SEO For The Common Webmaster

Often times as a webmaster, we do not want to do all the work of starting a site from scratch. To avoid this, we may purchase a website or blog that is already up and running. However, when doing so, one needs to do lots of research to make sure that they know all the details before buying a site.

If the site claims to have loads of traffic, find out where that traffic is coming from. Traffic by the thousands can be generated by using services like Stumble Upon. Though the number of visits increase, the traffic is useless. Ask the seller to provide proof by showing the stats from the website. Most websites have some kind of tracking that shows where the traffic is coming from. If it is mostly from social bookmarking sites, the traffic is useless and lowers the value of the site. Also beware of false traffic from weird sites. Check those out to see what they are.

Another consideration is what is the site earning and from where. If they claim to be making $400 a month from Google Adsense, make sure you see proof. Also find out what they are doing to get that amount of earnings. If they are spending $300 a month on things like Adwords, than the earnings is really $100 a month. This is still decent earnings but it changes the value of the site.

Looking at the domain name is important. Is it something that is easy to market, when does it expire, and how easy it to transfer? You need to know if it has any fees to transfer. Also make sure how the files of the site will be delivered. Ask if the seller will transfer to your host or are you required to do so. Make sure you know how to transfer the whole site prior to buying.

If you are looking for original content that is not just copied from elsewhere, make sure to both ask and check for yourself. It is easy to copy the first paragraph into Google or use Copyscape.com  to check to see if the  content is located elsewhere. Be sure to check several articles to make sure that the original was not just copied from the site you are wanting to buy. To me, a website or blog with original unique articles is worth a lot more than a site loaded with content that belongs to someone else. Be sure to give the owner the chance to explain and not jump to conclusions. However, if they lie about it than it is better not to deal with them.

If Page Rank or Google PR is important to you, make sure the PR stated is not faked. There are many PR checkers that can check for fake PR. You can also check Google by searching for the site URL. If it shows up with a different URL, it most likely is faked.

One last piece of advice is to check the WhoIs information for the domain. this can be check at http://whois.sc. They will tell all information related to age, domain registrar, and owners information along with details about the site.

I would like to think that the majority of webmasters are just honest people who are trying to make an honest living. However, there is always scammers trying to steal your money.  Make sure if you are thinking of buying a website or blog, you follow the above advice and do all the research you can so you avoid being scammed.

How much is my site worth? That is the question I hear quite often by webmasters. It is not an easy question to answer because there are many factors involved in an evaluation of a website. Many think the current earnings from the site is the only factor, this is not the case, there is much more to consider.

The big one is the domain name. The shorter the better in most cases. Does the name apply to the content of the blog? Is the name marketable? These are some of the questions in regards to the domain name. Other factors are how old is the domain name, when does it expire, and where is it registered.

Once you get passed the domain name, potential buyers want to know how much traffic there is and where that traffic is coming from. If it is all from social bookmarking sites, the traffic is of almost no value. Buyers are looking for good traffic from search engines or from places that have targeted traffic towards what your site is about. For example, if I was selling women’s cloths, I would want my traffic coming from sites for women and not a men’s health forum.

Another key question comes in the terms of backlinks. How many backlinks does the site have and where are they placed? As with the traffic question, links from non related sites are worth much less than targeted links from related topics. Many buyers will also look at the Google PR numbers when deciding to buy. A site with some PR will be worth more than a site with PR0 when all factors are close.

The final and certainly one of if not the most important parts of a website, content. I wrote about quality content before and I can not stress it enough, unique well written original content is what makes or breaks a site. If your site has lots of original content that is well written, it will dramatically increase the value of your site.

Other features that affect the price are template or design, the scripts used and how well the site is laid out. These all work together to give you a general idea of what a site is worth. DO NOT rely on the crappy website evaluation tools on the Internet. I have yet to find one that even comes close. They vary so much that nobody could take them serious.

Look at the factors I detailed in this article but when you are ready to sell your site, the laws of economics takes place. A website is only worth what a buyer is willing to pay. However, you have to go where the buyers are to find the best price.

Hope this helps answer the common asked question. If you have something to add, please leave a comment and share with all of our readers.