Are you going to sell your website? read our tips first

In recent years you have built a successful website: there is a good ratio of visitor sources and the financial results are healthy. However, you are ready for a new step or want to free up money for a new investment. Then the next step is to make this known on an anonymous basis via our acquisition platform: via businessforsale.eu, you come into contact with thousands of potential buyers on a no-cure-no-pay basis: the fastest way to a successful deal!

Just like on a date, the first impression is of great importance. Therefore, in order to make the best possible impression, this page will list the aspects that a buyer will definitely evaluate in the contact you have together prior to a website sale. So prepare for this thoroughly! The various topics are divided into sections: General, Technology, SEO, SEA, Legal & Financial.

The first contact with the website buyer

A good first step after signing the non-disclosure agreement (the 'NDA') is to grant the buyer access to your website's Google Analytics account (for this access you will need a Gmail address from the buyer. You then grant the buyer access from the Analytics account -> Administration -> User Management). In Analytics, the buyer can run the necessary analyses themselves with the available data.

For larger acquisitions, it is wise that you have already prepared a sales memorandum, with all the relevant information about the website you are selling. You can share that document at this stage.

The buyer now knows the domain of your website, he or she has had a good look at the site and has been able to make initial analyses. At this stage you probably already have an idea whether the contact with this buyer could lead to an acquisition. This is also the moment to get better acquainted and to go through the details of the website together.  Our advice is to schedule a face-to-face meeting at this stage so that you can also get a personal impression of the buyer.

Website selling checklist 

Below we give you an overview of the topics we consider important when taking over a website. Please see the list as a guide and extract what applies to your situation. The list is generic and not complete for every type of acquisition. In addition, the list is long, so do not start sorting everything out right away in anticipation of questions that might not come up but use it as a checklist in your communications with the buyer to track whether you have shared the most important information.

General web store information

• What is the story behind the store? Why has the seller started this store in this segment?
• Investigate the owner's history of the store. Are you buying from the 1st owner, or has the store changed owner 4 times within 2 years?
• From when does the first order date? Also request the order history.
• What about the market? (Competition, wholesale, exclusivity, law & regulation)
• What is the size of the demand? (Include the search volume for the products and the trend in search volume)
• What does the future of this market look like?
• Which sales channels are being used and do these offer opportunities?
• How large is the client database and the newsletter mailinglist?
• Are social media accounts actively maintained?
• Is there any stock at the time of purchase? Are there unsaleable items in there?
• Does the seller process all orders themselves or does he/she work with a fulfilment or dropshipping partner?
• What is the time spent per week?
• Is there staff or is the shop supported by external agents?
• Do you become the owner of the web stores content (photos and content) with the acquisition?
• What is the preferred way of transfer and what are the pros and cons?
• Is web store member of a trustmark and is the membership still active? (Check on the company site of the trustmark)
• Can customers leave an review about the company (Kiyoh etc) and how old are the most recent reviews?
• Search the web for information about the seller.
• And ask what the reason for the sale is.
• Purchase a creditworthiness report about the counter party. For this you login your Ecquisition account, open a conversation and click on the tab 'creditworthiness'.

The technique behind the shop

• Does the webdesign looks up of date or will you have to redesign it?
• Does the store run on an open source platform or hosted software? And what are the related costs per month?
• Also important: What are the costs when you want to make a change in the web store or its design?
• Are all the necessary functionalities and modules up to date and easy to use?

A serious acquisition, requires serious investigation. If you would like to know about the web store technique, consider a technical scan. This scan not only tells you the status, but also gives you improvement points so you know what the low hanging fruit is.

Search Engine Optimization & Advertising (SEO/SEA)

• Check the age of the web store: How old is the site? This may affect the value. Older websites often have a better reputation in Google.
• In Google Webmaster Tools, check what the web store's positions are on its main keywords. Is there room for improvement or is the competition on these keywords (to) high?
• In Google Adwords, review how effective the current campaigns are: What does a conversion cost and what is the competition for the keywords being advertised? Is there room for campaign optimization?
• Analyze the number of visitors and where they come from: Are those paid sources or free? And analyze how those visitors then convert into orders and what those conversions cost and deliver. To do this, you need access to the Google Analytics account of the shop, and preferably the Adwords account.
• What are trends in visitor numbers, conversion and revenue per source of traffic?
• Investigate whether the web store does not use techniques to mislead search engines, such as hidden texts or links. This can lead to severe penalties and even removal from the search engines. Unfortunately, you will never be 100% sure, but when you go through Google's Webmaster Guidelines, you'll know what to look for.
• Use MOZ.com's OpenSiteExplorer to get an idea of ​​the backlink profile (how clean are links to the webshop).

The optimization of SEO & SEA determines the difference between earning money and not earning money for most web stores. Thus, it is not necessary to explain that both are key elements when you acquire a web store. For many buyers, chances are often also in SEO / SEA optimization. If you can use support here, please check out our SEO & SEA scans. These reports give you an accurate overview of the opportunities and threats and how to exploit/deal with them.

The legal side of a web store acquisition

• Get a good look into the terms and conditions, privacy policy & disclaimers and make sure they comply with current law & regulation. Especially when the web store is doing business across the border (Germany is notorious!).
• Check out the supplier contracts and terms. Certainly when the web store operates on the basis of dropshipping and the dependence on this partner is high.
• And do not forget to make a good acquisition agreement by a lawyer! Whether you acquire the web store with a stock transaction are an asset transaction: It is really important that the agreement is well thought out. You can start with a template that you customize. But we recommend you contact a lawyer to review any agreemente before you sign. Assume that a lawyer needs approximately 3 to 4 hours.
• We work together with several law firms for both legal scans and the preparation of various legal documents. Contact us when you need assistance.

Financial aspects of a web store acquisition

Before you close any deal, it is very important to first examine the books (or maybe your bookkeeper can play a role here). This phase of the acquisition process is also known as 'due diligence'.

We certainly recommend to investigate the following elements:

• The accounting, balance sheet and profit and loss sheet.
• Check the bookkeeping against the numbers in the backend of the web store and against the numbers in the Adwords & Affiliate accounts. Does the store work with a dropshipper? Then double check the data.
• Check the conversions in Adwords / Analytics against the actual orders delivered.
• What is the monthly cash flow?
• What are the bottlenecks and what is yet to be gained?
• What are the debts and what is the equity? (In case of a limited entity)
• The stock positions and amount of goodwill
• And perhaps the most important: Determine how much money is actually earned monthly: What's the nett margin??
• Have the seller taken his own hours in this margin calculation?

Review at least the last 12 months: Sales and profit trends affect the value. Is this a rising line? And for what period of time can the web store demonstrate a stable revenue pattern?

• Check shipping and return costs (can this be optimized?)
• What is the return rate?
• And what is the % returning customers?
• Which party takes care of the payments in the store and what are its costs?
• Are there any outstanding orders that still have to be delivered at the time of transfer?
• If the web store is taken over via a transfer of stocks: What are the bank balances at the time of acquisition, are there any debts, is there any equity?
• In conclusion, an additional recommendation: In our experience, it is advisable to pay the transaction price partly at the time of transfer and partly when the seller has fulfilled all his obligations. Suggest to include this in the acquisition agreement.

Are you curious how we can assist you in purchasing or selling your web store? Please contact us at sander.scholten@ecquisition.com.

Online businesses for sale

Our page with all the current business for sale is a good starting point to find the web store of your wishes. Should you be interested in placing an active purchase order (we will go on hunting), please leave a message via our contact form.