fbpx

The internet has changed the way we do business. This we all know. But one thing it has allowed many people to do that doesn’t receive as much attention is that it gives people the chance to earn a little bit of money on the side. If you’re like most people, the idea of a bit of extra income to boost your savings or snag a few things you couldn’t normally afford seems like a great idea.

One of the ways you can do this is to buy existing websites. But this isn’t a get rich quick scheme. There’s a process to it, and you need to know how it works so that you can make smart and profitable decisions moving forward.

Why should you buy websites?

There are a couple of reasons. First, they can offer very high rewards. If you find a site that is making only a little money, you can probably get it for cheap. Then, if you do it right, you’ll be enjoying some nice profits on the side.

Also, these things are relatively low-maintenance. You will need to spend some time on them, but you won’t need to turn it into a second full-time job. If you do, you better be making enough money so that you can ditch your other job and just do this.

It’s a flexible way of earning income. You get to choose your hours and you can work on it as much or as little as you would like. This makes it a great choice for some passive income, as you can focus on it when you have the time and energy to do so.

And lastly, there is some decent money to be made. Like we said, the internet is changing everything. This doesn’t mean every website is making a fortune, but more and more business is being done online every day. The arrow is definitely pointing up.

How to do it

Now that you see why you should be doing this, let’s take a look at how you will execute and actually generate this extra income.

Affiliate Marketing

Sometimes this strategy gets a bad reputation, largely because it is one of the few things that seems too good to be true but actually isn’t.

For those who don’t know, affiliate marketing is the process of recommending/selling products on your website and then taking a commission from what you sell. Tons of websites make money this way.

When buying a website, it is sometimes good to buy one that is not doing this and then to install an affiliate marketing program. This instantly monetizes the site. The classic example of this is a travel blog that gives you the chance to make a hotel reservation in the destination you are reading about.

You’ll have to find a niche that is less competitive than travel, as this one is pretty well played out. But there are plenty out there. Sometimes you can have success selling just one product and that will be enough to generate this passive income you seek.

SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the name of the game in the world of online business. It all has to do with designing your site and content so that your page appears as close to the top of Google search rankings as possible.

For you to make this work, you’ll need to find sites that have a decent following and backlink profile (the number and type of sites that link to it), and then you’ll have to try optimize the content so that your money-making pages show up in search engine results.

This can be really hard in competitive niches, but it can be surprisingly easy in not-so-competitive ones. Do your research to figure out how hard it’s going to be to rank for keywords that can make you money, then go after them.

Sell the website

Probably one of the best sources of income when dealing with websites is their resale value. Generally speaking, an online business is worth 2.5 times its yearly revenue. So if you can find a site that really isn’t making much money, buy it, and then increase its profits, you can sell it for a profit and hopefully earn yourself a nice pay day.

Sometimes you can pull this off without even having to rework the site. You could buy a decent site in a niche that isn’t competitive yet, and then when it is, you’ll be sitting on some valuable digital real estate.

When you first get started, start small. Buy inexpensive websites and practice. Read up about SEO and learn as you go. When you start to have some success, you can invest more and go after those big returns. Who knows, someday that side job might become your full-time one.

About the author: Jock is an internet entrepreneur. He has bought and sold a variety of different websites across many different niches. From his experience, he has seen how this type of work can be both profitable and rewarding. Now, he works to help other entrepreneurs find similar success working online.

Guest Author