A website may look profitable on the surface while hiding significant risks. Before purchasing a content site, it is useful to verify the claims independently.
My checklist would include:
Traffic sources and trends
Revenue records
Expense history
Search visibility
Backlink quality
Content ownership
Domain history
Hosting and software requirements
Email-list ownership and consent
Existing contracts or obligations
Dependence on a single page or keyword
Time required for ongoing maintenance
Traffic screenshots should not be accepted without context. It is important to understand which pages generate traffic, whether the trend is stable, and whether the traffic is concentrated in one source.
Revenue should also be compared with actual payment records where appropriate. A high-revenue month may not represent normal performance.
Content ownership is another major issue. The buyer should understand whether articles, images, themes, and other assets can legally be transferred.
I would also estimate the value of the site under a less optimistic scenario. If traffic or revenue declined, would the purchase still make sense?
Which due-diligence step has helped you avoid a bad website purchase?
My checklist would include:
Traffic sources and trends
Revenue records
Expense history
Search visibility
Backlink quality
Content ownership
Domain history
Hosting and software requirements
Email-list ownership and consent
Existing contracts or obligations
Dependence on a single page or keyword
Time required for ongoing maintenance
Traffic screenshots should not be accepted without context. It is important to understand which pages generate traffic, whether the trend is stable, and whether the traffic is concentrated in one source.
Revenue should also be compared with actual payment records where appropriate. A high-revenue month may not represent normal performance.
Content ownership is another major issue. The buyer should understand whether articles, images, themes, and other assets can legally be transferred.
I would also estimate the value of the site under a less optimistic scenario. If traffic or revenue declined, would the purchase still make sense?
Which due-diligence step has helped you avoid a bad website purchase?