After owning a business brokerage for well over a decade, we have sold a bunch of internet based businesses. They are high in demand and we are always looking for more. If you have ever thought about selling your internet business check out our list of tips below to help you on your way. The tips below can help add value to the sale of your internet business and help educate potential sellers on what internet business buyers will be looking for. Below is a list of our top 10 tips for selling internet businesses.
1) Good Records: Buyers always look for great records when they purchase businesses and Internet Businesses for sale are no different. The more information a Seller can show on tax records, the more value they will get for their business.
2) Google Analytics, Pageviews, and Impressions: The amount of pageviews and first impressions matter when it comes to internet businesses. Some buyers outright ask for google analytics so they can see how many times the website comes up in searches. Even if the profits are necessarily there, an internet business with a huge traffic count can add to the value of the business.
3) Webpage Name: Having an Internet Business with a memorable website address matters! So a website called toothbrush.com is going to be more memorable than toothbrushesAplus.com. The better the website address the more a seller might be able to get when they sell their internet business.
4) Automated Systems: The more automated an internet business is, the more internet business buyers will be attracted to it. True internet business owners know that there is no such thing as an internet business that does everything for you with no effort, however buyers would still like to think that possibility exists. If you’re able to create a process where customers can order things off the website directly without having to call, it will be more valuable to the buyer. The more automated, the fewer employees required and the easier it will be for a buyer to manage the business and grow.
5) Search Engine Rankings: When someone searches for the product or service an internet business offers, does the website appear on the first page or tenth page. Whether the business earnings are there or not, it will make a difference to an internet business buyer.
6) Search Engine Optimization Customers want to purchase website businesses that have SEO advertising and marketing campaigns in place. If the website depends heavily on search engine optimization then website business buyers want to see who is implementing these search engine campaigns and will they do it for them at the same rate and efficiency. If the high earnings of a website can only be achieved if the new owners themselves are SEO experts, the overall value to potential buyers will be a lot less.
7) Forward Projections: The product or service being sold needs to have a lifespan or at least look like it will have a lifespan. While no one can predict the future, it is safe to say that a website that focuses on selling pagers or cassette tapes may have days that are numbered. If your internet business appears to have a long potential lifespan, it will be more valuable to potential buyers.
8) Branding: There needs to be something obvious about the website that is bringing customers back. It could be the uniqueness or branding of the products or services offered or the general makeup of the website itself. If a website has a true brand and uniqueness to it, it means there is a potential for repeat business. So instead of potential customers doing another google search for a product or service, they remember this particular site and they go straight there. Having a website where thousands of customers type the name of the website directly instead of searching for it through search engines is golden!
9) Relocation: One of the reasons why internet businesses for sale are so popular is because they can many times be relocated. There are many potential business buyers that reside in areas with not that much opportunity. So for business owners located far from civilization in the mountains of North Carolina or Wyoming, they can have a booming business where ever they decide to live.
10) Inventory Control: Internet business buyers are attracted to businesses that don’t require them to purchase, hold onto, or manage a huge amount of inventory. This is ofcourse easier said than done, but there are some ways to minimize inventory cost and hassle. Drop shipping is the main method of minimizing inventory costs and storage, however it is not always an option. Fulfillment houses are another option for internet business owners that have a lack of space. These fulfillment houses will store their inventory for them and ship inventory out for them as necessary. Another option is to find the cheapest warehouse/ storage space possible and continue to run office management activities from a house or the warehouse space itself to help minimize costs.
If you do decide you want to sell your internet business, give Crowne Atlantic Business Brokers a call. You can check out our website at www.crowneatlantic.com or phone us at 407-478-4101.
