Buying a niche website triggers mixed emotions. You’re equally excited and anxious. It doesn’t matter whether you have done such deals several times or it’s your first purchase – it always gives you sweaty palms.
I built several niche websites from the ground up and sold three of them, so I know two cents of the whole process. You’re in luck because I don’t like beating around the bush.
I’ll give you some crucial points you need to check during the due diligence process. So without any further ado, let’s get right into it.
Buying a niche website? Here’s what you should check out
Take a look:
Traffic sources distribution
A site is getting a ton of traffic, but from one source only; it’s not a good sign. No matter the source, it’s a risky deal. It looks just fine until it’s not.
The problem with one-traffic-source websites is that their traffic can wipe out the moment that the traffic source goes away. There are successful sites that rely heavily on their Facebook pages or Pinterest accounts for traffic, but it doesn’t mean they’re risk-free businesses.
So, always keep an eye out for the website traffic sources – the more traffic is distributed across multiple sources, the less likely this website is to lose most traffic.
Pages indexing ratio
Don’t ever buy a website without looking at its Google Search Console dashboard. The admin can easily provide you with read-only access to the website’s GSC section, where you can check multiple organic traffic metrics.
One of those metrics is page indexing. If the website has the majority of the pages unindexed and only a few pages are indexed, then it’s a red flag. Sure, you can find out why those pages aren’t being indexed and get them fixed. Instead, try to find the deals with a better page indexing ratio.
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Social media traffic
If the niche website you’re looking to buy is getting the majority of its traffic from search engines, then it’s probably a risky deal. The problem with such sites is that they heavily rely on organic traffic. As a result of a sudden change in the search engine algorithm, the traffic can immediately collapse.
Alternatively, niche site builders must pay attention to building social media traffic rather than solely relying on a single source of traffic. Not only could they get more traffic, but they could also diversify traffic channels.
Total ranked keywords
One of the important yet neglected metrics in blogging and niche website building is the total number of ranked keywords. Several free and paid tools are available on the market that provide such data.
My go-to free tool for analyzing total ranked keywords is Google Search Console. It showcases numerous website traffic metrics, including total ranked keywords. All you need is to select the dates to retrieve the required keyword data.
Make sure the niche website you’re looking to buy is ranking for at least hundreds of keywords, if not thousands. If the niche website has over 100 posts published but is ranking for only 50 to 60 keywords, then there is a problem somewhere.
Monetization methods
Always look out for the monetization methods in monetized niche websites. I have sold one monetized and two unmonetized niche websites in the past.
The unmonetized niche websites get sold due to the traffic; if a niche website is getting organic traffic from search engines or social media channels, then it becomes an attractive asset for investors.
Usually, unmonetized niche websites are sold based on the content cost; for instance, if a niche website has 10 articles and each article costs 10$, then the content cost is $100, and the seller can ask for $150 to $200 based on the content quality, traffic, and site authoritativeness.
Moreover, a niche website that’s making a good amount of money from a single monetization method is considered a steal because the buyer can quickly add other monetization methods to it and start making more money without increasing the traffic.
Content quality
Fewer high-quality articles are far better than hundreds of low-quality articles and AI slop. The niche site you’re buying must have good-quality content because well-written, human content beats AI-powered content in most cases.
One of the reasons why human-written content is better is that it’s mostly unique, whereas AI content is a regurgitated version of existing content on the web.
Nonetheless, if the content on the niche website you’re doing due diligence on seems low-quality but human-written, then it can still work out, as you can always improve the original content and make it better.
Overall SEO performance
Whether you’re building a niche website or buying one, the SEO performance matters the most in the process. In fact, it’s not just SEO, but now you have to optimize your niche website for AEO and GEO as well.
Chances are, if the niche website you’re buying is performing well on the SEO front, it’s most likely doing well in the Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) areas.
Make sure you get the read-only access to the Search console and Google Analytics of the seller to be 100% sure about the authenticity of the analytics provided to you.
Scaling opportunities
An overlooked step in the niche website due diligence is analyzing the scaling opportunities. Most niche website buyers only check the current traffic and monetization methods and usually ignore the scaling options.
If a niche website doesn’t have enough scope for growth in both content publishing and monetization areas, then the site’s growth may plateau at some point in the future.
Look out for the niche websites that have room for growth in terms of money-making opportunities and keyword tapping.
Let’s conclude
Impulse purchase isn’t the option when buying a niche website.
Every niche website buyer checks the Google Search Console and Google Analytics of the prospective niche website. However, these aren’t the only things to look out for when trying to acquire a niche website.
That’s why I have written this blog post. I have sold three niche websites and learned a lot during the process. Every buyer has a different due diligence protocol to analyze that niche website.
I tried to explain the nitty-gritty of the niche website buying process. I hope you’ll find this blog post extremely useful. Let me know what you think of these tips in the comments section!