Flippa - Should You Trust Flippa?

MarkJCS · 4th Jan 2014, 08:09 AM

READ THIS FIRST: See how I make up to $5,000 a day from affiliate marketing, click here to see how I do it!

I like to call Flippa the ebay for websites! It is a marketplace built purely for buying and selling websites. There are a few things you need to know about Flippa if you want to make money though AND if you want to be safe when buying websites and on this page I'll share those with you.

I've been using Flippa for about 2 years and during that time I have sold 3 websites. The websites I have sold have not been worth a huge amount of money however I have still been able to make into the 5-figures which is pretty cool!

How To Buy Websites Safely

The first thing I want to cover is how you can buy websites safely and the things you need to look for to make sure you don't get scammed. Unfortunately there are scammers on Flippa and they will try and sell websites which are not worth anywhere near what they claim.

It actually amazes me how many people I see bidding on websites that are clearly not worth a fraction of what the owner is claiming they are worth, but I guess some people are naive and believe that nobody would lie. Unfortunately this is not true.

The first thing I look at when I am interested in buying a website is the Alexa rank. Alexa isn't the best indicator of how popular a website is however it is still useful to get an initial idea. If somebody claims their website is getting 100,000 visitors a month and it is only ranked 2 million on the Alexa rank I know that something is a bit fishy!

After I get an initial gauge of how popular the website is I head over to SEMRush and I enter the website URL. SEMRush tells you what keywords a website ranks for so it's a really useful tool as you can look and see where the claimed traffic is actually coming from. If the owner of the website claims that they are receiving 100k visitors a month from Google a quick look on SEMRush will show you whether this is true or not.

Once again the tool is not 100% accurate however it's pretty good and certainly one of the best tools if not THE best tool for finding out this kind of information.

Once I have looked at these I will have a good idea of whether the website owners claims are legitimate. Now it's time to look at the Google Analytics data and income proof. Google Analytics is an extremely accurate tool and the best of it's kind, so when a website owner says they don't have/use Google Analytics that immediately sends alarm bells ringing for me. I like to see solid analytics that shows me proof of the claimed traffic!

If everything looks good the final step is to analyse the backlinks for the website. To do this I use tools like majesticseo and ahrefs. These are extremely good free tools (they have paid upgraded memberships) that will help you determine what kind of backlink profile a specific website might have.

What I'm looking for with the backlinks is a solid profile. I don't want to see 1000's of spam backlinks thrown at a website because then there might be a good chance of the website getting a penalty from Google later down the line. I want to see a balanced link profile and one that will stand the test of time. For things like this it really takes an understanding of SEO and a lot of people might not have this kind of experience but the more you can learn about it the more you will be able to know when it comes to spotting real websites worth money and ones that are worthless.

If all of this looks okay the next step is to ask the owner about the SEO of the website. If the owner is genuine he should be able to tell you what kind of money he spends on SEO and what you will need to do to maintain it. Usually this might mean using a specific service provider. It's often good when the website owner outsources the SEO rather than doing it themselves as this means you can simply use the same service provider they have used.

How To Sell Websites & Make Money On Flippa

When it comes to selling websites on Flippa you are kind of doing the reverse of what I explained for buying websites. The websites that sell are the ones that have the most proof and data available to potential buyers.

It's important to list the following things:

Verified Google Analytics
Verified Google Adsense (If you use adsense)
Where the traffic comes from (e.g SEO, social media, PPC)
The revenue
The profit
How much monthly maintenance costs (e.g hosting, service providers etc)

When posting this information make sure that you have real income proof for the websites. The more information you can give to potential buyers the better your listing will do!

When it comes to picking a price for the website it's a good idea to start the bidding low to attract more bidders. Be sure to place a reserve on the listing which will be the minimum amount of money you will accept.

Generally speaking most websites sell for 10-12x their monthly profit. This is a good starting figure however it depends a lot on the niche and how much money the website is making. Most websites on Flippa stick to this 10-12x rule because most websites on Flippa don't sell for more than a couple of 100k, generally speaking you don't see extremely valuable websites listed on Flippa apart from the odd premium domain name.

Be sure to answer all questions as best you can and stay active on your listing. If you website is making money each day then it's a good idea to update your listing everyday with that days income proof. This will give potential buyers more confidence in the website and they will be more likely to bid.

How To Make Money Flipping Websites

If you are more experienced with internet marketing you can make a lot of money flipping websites. Think of it like people who buy real estate and then sell it later down the line for a profit after making it much nicer. The same can be done with websites. You can look for websites on Flippa that are making money but could be making significantly more money, buy them, increase the revenue and then sell for a profit!

How To Use Flippa To Get Golden Ideas

One of the things I love using Flippa for is getting new website ideas. If you are somebody who already has experience with internet marketing and the skills necessary to make a profitable website this could make you a lot of money. When I am thinking of a new website to start rather than doing keyword research the old fashioned way of opening up the Google keyword tool I instead head over to Flippa. I look for websites that have a lot of active bids and that are making money. I then find the websites that get their traffic from Google and then right there I have a potential website to build!

This is easier said than done, some websites rank for extremely competitive keywords so this isn't for newbies but if you are experienced and have the skills you need to rank websites at the top this is a really great way of getting profitable website ideas. Also the benefit is that you KNOW the niche/keywords are profitable because the website listed is already making money.

Wait.. before you go if you want to see how I make up to $5,000 a day with affiliate marketing click here to see my no.1 recommendation!

MarkJCS · 4th Jan 2014, 09:03 AM

If you have any questions or want advice regarding Flippa feel free to ask me in this thread

Larry Starzz · 9th Jan 2014, 01:11 PM

I tried Flippa it seem like every time my bid was about to end then here comes that last second bid it became very common

Larry Starzz
musicjamz.biz

MarkJCS · 10th Jan 2014, 04:39 AM

Originally Posted by Larry Starzz

I tried Flippa it seem like every time my bid was about to end then here comes that last second bid it became very common

Larry Starzz
musicjamz.biz

I could be wrong but I was under the impression that when you bid on a website the bidding extends for 1hr. They may have changed that rule however that was the case the last time I sold a website.

tbcooke · 12th Jan 2014, 08:11 PM

Originally Posted by MarkSherris

I could be wrong but I was under the impression that when you bid on a website the bidding extends for 1hr. They may have changed that rule however that was the case the last time I sold a website.

Hi Mark, yes this is correct. Any bid will extend the auction duration by an hour, to stop sniping, etc.

jayparks · 1st Sep 2014, 09:41 PM

Before you buy any website on Flippa, read this article first so you are aware that stats can be faked. There have been growing number of people faking their organic traffic stats.

Safe Flippa | How to spot red flags on Flippa: Blatant Traffic Frauds on Flippa (buy and sell website)

mobilemarketingonline · 2nd Sep 2014, 04:35 AM

I've also been a Flippa User for 4 years or so now, and you definitely need to keep your eyes peeled for all mentioned above regards Ahrefs, SEO, SEMRUSH, Alexa. However as we all know, everything can be altered to benefit the seller and give the potential buyer false signals to make a purchase.

Most Buyers who are wanting to purchase a web property who haven't got decent experience in purchasing websites should either hire a website buyers agent, or simply get second opinions from a 3rd party expert.

I've just came across a website called FlipRated.com and they seem to do a pretty decent job on giving reviews on some of the website marketplaces. I think they have just started or something but, I read one of the articles and they seem pretty well educated.

Two words, DUE DILIGENCE! If you don't want to get burnt.

4th Jan 2014, 08:09 AM	#1
MarkJCS MarkCharles War Room Member Join Date: 2010 Location: London Posts: 687 Thanks: 52 Thanked 120 Times in 70 Posts Blog Entries: 2	Flippa - Should You Trust Flippa? Share on: READ THIS FIRST: See how I make up to $5,000 a day from affiliate marketing, click here to see how I do it! I like to call Flippa the ebay for websites! It is a marketplace built purely for buying and selling websites. There are a few things you need to know about Flippa if you want to make money though AND if you want to be safe when buying websites and on this page I'll share those with you. I've been using Flippa for about 2 years and during that time I have sold 3 websites. The websites I have sold have not been worth a huge amount of money however I have still been able to make into the 5-figures which is pretty cool! How To Buy Websites Safely The first thing I want to cover is how you can buy websites safely and the things you need to look for to make sure you don't get scammed. Unfortunately there are scammers on Flippa and they will try and sell websites which are not worth anywhere near what they claim. It actually amazes me how many people I see bidding on websites that are clearly not worth a fraction of what the owner is claiming they are worth, but I guess some people are naive and believe that nobody would lie. Unfortunately this is not true. The first thing I look at when I am interested in buying a website is the Alexa rank. Alexa isn't the best indicator of how popular a website is however it is still useful to get an initial idea. If somebody claims their website is getting 100,000 visitors a month and it is only ranked 2 million on the Alexa rank I know that something is a bit fishy! After I get an initial gauge of how popular the website is I head over to SEMRush and I enter the website URL. SEMRush tells you what keywords a website ranks for so it's a really useful tool as you can look and see where the claimed traffic is actually coming from. If the owner of the website claims that they are receiving 100k visitors a month from Google a quick look on SEMRush will show you whether this is true or not. Once again the tool is not 100% accurate however it's pretty good and certainly one of the best tools if not THE best tool for finding out this kind of information. Once I have looked at these I will have a good idea of whether the website owners claims are legitimate. Now it's time to look at the Google Analytics data and income proof. Google Analytics is an extremely accurate tool and the best of it's kind, so when a website owner says they don't have/use Google Analytics that immediately sends alarm bells ringing for me. I like to see solid analytics that shows me proof of the claimed traffic! If everything looks good the final step is to analyse the backlinks for the website. To do this I use tools like majesticseo and ahrefs. These are extremely good free tools (they have paid upgraded memberships) that will help you determine what kind of backlink profile a specific website might have. What I'm looking for with the backlinks is a solid profile. I don't want to see 1000's of spam backlinks thrown at a website because then there might be a good chance of the website getting a penalty from Google later down the line. I want to see a balanced link profile and one that will stand the test of time. For things like this it really takes an understanding of SEO and a lot of people might not have this kind of experience but the more you can learn about it the more you will be able to know when it comes to spotting real websites worth money and ones that are worthless. If all of this looks okay the next step is to ask the owner about the SEO of the website. If the owner is genuine he should be able to tell you what kind of money he spends on SEO and what you will need to do to maintain it. Usually this might mean using a specific service provider. It's often good when the website owner outsources the SEO rather than doing it themselves as this means you can simply use the same service provider they have used. How To Sell Websites & Make Money On Flippa When it comes to selling websites on Flippa you are kind of doing the reverse of what I explained for buying websites. The websites that sell are the ones that have the most proof and data available to potential buyers. It's important to list the following things: Verified Google Analytics Verified Google Adsense (If you use adsense) Where the traffic comes from (e.g SEO, social media, PPC) The revenue The profit How much monthly maintenance costs (e.g hosting, service providers etc) When posting this information make sure that you have real income proof for the websites. The more information you can give to potential buyers the better your listing will do! When it comes to picking a price for the website it's a good idea to start the bidding low to attract more bidders. Be sure to place a reserve on the listing which will be the minimum amount of money you will accept. Generally speaking most websites sell for 10-12x their monthly profit. This is a good starting figure however it depends a lot on the niche and how much money the website is making. Most websites on Flippa stick to this 10-12x rule because most websites on Flippa don't sell for more than a couple of 100k, generally speaking you don't see extremely valuable websites listed on Flippa apart from the odd premium domain name. Be sure to answer all questions as best you can and stay active on your listing. If you website is making money each day then it's a good idea to update your listing everyday with that days income proof. This will give potential buyers more confidence in the website and they will be more likely to bid. How To Make Money Flipping Websites If you are more experienced with internet marketing you can make a lot of money flipping websites. Think of it like people who buy real estate and then sell it later down the line for a profit after making it much nicer. The same can be done with websites. You can look for websites on Flippa that are making money but could be making significantly more money, buy them, increase the revenue and then sell for a profit! How To Use Flippa To Get Golden Ideas One of the things I love using Flippa for is getting new website ideas. If you are somebody who already has experience with internet marketing and the skills necessary to make a profitable website this could make you a lot of money. When I am thinking of a new website to start rather than doing keyword research the old fashioned way of opening up the Google keyword tool I instead head over to Flippa. I look for websites that have a lot of active bids and that are making money. I then find the websites that get their traffic from Google and then right there I have a potential website to build! This is easier said than done, some websites rank for extremely competitive keywords so this isn't for newbies but if you are experienced and have the skills you need to rank websites at the top this is a really great way of getting profitable website ideas. Also the benefit is that you KNOW the niche/keywords are profitable because the website listed is already making money. Wait.. before you go if you want to see how I make up to $5,000 a day with affiliate marketing click here to see my no.1 recommendation!

4th Jan 2014, 09:03 AM	#2
MarkJCS MarkCharles War Room Member Join Date: 2010 Location: London Posts: 687 Thanks: 52 Thanked 120 Times in 70 Posts Blog Entries: 2	Re: Flippa - Should You Trust Flippa? Share on: If you have any questions or want advice regarding Flippa feel free to ask me in this thread
	"I've Banked Over $350k Online With This..." - Click here to see my no.1 recommendation!

9th Jan 2014, 01:11 PM	#3
Larry Starzz Reach for the Starzz Join Date: 2014 Posts: 5 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Flippa - Should You Trust Flippa? Share on: I tried Flippa it seem like every time my bid was about to end then here comes that last second bid it became very common Larry Starzz musicjamz.biz

1st Sep 2014, 09:41 PM	#6
jayparks Warrior Member Join Date: 2014 Posts: 4 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Flippa - Should You Trust Flippa? Share on: Before you buy any website on Flippa, read this article first so you are aware that stats can be faked. There have been growing number of people faking their organic traffic stats. Safe Flippa \| How to spot red flags on Flippa: Blatant Traffic Frauds on Flippa (buy and sell website)

2nd Sep 2014, 04:35 AM	#7
mobilemarketingonline SMS Marketing Join Date: 2012 Posts: 37 Thanks: 0 Thanked 8 Times in 5 Posts	Re: Flippa - Should You Trust Flippa? Share on: I've also been a Flippa User for 4 years or so now, and you definitely need to keep your eyes peeled for all mentioned above regards Ahrefs, SEO, SEMRUSH, Alexa. However as we all know, everything can be altered to benefit the seller and give the potential buyer false signals to make a purchase. Most Buyers who are wanting to purchase a web property who haven't got decent experience in purchasing websites should either hire a website buyers agent, or simply get second opinions from a 3rd party expert. I've just came across a website called FlipRated.com and they seem to do a pretty decent job on giving reviews on some of the website marketplaces. I think they have just started or something but, I read one of the articles and they seem pretty well educated. Two words, DUE DILIGENCE! If you don't want to get burnt.