rob agrees that the amount of work involved in running a blog may also be affecting this segment of the web property market at the moment. "According to our data," he says, "blogs have sold on average for about 11.56 times revenue over the last year. Sites with more static content have sold for an average of 14.37 times revenue. They attract a price that represents a higher multiple of revenue because they’re less work. But, if you look at the graphs, blogs are easier to get to higher monthly revenue figures than static content sites."

Rob agrees that the amount of work involved in running a blog may also be affecting this segment of the web property market at the moment. "According to our data," he says, "blogs have sold on average for about 11.56 times revenue over the last year. Sites with more static content have sold for an average of 14.37 times revenue. They attract a price that represents a higher multiple of revenue because they're less work. But, if you look at the graphs, blogs are easier to get to higher monthly revenue figures than static content sites."

Bloggers wishing to sell for the highest price would do well to automate their operations as much as possible, focusing on developing the revenue potential of the site and preparing it as best they can for easy monetization. It’s also important to pursue a business strategy that relies on good, focused content, rather that enticing personalities.

Bloggers wishing to sell for the highest price would do well to automate their operations as much as possible, focusing on developing the revenue potential of the site and preparing it as best they can for easy monetization. It's also important to pursue a business strategy that relies on good, focused content, rather that enticing personalities.

Valuing a Community Forum Site

Tim Dickinson believes that, as with any site, the value of a community forum relates to both synergies with the potential buyer’s operations, and the revenue strategy that has — or could be — implemented on the community site.

Tim Dickinson believes that, as with any site, the value of a community forum relates to both synergies with the potential buyer's operations, and the revenue strategy that has — or could be — implemented on the community site.

Now on a forum site, members mean revenue. And revenue, more often than not, is generated through advertising. Are particular community sites better bets for ad revenue generation than others? Yes, says Tim. "Some niches will be of greater value to an advertiser as the relevant products could be of higher value, or the demographic of the users are more wealthy people with spare cash to spend," he advises.

User experience within the niche or industry on which the forum is focused is also closely tied to a site’s ad revenue potential. Tim believes a mix of expert (innovator) and less-experienced users offer the greatest potential, as "advertisers on the forum gain from being associated with a site that offers honest and high-quality discussion, but also from getting ‘eyeballs’ from casual users who have come to the forum." To that end, members’ profiles are an asset that can boost a forum’s sale price. "Better member profiles generally mean more information," Tim explains, "which can be used to target ads more effectively."

User experience within the niche or industry on which the forum is focused is also closely tied to a site's ad revenue potential. Tim believes a mix of expert (innovator) and less-experienced users offer the greatest potential, as "advertisers on the forum gain from being associated with a site that offers honest and high-quality discussion, but also from getting 'eyeballs' from casual users who have come to the forum." To that end, members' profiles are an asset that can boost a forum's sale price. "Better member profiles generally mean more information," Tim explains, "which can be used to target ads more effectively."

"The number of visitors is another factor that’s of central importance to the revenue potential of a site," says Tim. This is not to say that smaller niche site can’t do well, but that it’s potentially easier to make money with a larger community. Smaller sites must overcome a couple of extra hurdles if they are to achieve high sale prices. One is the potential impact of losing key staff members as a result of the sale — a situation that Tim believes larger sites would be in a better position to weather. Another is the perception that, as Tim says, "forums need a certain number of visitors to keep all the content fresh and questions answered quickly."

"The number of visitors is another factor that's of central importance to the revenue potential of a site," says Tim. This is not to say that smaller niche site can't do well, but that it's potentially easier to make money with a larger community. Smaller sites must overcome a couple of extra hurdles if they are to achieve high sale prices. One is the potential impact of losing key staff members as a result of the sale — a situation that Tim believes larger sites would be in a better position to weather. Another is the perception that, as Tim says, "forums need a certain number of visitors to keep all the content fresh and questions answered quickly."

Regardless of a forum’s size, activity is always considered in a sale. Often we’ll see a sale listing for a community site whose owner boasts, "I could make $x a month quickly, if I only had the time to monetise the site," though the site languishes with few posts and even fewer members. Tim doesn’t really see value in this kind of purchase. "If a forum hasn’t reached critical mass," he argues, "it has little more potential than a brand new forum with few users other than the content that is on there. Forums that haven’t reached critical mass should be treated exactly as a pure content site in terms of value."

Regardless of a forum's size, activity is always considered in a sale. Often we'll see a sale listing for a community site whose owner boasts, "I could make $xa month quickly, if I only had the time to monetise the site," though the site languishes with few posts and even fewer members. Tim doesn't really see value in this kind of purchase. "If a forum hasn't reached critical mass," he argues, "it has little more potential than a brand new forum with few users other than the content that is on there. Forums that haven't reached critical mass should be treated exactly as a pure content site in terms of value."

Does this mean sellers of large, established forums are necessarily on easy street? Not quite! "The site would certainly have potential," Tim says, "but the new owners would have to be very careful about how they treat the users once the transaction is complete. The selling of a community can often lose users, as people feel slightly betrayed by the old owners."

Does this mean sellers of large, established forums are necessarily on easy street? 不完全的！ "The site would certainly have potential," Tim says, "but the new owners would have to be very careful about how they treat the users once the transaction is complete. The selling of a community can often lose users, as people feel slightly betrayed by the old owners."

Transition strategies — where the new owners are introduced to the forum and co-run the community with the seller for a period of time — might help overcome this hurdle. And of course, a well-planned transition strategy could also translate to an improved selling price for the site.

Valuing a Site that Sells Products

Sites that sell products — traditional ecommerce sites — can seem comparatively easy to value. But are they? Tim believes that "Web sites that sell physical products should be valued in the same way as highstreet retailers — by the volume of products they sell and the profit they make from each sale compared with the cost of making or obtaining, storing, and sending the goods to the buyers." Ultimately, he argues, a financial basis for the assessment is just. "The site should be valued on the amount of net profit it makes after all costs, and there are more costs involved with ecommerce sites than with content or community sites because of all the physical product handling tasks."

Of course, provided the finances look good, other factors will also come into play. Dan lists numerous questions that potential buyers will likely be asking themselves:

Do you have to maintain inventory and a warehouse to store it in?
Do you have to maintain inventory and a warehouse to store it in?
Does the purchase come with any existing inventory?
Does the purchase come with any existing inventory?
Who supplies the products and at what cost? What are the payment terms? Are there any fees to becoming a distributor?
Who supplies the products and at what cost? What are the payment terms? Are there any fees to becoming a distributor?
How are orders fulfilled? If it’s done in-house, how many employees does it take? If it’s outsourced, how much will it cost to continue outsourcing fulfilment?
How are orders fulfilled? If it's done in-house, how many employees does it take? If it's outsourced, how much will it cost to continue outsourcing fulfilment?
What is the return rate for products the site sells?
What is the return rate for products the site sells?
What is the chargeback and fraud rate for the site?
What is the chargeback and fraud rate for the site?
Will the previous owner be around to help in the transition?
Will the previous owner be around to help in the transition?

Pre-empting these questions — and providing helpful solutions to any issues the buyer perceives — may put the seller in a good position to get a great price for their site. Obviously, the buyer’s previous experience with both ecommerce and the niche in which the site operates will have an impact on how much help they desire, but the seller would do well to anticipate and respond helpfully to any concerns the buyer might have about the business’s operations.

Pre-empting these questions — and providing helpful solutions to any issues the buyer perceives — may put the seller in a good position to get a great price for their site. Obviously, the buyer's previous experience with both ecommerce and the niche in which the site operates will have an impact on how much help they desire, but the seller would do well to anticipate and respond helpfully to any concerns the buyer might have about the business's operations.

The products that the site sells — and the markets it serves — are obviously crucial considerations for any buyer. "If a site is selling something like books," says Tim, "it has to compete with the big boys of Amazon, B&N, Waterstones, and others. It has to do something better — or generally be cheaper — than them to compete. Focusing on a niche could separate the business from the pack, but the site would have to show expertise in that field, perhaps by offering content on the site as well, or offering a wider selection of books from that niche than the other retailers."

Next up, says Dan, "you have to figure out the value of the current customer base" — a job which he describes as being "part research and part intuition. The existing owner should be able to tell you about the number of orders per customer and the percentage of new customers that become repeat customers," he explains. A buyer may also want to see customer records or profiles, complaint registers and resolution strategies, and more. They’ll likely be interested in the way customers have been treated in the past, as well as the approaches the seller has taken to building loyalty and new customer acquisition, and the costs involved in those approaches.

Next up, says Dan, "you have to figure out the value of the current customer base" — a job which he describes as being "part research and part intuition. The existing owner should be able to tell you about the number of orders per customer and the percentage of new customers that become repeat customers," he explains. A buyer may also want to see customer records or profiles, complaint registers and resolution strategies, and more. They'll likely be interested in the way customers have been treated in the past, as well as the approaches the seller has taken to building loyalty and new customer acquisition, and the costs involved in those approaches.

But from that point, valuing the customer base becomes more difficult. "Potential buyers have to take a look at the products and customers and get a feel for whether they’re likely to keep buying after a change in ownership," he says. And, similarly to the business’s staff, its customers can react to new owners. "Sometimes, the web site is run in such a way that the customers are very attached to the current owner," Dan says — a point that site sellers will want to factor into their valuation of the site, as it increases the buyer’s risk. "Other times, the change in ownership can happen behind the scenes." Obviously, from the buyer’s viewpoint, this will likely be the best scenario, so it might pay the seller to develop the business with a view to their own exit from it.

But from that point, valuing the customer base becomes more difficult. "Potential buyers have to take a look at the products and customers and get a feel for whether they're likely to keep buying after a change in ownership," he says. And, similarly to the business's staff, its customers can react to new owners. "Sometimes, the web site is run in such a way that the customers are very attached to the current owner," Dan says — a point that site sellers will want to factor into their valuation of the site, as it increases the buyer's risk. "Other times, the change in ownership can happen behind the scenes." Obviously, from the buyer's viewpoint, this will likely be the best scenario, so it might pay the seller to develop the business with a view to their own exit from it.

Synergy also has a role to play in an ecommerce site valuation, says Tim. "As with purchasing other sites, if the buyer already has a network of web sites devoted to a subject, such as gadgets, then a gadget-focused ecommerce site would be worth more to them than an ecommerce site in a new field." As well as the potential for greater monetisation, this arrangement would let the buyers leverage their existing expertise in the field. Tim believes those skills "could be used to help the site expand, so growth may be easier and cheaper to achieve."

"Finally, the relationship the web site or company has with its suppliers and staff is also important," Tim adds. In fact, it’s critical, he feels, in making sure "costs won’t rise significantly after someone new purchases the business." If staff relations are poor, or staff feel that they are mere pawns in the sale of the business, this could ultimately affect the sale price. Of course, if the business is a one-person affair, then the buyer may want to assess the tasks involved in order to plan their growth of the business, and potential staff acquisition. The seller who makes such planning easy, by providing details and assistance as required, will likely end up with a better sale price.

"Finally, the relationship the web site or company has with its suppliers and staff is also important," Tim adds. In fact, it's critical, he feels, in making sure "costs won't rise significantly after someone new purchases the business." If staff relations are poor, or staff feel that they are mere pawns in the sale of the business, this could ultimately affect the sale price. Of course, if the business is a one-person affair, then the buyer may want to assess the tasks involved in order to plan their growth of the business, and potential staff acquisition. The seller who makes such planning easy, by providing details and assistance as required, will likely end up with a better sale price.

Valuing a Site that Sells a Service

The number of these types of sites — those that sell image or video hosting, spam protection, and so on — is continuing to grow as the acceptance and perceived need for innovative, intangible services escalates. And the prices — in the big sales at least — seem to be exploding too. Does this mean valuing such sites is more complex than others? Andrew Johnson doesn’t think so.

"I would look at their traffic source first. Is it sustainable?" he asks. While it sounds elementary, this is an important point — particularly for sites in a newer genre than some others. "The traffic could come from word of mouth," Andrew suggests, "which leaves lots of room for growth in advertising and free organic search traffic. However, if the bulk of those profits are coming from less than stable sources, it may be worth a bit of a discount."

"I would look at their traffic source first. Is it sustainable?" 他问。 While it sounds elementary, this is an important point — particularly for sites in a newer genre than some others. "The traffic could come from word of mouth," Andrew suggests, "which leaves lots of room for growth in advertising and free organic search traffic. However, if the bulk of those profits are coming from less than stable sources, it may be worth a bit of a discount."

"Just as importantly," Andrew continues, "how much time does the new owner have to put in? Are you buying yourself a job? If the seller is currently doing all the work, can the buyer still outsource it profitably?" This issue often crops up in the sale of more innovative sites that, as brain-children of their owners, demand a lot of care and feeding. If your site requires much of your time, perhaps you should consider ways to automate aspects of it before you sell, as a means to add value and gain a higher sales price. After all, as Dan Grossman is quick to add, "With a subscription or product site, it’s more about revenue and the costs of running that business." Reduce those costs, and your sales price will likely increase.

"Just as importantly," Andrew continues, "how much time does the new owner have to put in? Are you buying yourself a job? If the seller is currently doing all the work, can the buyer still outsource it profitably?" This issue often crops up in the sale of more innovative sites that, as brain-children of their owners, demand a lot of care and feeding. If your site requires much of your time, perhaps you should consider ways to automate aspects of it before you sell, as a means to add value and gain a higher sales price. After all, as Dan Grossman is quick to add, "With a subscription or product site, it's more about revenue and the costs of running that business." Reduce those costs, and your sales price will likely increase.

Of course, innovation frequently justifies a higher price. "If the service is truly revolutionary or a market leader you could likely add a premium to its value," Andrew comments, indicating that a little research, a comparative cost analysis, and taking any opportunity to clearly differentiate your site from others, could pay off in your negotiations with potential buyers.

With this, Dan firmly agrees, but as well as the uniqueness of the technology, and how easily it could be replicated, he believes that "you also have to look at whether it will it scale as growth continues, and will the buyer be able to maintain it without the original author’s help? There’s also a loyalty issue there," Dan suggests, arguing that steady sales could drop after a change in ownership, particularly on sites that offer scripts, software, or tools, and for which responding directly to the customer community — with correspondence as well as product enhancements — is critical to success.

With this, Dan firmly agrees, but as well as the uniqueness of the technology, and how easily it could be replicated, he believes that "you also have to look at whether it will it scale as growth continues, and will the buyer be able to maintain it without the original author's help? There's also a loyalty issue there," Dan suggests, arguing that steady sales could drop after a change in ownership, particularly on sites that offer scripts, software, or tools, and for which responding directly to the customer community — with correspondence as well as product enhancements — is critical to success.

Good — or bad — news for owners of sites that sell intangible products and services is that the buyer can have a significant impact on the potential selling price for an innovative site. As Andrew is quick to point out, "Rupert Murdoch was laughed at for paying $600 million for Myspace. After a $1 billion ad deal with Google he looked like a genius." And although, as Andrew says, these kinds of numbers defy logic for those looking at value investments, they do make the unique service site segment seem extremely lucrative for the innovators out there.

That said, sellers must recognise the risks buyers take in making such purchases. "Technology is evolving very, very rapidly," Andrew summarises. "It can work both ways — perhaps in 5 years your company is worth $1 billion, or your entire business model might be extinct." Dan agrees. "Many service industries are expanding right now, so it’s important to consider the direction in which the market for that service is moving. If it’s growing, and the site provides some unique value to that market, it may be worth significantly more than current revenue."

That said, sellers must recognise the risks buyers take in making such purchases. "Technology is evolving very, very rapidly," Andrew summarises. "It can work both ways — perhaps in 5 years your company is worth $1 billion, or your entire business model might be extinct." Dan agrees. "Many service industries are expanding right now, so it's important to consider the direction in which the market for that service is moving. If it's growing, and the site provides some unique value to that market, it may be worth significantly more than current revenue."

Ultimately, risk is inherent in these types of purchases, but the market direction and technology might be the biggest issues the site buyer faces. Site owners looking to get the best price for their service site need to make sure that the site was built with a vision for the future, that they can identify potential directions for the site and service it offers, and, of course, that the technology is robust and scalable. Verifying traffic sources and reliability, and ensuring the site has a minimal maintenance burden should also be goals for the would-be seller wanting to get the best price for their site.

Using Site Appraisal Tools and Services (Using Site Appraisal Tools and Services)

Many site owners feel that they’re the best judges of their sites’ worth — and their predictions are horribly wrong. Perhaps their research is poor, or their perceptions of the sites’ potential or revenue potential are off (after all, it’s hard to be objective about a site you’ve put your life into). Either way, self-assessment can end in tears.

Many site owners feel that they're the best judges of their sites' worth — and their predictions are horribly wrong. Perhaps their research is poor, or their perceptions of the sites' potential or revenue potential are off (after all, it's hard to be objective about a site you've put your life into). Either way, self-assessment can end in tears.

As a result of the general uncertainty and perceived unpredictability of the online property market, numerous tools and appraisal services have emerged to cater to the needs of site owners who want an objective view of a site’s value.

The tools, including dnScoop and Tidget.com’s Tidgulator, tend to assess a site on the basis of a number of tangible factors — traffic, PageRank, backlinks, the number of years the site has been online, how long the domain has been registered, the value of property that will be transferred to the new owner, and so on — which may or may not necessarily have relevance to your site’s sale. The other potential hitch with these calculator-style tools is that they rely on your own perceptions much of the time (for instance, in valuing the property that’s involved in the sale), which can lead to unrealistic expectations. That said, these tools can alert sellers to many of the factors they might consider in assessing their sites’ worth, and the tools can also be more affordable than appraisals — the sites provided here provide value assessments free.

The tools, including dnScoop and Tidget.com's Tidgulator , tend to assess a site on the basis of a number of tangible factors — traffic, PageRank, backlinks, the number of years the site has been online, how long the domain has been registered, the value of property that will be transferred to the new owner, and so on — which may or may not necessarily have relevance to your site's sale. The other potential hitch with these calculator-style tools is that they rely on your own perceptions much of the time (for instance, in valuing the property that's involved in the sale), which can lead to unrealistic expectations. That said, these tools can alert sellers to many of the factors they might consider in assessing their sites' worth, and the tools can also be more affordable than appraisals — the sites provided here provide value assessments free.

The appraisal services, of which buysellwebsite.com and Venture Planning Associates are just a couple, typically promote their offerings as providing a value-add for the seller that can increase the ultimate sale price. They account for a wide range of less tangible elements like the site’s stability, ease of use, content offering, and potential sources of income, as well as the nuts-and-bolts metrics of unique visitors, pageviews, and so on, but this investigation comes at a price — from around US$450 up.

The appraisal services, of which buysellwebsite.com and Venture Planning Associates are just a couple, typically promote their offerings as providing a value-add for the seller that can increase the ultimate sale price. They account for a wide range of less tangible elements like the site's stability, ease of use, content offering, and potential sources of income, as well as the nuts-and-bolts metrics of unique visitors, pageviews, and so on, but this investigation comes at a price — from around US$450 up.

The options can be bewildering — particularly for first-time site sellers, or sellers operating in a segment of the property market that’s new to them. So are these offerings worthwhile?

The options can be bewildering — particularly for first-time site sellers, or sellers operating in a segment of the property market that's new to them. So are these offerings worthwhile?

Tim is quick to outline his concerns. "The tools use a straight formula. This is fine, but they aren’t people and they don’t check the originality or quality of the content or design, which are both very important." Chris furthers this argument, saying "any type of objective algorithmic evaluation will always be second rate because statistics are in the end only a portion of what gives a site value." And Dan believes that "only being diligent in your own research will tell you if the traffic and links the site attracts are transient or likely to stay, if the users will remain loyal after an acquisition, and if there’s a growing market for whatever content or service the site offers."

Tim is quick to outline his concerns. "The tools use a straight formula. This is fine, but they aren't people and they don't check the originality or quality of the content or design, which are both very important." Chris furthers this argument, saying "any type of objective algorithmic evaluation will always be second rate because statistics are in the end only a portion of what gives a site value." And Dan believes that "only being diligent in your own research will tell you if the traffic and links the site attracts are transient or likely to stay, if the users will remain loyal after an acquisition, and if there's a growing market for whatever content or service the site offers."

Rob sees another problem with assessment tools, commenting that "I used to use them, but most of them are way off. They give site owners a high price, because that makes the site owner feel good, and come back to use their tool again. But then the sellers get mad when no one will buy at the "appraised" price"

But Yaro sees a role for these kinds of offerings. "I don’t use tools that attempt to tell me a site’s worth," he says, "however, I do use tools that give me data related to how much a site is worth." He uses tools like the SEOMoz Pagestrength tool, Yahoo Site Explorer, the Search Status extension for FireFox, and the Way Back Machine to obtain vital statistics on a site — AlexaRank and PageRank, how long it’s been online, the domain name’s age, the number of pages it has, and backlink counts from authority sites. He uses all these factors to build a clear picture of a site, but then relies on his own assessment, including "just spending some time at the site I’m evaluating," to develop a solid idea of the site’s value.

But Yaro sees a role for these kinds of offerings. "I don't use tools that attempt to tell me a site's worth," he says, "however, I do use tools that give me data related to how much a site is worth." He uses tools like the SEOMoz Pagestrength tool, Yahoo Site Explorer, the Search Status extension for FireFox, and the Way Back Machine to obtain vital statistics on a site — AlexaRank and PageRank, how long it's been online, the domain name's age, the number of pages it has, and backlink counts from authority sites. He uses all these factors to build a clear picture of a site, but then relies on his own assessment, including "just spending some time at the site I'm evaluating," to develop a solid idea of the site's value.

Chris also has faith in what we might call the "human factor". "The best tool in my opinion is a panel of experts, AKA a forum, who can give you a human opinion." So does that mean he advocates the use of appraisal services? "No," he says. "I’ve never seen a professional site appraisal service that gave what I thought were realistic appraisals." Dan is more open to the idea. "Appraisal services with real people behind them can be valuable," he suggests. "Unfortunately a lot of business appraisal services are geared toward the offline world, focusing on accounting and physical assets."

Chris also has faith in what we might call the "human factor". "The best tool in my opinion is a panel of experts, AKA a forum, who can give you a human opinion." So does that mean he advocates the use of appraisal services? "No," he says. "I've never seen a professional site appraisal service that gave what I thought were realistic appraisals." Dan is more open to the idea. "Appraisal services with real people behind them can be valuable," he suggests. "Unfortunately a lot of business appraisal services are geared toward the offline world, focusing on accounting and physical assets."

Another potential hurdle facing those who might otherwise consider using appraisal services is cost. "For smaller purchases, the costs of hiring these people can be more than the value of the site, or certainly take a large chunk out of the first year’s potential profits," says Tim. For bigger sites, though, he sees the value of professional appraisal. "If a site costs millions to run, or claims to make millions in profit, then a professional site appraiser can help the buyer to decide with more peace of mind if the site is worth the purchase price."

Another potential hurdle facing those who might otherwise consider using appraisal services is cost. "For smaller purchases, the costs of hiring these people can be more than the value of the site, or certainly take a large chunk out of the first year's potential profits," says Tim. For bigger sites, though, he sees the value of professional appraisal. "If a site costs millions to run, or claims to make millions in profit, then a professional site appraiser can help the buyer to decide with more peace of mind if the site is worth the purchase price."

Of course, as the market matures, these services may have a bigger role to play. "I expect as the industry expands, more and more people will come to use professional appraisal services as part of the process to assess any potential purchase," Yaro predicts. "One or two services that offer exceptional output and have a demonstrated history and knowledge of the industry could rise to the top and become must-use services for any serious web site traders," he adds.

It seems that, for now, the value of appraisal tools and professional services may be very limited for smaller site sellers — and the argument that an appraised site will sell for more may be difficult to substantiate. After all, as Chris says, the decision to sell a site ultimately comes down to opportunity cost: "what is the opportunity cost of not having the money from the sale in your pocket?" Again, the human factor can do much to undermine theory and statistically based assessments.

What's Your Site Worth? (What’s Your Site Worth?)

Ultimately, in identifying the value for your own site, you’ll need to research the site sales market — in particular, your market segment. You could start your assessment using the free tools we outlined above, using proprietary statistics packages like valueontheweb.com, which is owned by Rob May, who we interviewed for this article, and researching sales of similar sites at places like the SitePoint Marketplace, and through the technology media.

Ultimately, in identifying the value for your own site, you'll need to research the site sales market — in particular, your market segment. You could start your assessment using the free tools we outlined above, using proprietary statistics packages like valueontheweb.com , which is owned by Rob May, who we interviewed for this article, and researching sales of similar sites at places like the SitePoint Marketplace, and through the technology media.

As you research, make notes of the factors that seem to be influencing sales in your sites’ segment of the market, as well as the high- and low-end sales prices achieved. Alongside those records, include information pertaining to specific sales and factors that impacted on those prices. Perhaps a site similar to yours achieved a very high price because of the existing revenue streams and the potential for future monetization that was provided by detailed member profile data. Maybe a site that sold for a seemingly low price lacked the history and proven traffic stability of your operation.

As you research, make notes of the factors that seem to be influencing sales in your sites' segment of the market, as well as the high- and low-end sales prices achieved. Alongside those records, include information pertaining to specific sales and factors that impacted on those prices. Perhaps a site similar to yours achieved a very high price because of the existing revenue streams and the potential for future monetization that was provided by detailed member profile data. Maybe a site that sold for a seemingly low price lacked the history and proven traffic stability of your operation.

Next, it’s time to scrutinise your own site, being as objective as possible. First up, complete a SWOT analysis of the site’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Review the list of value factors that can affect a site’s sale price, which we discussed earlier, and try to predict how each factor that’s relevant to your sale might affect the buyer, and thereby, the sales price — this will be easier in some cases than others. Pay particular attention to the advice of our experts, who indicated that the most important factors in determining a site’s value were:

Next, it's time to scrutinise your own site, being as objective as possible. First up, complete a SWOT analysis of the site's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Review the list of value factors that can affect a site's sale price, which we discussed earlier, and try to predict how each factor that's relevant to your sale might affect the buyer, and thereby, the sales price — this will be easier in some cases than others. Pay particular attention to the advice of our experts, who indicated that the most important factors in determining a site's value were:

Domains and Traffic — Consider the age of your domain and the sustainability and reliability of your sources of traffic. Is your site one of the oldest in its segment? How do your traffic levels vary, and why?
Domains and Traffic — Consider the age of your domain and the sustainability and reliability of your sources of traffic. Is your site one of the oldest in its segment? How do your traffic levels vary, and why?
Collate documentation of traffic levels and proof of domain registration.
Collate documentation of traffic levels and proof of domain registration.
Stability and Profits — Can you provide long-term records of your site’s profitability and a breakdown of costs, revenues, and so on?
Stability and Profits — Can you provide long-term records of your site's profitability and a breakdown of costs, revenues, and so on?
Collate financial documentation, receipts of payments, lists of creditors and moneys paid and owed.
Collate financial documentation , receipts of payments, lists of creditors and moneys paid and owed.
Potential — Determining potential can be difficult, but if you can see scenarios in which your site could be developed to greater effect, it could be worth your while to list these ideas in your site sales listing (if you’re selling it through a marketplace). When you’re determining potential, consider also the costs involved in reworking the site to achieve that goal, as these will be considered by any prospective buyer.
Potential — Determining potential can be difficult, but if you can see scenarios in which your site could be developed to greater effect, it could be worth your while to list these ideas in your site sales listing (if you're selling it through a marketplace). When you're determining potential, consider also the costs involved in reworking the site to achieve that goal, as these will be considered by any prospective buyer.
Make a list of the directions in which the site could be taken, and outline how difficult or easy these transformations would be.
Make a list of the directions in which the site could be taken, and outline how difficult or easy these transformations would be.
Workload — as well as considering the work a buyer would need to do to rework the site to achieve its potential, assess the level of work that’s needed to maintain the site at its current standard. Factor in your time, as well as that of any other people who work on the site.
Workload — as well as considering the work a buyer would need to do to rework the site to achieve its potential, assess the level of work that's needed to maintain the site at its current standard. Factor in your time, as well as that of any other people who work on the site.
Itemise the tasks involved in running the site, and against each, place an estimate of the total time involved. Costing the time might also be worthwhile, as a potential buyer can then tell, at a glance, how much they might be able to save on operational costs if their setup allows them to use existing resources for certain jobs.
Itemise the tasks involved in running the site , and against each, place an estimate of the total time involved. Costing the time might also be worthwhile, as a potential buyer can then tell, at a glance, how much they might be able to save on operational costs if their setup allows them to use existing resources for certain jobs.
Synergy — consider the business types alongside which your site might sit well. This information might help you to target potential buyers through an online ad or marketplace listing.
Synergy — consider the business types alongside which your site might sit well. This information might help you to target potential buyers through an online ad or marketplace listing.
Technology — review the technology that underlies your site, as well as that involved in any property that will be transferred with the sale (eg. scripts, software products, and so on). Assess the costs of technology, its reliability and robustness, and its scalability as the site grows.
Technology — review the technology that underlies your site, as well as that involved in any property that will be transferred with the sale (eg. scripts, software products, and so on). Assess the costs of technology, its reliability and robustness, and its scalability as the site grows.
Collate records of the costs of the site’s hosting, licensing costs for technology, and so on. Though these costs will likely be included in your financials, outline them here, too, to make it easy for buyers to access this information. It might also be wise to ask the developer (who may be you!) to provide an assessment of the scalability of the system. This will give the potential buyer an idea of the longevity of the site and its assets, and allow them to make financial forecasts for the business.
Collate records of the costs of the site's hosting , licensing costs for technology, and so on. Though these costs will likely be included in your financials, outline them here, too, to make it easy for buyers to access this information. It might also be wise to ask the developer (who may be you!) to provide an assessment of the scalability of the system. This will give the potential buyer an idea of the longevity of the site and its assets, and allow them to make financial forecasts for the business.
Comparative Cost — your research will have revealed upper and lower sales prices for sites in your market. Now’s the time to go back top the notes you made about those sales, and compare your site with those. Does your site tick all the boxes? Does it lack certain aspects that appear to be desired by buyers? Where are the gaps?
Comparative Cost — your research will have revealed upper and lower sales prices for sites in your market. Now's the time to go back top the notes you made about those sales, and compare your site with those. Does your site tick all the boxes? Does it lack certain aspects that appear to be desired by buyers? Where are the gaps?

This assessment should give you a clear picture of the way a potential buyer will see your site, as well as what its special features — and pitfalls — are. You should have some idea of a reasonable price that you can expect to receive for your site as is. You should also have a collection of valuable documentation that supports your valuation, but for one aspect: As Rob May reveals, "Humans respond well to social proof, so by showing similar websites that have sold for a certain price, a seller can usually get a similar price for their own site."

But, are you happy with that price?

If not, the next step is to look closely at the areas in which your site lacks, by comparison to others in the same market segment. Can you address any of these factors, and in doing so, remove a potential hurdle to the site’s sale. If, when you considered the site’s potential, you listed a few ideas for improving the site’s revenues, could you implement any of those ideas?

If not, the next step is to look closely at the areas in which your site lacks, by comparison to others in the same market segment. Can you address any of these factors, and in doing so, remove a potential hurdle to the site's sale. If, when you considered the site's potential, you listed a few ideas for improving the site's revenues, could you implement any of those ideas?

Ultimately, Chris advises all site sellers to ask themselves "what’s the opportunity cost of not having the money for the sale in your pocket? If you’re going to sell a site for $50,000 what could you do with that money to earn you yet more money, what opportunity would you put that money into? If it isn’t more than what the site already makes you, then you’re asking for too little money. You need to increase your price."

Ultimately, Chris advises all site sellers to ask themselves "what's the opportunity cost of not having the money for the sale in your pocket? If you're going to sell a site for $50,000 what could you do with that money to earn you yet more money, what opportunity would you put that money into? If it isn't more than what the site already makes you, then you're asking for too little money. You need to increase your price."

Once you’re happy with the price, and you’re ready to sell, the only thing that remains is to find a buyer. Choosing a sales forum — or approaching a potential buyer — involves a raft of considerations that we don’t have space to go into here, but good advice can be found in this Webmasterworld post, and on Yaro’s blog, in a post entitled How to Sell a Web Site.

Once you're happy with the price, and you're ready to sell, the only thing that remains is to find a buyer. Choosing a sales forum — or approaching a potential buyer — involves a raft of considerations that we don't have space to go into here, but good advice can be found in this Webmasterworld post , and on Yaro's blog, in a post entitled How to Sell a Web Site .

One point to consider, though, is the duration for which you hold your auction. Buyers are frequently advised to act quickly when they find a site they want to buy, or risk missing out on the sale. But interestingly, we’ve found through the SitePoint Marketplace that auctions that have a longer duration achieve, on average, a better sale price than their shorter counterparts.

One point to consider, though, is the duration for which you hold your auction. Buyers are frequently advised to act quickly when they find a site they want to buy, or risk missing out on the sale. But interestingly, we've found through the SitePoint Marketplace that auctions that have a longer duration achieve, on average, a better sale price than their shorter counterparts.

A graph showing the increase in sale price with inreasing auction duration

The question of auction duration might be worth considering as you list your site for sale.

The Future of Web Site Sales (The Future of Web Site Sales)

This article has aimed to provide a solid starting point from which you can begin the research involved in estimating the value of your web site. Though they can’t tell you what your site is worth, the experts who shared their thoughts through this article offer significant industry knowledge, and first-hand experience with web site trading.

This article has aimed to provide a solid starting point from which you can begin the research involved in estimating the value of your web site. Though they can't tell you what your site is worth, the experts who shared their thoughts through this article offer significant industry knowledge, and first-hand experience with web site trading.

When we asked them what the future for site selling looked like, they were unanimously positive. Dan summed it up best with the words, "The market for web sites is only going to increase. All you need to create a killer service now is a vision and a few good coders. The pool of high quality sites available to buy and sell is only increasing."