Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
Table of Contents
.................................................................................................................Introduc*on 3
......................................................................................................................My Story 4
.........................................................................Overview: The Three Business Models 6..............................................................................................................Domains and Websites as Businesses 7
................................................................................................The Business of Buying and Selling Domains 8............................................................Domains as Investments: Passive Income Without Experience 9
.....................................................................BONUS: The Mini Niche Web Site Guide 14
Thank you for downloading my free sample version of “Flip This Web Site”. In this guide I introduce you to the world of web site flipping and how thousands of users are making big money through the use of Flippa.com.
I’ve also included my “Bonus Guide: The Mini Niche Web Site Guide”, which is only available through the full paid version of my book.
Enjoy the first ten pages and bonus guide of the book for free, and if you’d like to purchase the full guide, simply click the link below!
Get the Full 147 Page “Flip This Web Site” Book!
Thanks again, and I’d love to hear from you!
Zac Johnson
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
IntroducCon
The year is 2011. The economic situaTon of many families and homes is in jeopardy, gas and oil prices are higher than ever, and personal investments in the stock market and money market accounts are no longer safe or worth invesTng in.
While the majority of the world is worrying about where their next paycheck is coming from and what will become of their 401ks, Internet marketers, web site owners and domain buyers are constantly buying and selling investments through their online site properTes.
What may seem like a foreign language to some is anything but. If you can use eBay, you can make money in the website flipping and domain game.
Regular people like you buy and sell domains and web properTes every day. The only difference between you and them is they know how to do it, and where to go so they don't get screwed. That place is Flippa, and this guide is your path to success.
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
My Story
Hello, my name is Zac Johnson and you may already know me from my popular blog at ZacJohnson.com. Since high school, I’ve had a passion for making money online and that passion has since grown to helping others do the same. While it’s been nearly 15 years since I first started making money online, it’s just as exciTng today and new methods of revenue generaTon are coming out every day.
I wanted to write this guide book on how to make money buying and selling websites using Flippa, simply because I love creaTng websites and using the Flippa pla[orm. Through Flippa I’ve been able to expand my por[olio of web sites, get new ideas for moneTzaTon and also explore and interact in a whole new marketplace with like-‐minded entrepreneurs.
In addiTon to my popular blog at ZacJohnson.com, I also run BloggingTips.com, which I acquired through Flippa.com. At the Tme, it was the biggest single purchase I ever made for a website. I had known the previous owner of the blog for a couple of years and we actually became familiar with each other and our blogs. Even with that said, it’s always scary to hand over a ton of cash for any type of purchase that size, but even more so for a web site.Thanks to the Flippa marketplace and their strong support for both buyers and sellers, I was confident throughout the whole buying process.
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
Though my purchase of BloggingTips.com was a big deal, it wasn’t my first transacTon done with Flippa. My first transacTon actually goes back many years before Flippa was even around, but was first known as the SitePoint Marketplace. I purchased a small drop shipping site for a few thousand dollars, then quickly doubled the traffic and sales of the website through my own markeTng efforts and moneTzaTon.
At that point, I really saw the value of buying and selling websites. However, the SitePoint Marketplace was more like a forum, and not a dedicated site like Flippa is today. Fortunately the SitePoint team realized the same thing, and made an incredible resource for everyone looking to buy and sell web sites online.
With all of that said, I would like to teach you how to do the same. Even if you don’t go on to buy or sell a website within the next few days, weeks or even months, this guide will train you on what to look for and will also give you plenty of ideas on how to make money online in the process.
For my full bio, you can refer to my About Me page.
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
Overview: The Three Business Models
There is a massive amount of money to be made on the Internet. You don’t need to be a techie, college graduate, or even an entrepreneur; you simply need to have the dedicaTon and drive to make things happen. Having a path wriAen out for you and following it precisely is also important, and that’s what this guide will do for you.
Before jumping into the domain and website flipping game, you have to know why you are in the game and how you will play it.
In this overview, we will cover the three basic models for having a domain name, building a web site, turning it into a business, and flipping it for a profit. You also have the opTon of holding onto your Internet real estate as a long-‐term investment. Before we begin, let’s make sure you understand the difference between a domain and a website.
A domain name is simply a registered name. The best example of a domain name, is to use your actual name. If your name is John Smith, you may want to own JohnSmith.com. There is only one JohnSmith.com in the enTre world and, if you own it, no one else can own it or use it at the same Tme. No one else can create a site using that same domain name. In terms of Internet real estate, a domain name is like a plot of undeveloped land without any kind of building.
A website, on the other hand, is the actual content and structure of your domain name. Every website is made up of three different components: a domain name, web hosTng, and the site files that make the site. The files (and how they are structured) are akin to having a building on your plot of land.
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
Without a domain name, you can’t have a website. Without the content, a domain name is just a locaTon. It’s important to know the difference between the two, as the valuaTon of a business or domain name can vary considerably, depending on its full structure, complexiTes, current design, and traffic, among many other factors.
Domains and Websites as Businesses
Where were you ten or fifeen years ago when the Internet was just starTng to get crazy? Barely anyone had a website, let alone a personalized domain name for his or her own company. Now you can’t turn on the TV without seeing a commercial for a company’s web site, or seeing a television show’s domain name being used to aAract viewers to their websites.
Running a website is the backbone of all Internet business. Without a domain, you have no website, which means you cannot be found online. With the advancements in social media and user-‐generated content, it’s now more important than ever for businesses and organizaTons to interact with their customers.
Everyone uses the Internet for different reasons, but it all breaks down to three different categories. You either want to:
• buy something• be entertained• find informaTon
Every successful business online must cater to one of these needs to survive. A website needs to build a long-‐term relaTonship with its site visitors too. That's the only way that a site can stand the test of Tme and be profitable.
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
The Business of Buying and Selling Domains
Just like how convenTonal businesses are built, then bought and sold in the real world, the business of buying and selling websites and domains is much the same. The difference with buying domains and businesses online is that it’s actually much easier and will cost you less money than buying a brick and mortar business in your local town.
If you have ever run your own business in the offline world, you already know about all of the headaches and upfront costs of gekng your business live. In addiTon to monthly rent, insurance costs, paying your employees, making small margins on all sales, and hoping that enough customers walk through your door each day just to stay in business… it’s really tough! It’s not wonder so many businesses are going bankrupt and fail within their first year of operaTons.
Running an Internet business or web site is a whole new world. Your “rent” costs could be considered the $10 to buy a new domain name, then the extra $10 a month to host your web sites. Depending on the content and purpose of your site, you can do this on your own or outsource for pennies on the dollar of what others would charge. Lastly you will need visitors and customers to your web site, which is really an endless supply when it comes to having your business online.
Now look at the two different comparisons we just made between running your own business offline, versus and online business. The upfront costs are minimal with an online business, while starTng your own local retail store or breaking into a franchise locaTon will cost you thousands upon thousands of dollars.
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
Just like you would need to establish your business in the offline world, you need to do the same in the online space. Instead of starTng your business online from scratch, you have the opTon to purchase an exisTng business, which may already have a foundaTon in place for you to work with.
Through web sites like Flippa.com, you have a marketplace that is filled with new buyers and sellers every day, all of whom are looking to do business with YOU!
Domains as Investments: Passive Income Without Experience
The physical land that your house or business is currently built on, that is an investment. Domain names are the land and investments of the Internet. Just as there is no idenTcal land, every domain on the Internet is unique and valuable, priced differently based on many factors.
The exciTng thing about domain names is that they all start out at the same price and if you are able to purchase a domain name before someone else, you could potenTally flip that domain name for over 100 Tmes the amount of your iniTal investment.
What makes one domain name beAer than another is the actual word of the domain name, as well as its extension (which is also known as a TLD or "top level domain"). The name, or keyword of the domain, is where most of the value lies. A generic and short word like business.com is worth millions of dollars, while something like mybusiness.com could potenTally sell for thousands of dollars. A nonsense domain name is typically worth much less than that.
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
The “.com” is the most sought afer domain name extension, and the biggest domain sales of all Tme have all been .coms. If a .com isn’t available, most domain and site owners would go afer the .net or .org extensions.
When buying domain names as an investment, you have a few different opTons. You can purchase the domain name and “park it” at an ad serving company, or you can develop your own website for the domain. Both of these opTons will allow you to earn revenue month afer month, while leaving the opTon open to selling your domain if anyone interested contacts you.
Thank you for downloading my free sample version of “Flip This Web Site”. In this guide I introduce you to the world of web site flipping and how thousands of users are making big money through the use of Flippa.com.
I’ve also included my “Bonus Guide: The Mini Niche Web Site Guide”, which is only available through the full paid version of my book.
Enjoy the first ten pages and bonus guide of the book for free, and if you’d like to purchase the full guide, simply click the link below!
Get the Full 147 Page “Flip This Web Site” Book!
Thanks again, and I’d love to hear from you!
Zac Johnson
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
Interview with MaN Mickiewicz
First off, I would like to thanks MaA for taking the Tme to parTcipate in this Flippa guide.
MaA Mickiewicz is not only the co-‐founder of Flippa.com, but also the mega sites SitePoint.com and 99Designs.com. I was thrilled to have MaA contribute to this guide by answering a few quesTons with his own answers to many topics we covered through out the guide.
How did you come up with the idea for Flippa?
Flippa was born out of the SitePoint Forums where a sub forum existed which allowed people to buy/sell websites.
How easy is it for the average person to buy and sell domains and web sites?
It's not completely straigh[orward but it's not too hard. There aredefinitely technical skills, which make it easier, along with broadknowledge of the Internet. But overall it's quite possible for afairly unsophisTcated user to purchase and run a website on Flippa without a great deal of stress, if they're willing to use a bit of trial and error.
For someone who wants to get into the domain and web site flipping game, what type of investment should they be looking at spending?
How much money? If you're just gekng started, you shouldn't need to pay more than about $500 for a site that you can learn a huge amount from. And it just might make you a bit of money.
Assuming a buyer has no prior web design/management
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
experience, what would you recommend a buyer learn before purchasing their first site?
To start with, let me take a slightly different perspecTve on this.The most important thing when buying your first site is to make sure it's in an area that you're interested in. You'll have a bit oflearning to do, and it's much easier to moTvate yourself when you're working with something you're passionate about. For instance, if you really like gardening but dislike pets then starTng with a site about orchids might work really well; but starTng with a site about hamsters probably won't work for you.
Apart from that, there is a wide range of skills required, and no one person has all the skills. Certain people might prefer to createcontent, or to do SEO work, or to design the user interface of theirsite. You won't know which ones you prefer (and are good at) unTl you try, so the best way to go is to get started and be willing to learn and experiment.
What's the key difference you've seen from customers, between ones buying just a domain, and ones buying a web site/domain as a business?
We see very few customers who buy domains, as the overwhelming majority of buyers on Flippa are looking for a business.
What do those who are successful with Flippa have in common; can you name a few key traits and/or approaches to the business?
A desire to learn and experiment is most important. Not everything you do is going to work, so you need to be willing to get back on the horse afer you fall off. There are many ways you can run online businesses, and which one you prefer depends on
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
your personality. The only way to find out what works for you is to dive in and swim for a while.
Do you see Flippa focusing more on web site transac*ons and progressing into the domain space, as more domains are added to the market place?
We're really good at websites and that's what we'll focus on. There are plenty of other places that do well at domains; we think websites and web businesses are what are important for Flippa.
Are you surprised with the rapid growth and response Flippa has received? What's to come?
We're flaAered that people like our service, but we're not surprised about the growth. There's no doubt that more and more people are coming round to the idea of making money running their own web business, whether they consider themselves entrepreneurs or just everyday people who want more control over their income. We've got a lot to do to make our service beAer and beAer, and that's what we're concentraTng on in the near future. Past that, we have some interesTng ideas that will come out in due course...
What has been your favorite web sites sold on Flippa so far?
It's too hard to choose!
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
BONUS: The Mini Niche Web Site Guide
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
Right when I was about to release my Flip This Web Site book, I thought about how important it would be to include an extra guide for beginners and for anyone new to web site flipping.
Instead of leaving you in the dark with no where to start, I wanted to create a guide where you could get some ideas flowing and even create your first web site that can be flipped within 30-‐60 days, while not requiring you to have to learn how to code a web site and other Tme consuming tasks.
This guide in itself could be sold as a product of it’s own, or even an upsell to my Flip This Web Site book, but I believe in providing my readers and customers with only the best products and support possible, so here it is! Enjoy!
Building Profitable Niche Web Sites
One of the most successful types of web sites consistently selling on Flippa, are “made for adsense web sites”. These are typically smaller web sites not a lot of content, but instead, the content that is on the web site is extremely focused on one Tght keyword or phrase.
The way these web sites generate traffic is by gekng ranked in search engines for a low volume and specific term, but enough to make it worthwhile and provide a recurring monthly income without having to spend any adverTsing dollars or conTnually building up the site. It’s a lot easier to build a niche web site that is focused on a very long tail keyword, than trying to rank for a high traffic and generic keyword.
Before jumping into the building, I wanted to show you an example of what a “made for adsense” web site might look like.
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
You can refer back to this screenshot as it will help you beAer understand the process and site layout and design.
As you can see from the screenshot, the site is focused on “Forklif Safety and CerTficaTon”. When you use the Google
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
Keyword Tool and search on “forklif safety” and “forklif cerTficaTon”, you can see that the search volume on these terms are relaTvely low, but their “compeTTon” is high, which means the adverTsers are probably paying out a lot of money per click.
The goal of the site in the example above is to rank for the niche keywords in search engines, have traffic come to their web site, then click on the Google Adsense adverTsers which provide relevant and useful informaTon.
Now that you understand the concept of a niche web site, let’s get started on how you can build your own.Since the release of Google Adsense, it has never been so easy for web sites to make money. The process of generaTng money with Adsense is simple. You place a line of code on your web site, and then earn a commission every Tme their ad is clicked on. Adsense is one of the greatest methods of adverTsing because all of the
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
adverTsing is served from Google and they can match targeted ads up with nearly any web site or blog content out there. If you’ve had any experience with Google Adsense, don't let the low click rates or earnings of only a few pennies per click confuse you... In Q1 2011, Google earned US$2.34 billion ($9.36 billion annualized), or 28% of total revenue, through AdSense!While Google Adsense is the easiest way to generate revenue with a niche web site, it isn’t the only method. Google Adsense makes it easy because they do all the work for you of finding relevant adverTsers, but there are thousands of affiliate programs out that that can also make you money with niche web site.For example, Amazon.com has an Associate Program which pays out a commission every Tme you refer to new sale to their web site. If you would like to build a niche web site about any product listed on Amazon.com, you could use them as your revenue source instead of Google Adsense, or even use both.There are thousands of ways to moneTze a niche web site, but for the majority of this guide, we will focus on Google Adsense. If you don’t currently have a Google Adsense account, you can sign up for one free at hAp://www.google.com/adsense/.
So how are web sites and blogs making any money with Google Adsense? The common misconcepTon of Adsense is that you would have to be a fool to run their adverTsements on your site, as you are sending visitors away from your we site for "usually" only a few pennies per click. However, if you know how to manage your traffic, or create niche web sites, you can make a lot of money with Google Adsense.Over the years, I have been able to generate over one million clicks for Google Adsense and earn over six figures with Adsense
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
over the years. Through the use of high traffic web sites, authority web sites and niche web sites this was made possible.Several years back Google event sent me a cerTficate and leAer congratulaTng me on sending them some many qualified leads. They also sent me one of their mini Google Refrigerators that they used to send out to their top Adsense partners.You can see the leAer from Google below.
Why am I showing you this? Because Google is a great company to work with, especially if you conTnue to send them quality leads and traffic. Instead of thinking about ways to trick visitors and send lower quality traffic to Google, build a long term soluTon that will generate revenue month afer month.The decision of placing Google Adsense on a site, versus selling your own adverTsing directly, comes down to the value of your
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
site traffic, the purpose of your site and of course your end goal of what you want visitors to your web site to do.In most cases, it wouldn't make sense for someone to place Google Adsense on a high authority webmaster blog because the majority of visitors to the blog would already know what Google Ads are, and would likely never click them. Another reason it wouldn't be smart to place Adsense on a high authority blog, is that you can sell your own direct adverTsing for much higher rates. If you have an authority web site, a well known brand or loyal community sekng, adverTsers will pay a much higher and premium rate to have their adverTsing placed on your site, then a generic less targeted web site.
So how do you actually make money with Google Adsense?... The concept of making money with Google Adsense is simple, but there are many different approaches you can take. I’m going to focus on two different methods that both work well. • High Traffic / Non-‐Targeted Traffic (ie: YouTube, Image
HosTng, Entertainment Sites)
• Average-‐Low Traffic / Very Targeted Traffic (ie: Specific product/informaTon based sites, review sites)
YouTube for example has millions of people running through their site every day. The majority of people visiTng the site just want to see videos, but Adsense ads are popping up on these videos sTll. Even though the great majority of these ads are gekng closed out, since the volume of impressions and page views going through YouTube is over a billion daily, only a very small fracTon of a percent need to actually click on ads for Google to make decent money from it.
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
On the other hand, you have Tny niche web sites like the one I listed above, which focused on “forklif security”. Not many people are searching that topic, but when they are, they are really looking for more informaTon and/or something to buy. This means they are more likely to click on the adverTsement. I have seen some niche web sites have as high as a 80-‐100% click through rate on some days. This isn’t likely to see on an average day-‐to-‐day basis, but niche sites are built for high click through rates.In the screenshot below you can get an idea of how a high-‐targeted niche web site may perform in terms of click through rate, versus having Google Adsense placed on a generic or high traffic web site.Looking at the “Page CTR”, which stands through click through rate, you can clearly see which sites would be niche web sites, and which pages are generic or high traffic web sites.
Years ago when I was running a very high traffic resource site that was receiving over 100,000 unique visitors per day, it was easy for me to throw Google Adsense on the web site and only earn a few cents per click.
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
When you have this much traffic flowing through a web site, you only need a small percentage of visitors clicking on your ads, just like I menToned earlier with YouTube traffic.Even though this was "generic" traffic, the site was sTll generaTng thousands of dollars per day in revenue from Adsense.
Replacing Google Adsense for Affiliate ProgramsGoogle Adsense is simply the easiest way to make money with a web site, which is why I wanted to stress the importance of using Adsense. However, the easiest soluTon is not always the most effecTve and profitable. Instead of focusing your revenue generaTon on just Google Adsense, you should also test your site traffic with products and services that have their own affiliate programs.For example, let’s say you have a review web site for the best web hosTng services out there. You can place Google Adsense on your web site and earn a dollar or two per click. Or you could join many of the web hosTng affiliate programs out there. Most of these programs pay anywhere from $50 to $150 per referred customer.If you have a web site that people are coming to in an effort to help them decide what the best web hosTng (or any product or service) out there is, aren’t they more likely to buy through your web site.This is a perfect comparison between generaTng revenue through Google Adsense, or another outside method such as affiliate markeTng.The best way to moneTze your web site and find the best methods of revenue generaTon is to conTnually test. Instead of sending 50 clicks to Google Adsense adverTsers and gekng $2 per click, send your traffic directly to the web hosTng companies where you could earn $100 per new customer.
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
It’s all a game of tesTng and conTnually tweaking your site design and ad placement. You could be missing out on a lot of extra revenue, but will never know unTl you try.
Choosing a Niche TopicThe biggest factor when creaTng a niche web site, is to decide what you are going to focus your content on. There are many tools out there that can help you find niche keywords and high paying search terms. Some of these services are free, while others require you to pay to use their service.I recommend you start out with Google Adwords tool and learn how to break down niche groups layer by layer, as shown in the Flip This Web Site guide.Another resource that you can use is Keyword Spy. While they do offer a paid premium version, you can sTll learn a lot through their site when searching domains and keywords for free.
To quickly recap the concept, you can build a very niche specific web site focused on one niche topic such as "new york dui
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
aAorney", versus trying to build a broad topic web site targeted towards "new york aAorney" or "dui aAorney". As you can see in the screenshot above, “dui aAorney” is a very high paying keyword, with an average cost per click of $23.85 and over 300,000 search per month. If you were to target this keyword, you should conTnue to break it down to a smaller keyword with less traffic and compeTTon.The more targeted your niche and topic, the easier it will be for you to get traffic and rank in the search engines. When creaTng a niche web site, it's usually best to focus on high end keywords that will pay more per click. Obviously an adverTser bidding on a keyword like "new york dui aAorney", will earn you a tremendous amount more than a site focusing on "home made crafs".
Building Your Niche Web SiteNow that you have your niche topic, you need to build a web site. What most niche web sites do, is bought a generic domain name that is the exact keyword match. This would usually help with the search engine rankings, though Google now says they give less seo juice for direct match domains... but there is sTll some seo benefits of it. In example, if your niche and site topic was "new york dui aAorney", you would theoreTcally want to register newyorkduiaAorney.com. if the “.com” isn’t available, sTck with .net or .org, I don’t recommend using any other extensions. If none of these domains are available, you can always add words like “review”, “products” or “store” to the domain name.Over the past few years "made for adsense" sites have been popping up like crazy everywhere, so what I am teaching you here is nothing new.
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
With the massive exposure and money that is being tossed around from these sites, Google has been cracking down hard on "made for adsense" web sites that provide liAle to no value. It used to be easy to buy an exact match domain, throw some content on a web site and rank on the first page afer some arTcle markeTng... now it's not.With all of that said, it's important to make sure that you have a real web site and real content that provides value.Back when I was running my site that was pushing over 100k in daily traffic, I had around 10,000 pages of straight HTML that I created. With that said, it was quite the task to edit different parts of the web site or overall design.Now with the creaTon of Wordpress, it's much easier to write content, hire freelance writers, install plugins and customize your sites and blogs to the way you want. There are even wordpress themes and plugins created specifically for the use of making a site based around generaTng revenue with Google Adsense. Remember the screenshot I showed you earlier? That is an example of wordpress blog created using CTR Theme, which is a wordpress theme created solely for the purpose of creaTng made for adsense sites and maximizing the exposure of adsense, while creaTng a quality content site.If you were to browse through Flippa, you will find many of the made for adsense site for sale, some of which are using CTR Theme.To find web sites for sale on Flippa that are using Adsense as a revenue model, simply visit Flippa and use the search menu on the lef side of the page and type on “Adsense”.You can then search all of the acTve results, or sort the lisTngs by Date Listed, Time End, Number of Bids and Current Price. SorTng by “Number of Bids” will display the most acTve and sold web sites.
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
Now that you have a basic understanding of how Google Adsense and niche web sites work, let’s walk through the whole process of creaTng your site and doing some promoTon so you can get ranked in the search engines.
Step 1: Find a NicheI already covered the process of finding a niche for your site in the Flip This Web Site book, in chapter 4, on page 65.
Set 2: Create a Web SiteI won’t dive too much into this area, as many of you will already have the basic knowledge of creaTng a site or wordpress blog.Here is what you will need to get started.• Web hos*ng (I recommend and use HostGator)
-‐ use coupon code “flipthiswebsite” to get started for only a penny.
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
• Wordpress Blog (HostGator offers 1 click install)• CTR THEME (not necessary, but recommended)
If you have any quesTons about sekng up your web hosTng or blog, sign up to HostGator and use coupon code “flipthiswebsite” and I will setup your blog for free. (This does not include CTR THEME, as it’s a separate product)
Step 3: CreaCng ContentIn chapter 5 of Flip This Web Site I covered the basics of “PromoTng and Outsourcing Your Web Site” (page 85). Using these same concepts you can outsource the arTcle wriTng for your mini niche web site, or you can save a few dollars and write out the blog content and arTcles yourself.I recommend going live with at least five quality content arTcles with 500+ words per arTcle. All of these arTcles should be focused on your niche topic and keyword phrases you are targeTng. Also include the generic site map informaTon such as about us, contact, dmca, disclaimer etc…You can outsource your arTcle wriTng to eLance.com, Fiverr.com or any of the sites l recommend on the Top Outsourcing Web Sites page. Depending on who you decide to hire, you can have arTcles
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
wriAen for anywhere from $3 to $10 per arTcles. Search around for the best deals, but don’t sacrifice quality over cost.
Step 4: PromoCng Your Site and Building BacklinksYour mini niche web site is now live and you have some great content for the search engines to index. Now it’s Tme to build some back links.Refer back to page 88 in the Flip This Web Site guide to cover the basic types of link building methods we will be using, along with recommended resources for each.For now we will focus on ArTcle Directories, YouTube and Fiverr.• Ar*cle Marke*ng
Some will debate over the actual effecTveness and link juice passed on from arTcle markeTng, but I’ve always found it to be more helpful than not, and sTll use it today when starTng a new web site or looking to improve on my search rankings.To view a full list of the top ranked and most used arTcle directories, click here. I like to submit arTcles to ezinearTcles.com, arTclesbase.com and goarTcles.com.
• YouTube VideosWe haven’t talked about YouTube videos yet, so this will be an extra added bonus. Obviously YouTube is a massive powerhouse for traffic. If you aren’t uTlizing YouTube, you are missing out. But who has the Tme to make a ton of videos? I know I don’t, so here are two methods I’ve used.
o Create Videos Using Animoto.com When it comes to creaTng niche videos to build backlinks and traffic, Animoto is a great choice. This is a free service, but they also have paid versions that offer more opTons.
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
CreaTng a video with Animoto is a maAer of clicking images you want to use in the video, adding text and effects, then choosing music from their directory. It’s extremely simple and fast to use.
Many well known seo and link building companies are using Animoto to create niche videos, then adding them to YouTube and sending backlinks to their YouTube landing page, which helps them gain another lisTng in the search results and can also send traffic to their site through YouTube views.
o Outsource Your Video Crea*on to Fiverr.comIf you don’t want to create an account with Animoto, or spend Tme creaTng your own videos, you can head over to Fiverr.com and find someone who will.
The great part about using Fiverr, is that each job request is only $5. You can find people to create unique tesTmonial or info videos about any product. There are also users on Fiverr that are using Animoto to create videos.
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
• Building Backlinks with FiverrIn addiTon to using Fiverr for video creaTon, there are also hundreds of users on the site that will build backlinks for you. Through Fiverr, you can outsource link building methods such as social bookmarking, arTcle markeTng, blog and forum posTngs and more.I highly recommend that you be careful with what link building techniques you decide to use. Only create link campaigns back to your niche web site that are high quality and real links (ie: arTcle markeTng and YouTube).If you are tempted to use any other link building methods such as blog commenTng and forum posTng, you should send these types of links to your outside content and links, such as your YouTube videos and arTcle markeTng content. This type of link building is referred to as “link wheels”, and is what many seo companies are using to help rank web sites higher in the search lisTngs.
• Outsource Everything!Another opTon that you have is to simply outsource
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
everything. This is obviously one of the best and most simple methods to use, but it will also cost you some money.
One of the best and highly recommended seo and link building companies out there is SEO LinkWheelers and not only do I personally use them for some of my web sites, but they are also recommended by some of the top internet markeTng blogs out there, such as ShoeMoney.com.
To get a beAer understanding of how SEO LinkWheelers builds content and helps your web site rank higher in the search results, here is a quick summary of their process.
It’s also important to understand how a “link wheel” works, and that is best done through the visual graph below.
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
The concept is preAy simple, generate as much real and quality links around your site topic as you can, using outside social networks, blogs and arTcle directories. Instead of linking all of these content sources directly back to your web site, you start linking them all together, which build a nice big link wheel.I’m not trying to push using an outside seo service down your throat, but instead to stress the importance of how to build quality content that links back to your mini niche web sites and gekng the search rankings you are looking for.Should you decide to use SEO LinkWheelers for your link building efforts, you can use coupon code “ZACJOHNSON” to save 12%.You can also read up on how I am working with SEO LinkWheelers to achieve the #1 ranking for the term “zac” on Google.
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
Lastly, even if you don’t decide to use SEO LinkWheelers, I highly recommend you look through their blog posts, as they will give you some great Tps and a beAer understand of how link building works.In addiTon to SEO LinkWheelers, there is one more service I personally use and recommend, and they are RankPay.
Unlike other seo and link building services that ask for your money up front, RankPay will not bill you a penny unTl you see results. I use them for a few of my web sites and the results have been great. You can head over to their web site, enter your site url and the search terms you would like to rank for, and they will instantly show you how much it will cost per month.Even if you don’t sign up for their paid service, it’s an amazing tool for searching keywords and giving you an idea how well your site can rank for a term.
Step 5: Monitor Results. Rinse and Repeat.
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
Let’s recap. We covered a lot in that last link building secTon, but it was important.When you get to step 5, you should have the following:• A Tight Niche Topic for Your Site• A Domain and Web HosTng• At least Five Well WriAen 500 Word ArTcles• Some Form of Link Building
Remember, Google is not a big fan “thin web sites”, meaning they don’t provide much value. Make sure you put Tme and effort into your niche site, add image and content people will want to read.With that said, it is very important to keep your site updated with new content and new incoming links every few weeks.As for search rankings, mini niche web sites can rank within a few days, or a few weeks to months. It all depends on your content, link building methods and your niche. Some niche sites only need a few backlinks from arTcle directories, while others need more work.When looking through Flippa, you will find that many of the sites listed that are based off the “made for adsense” concept, will menTon what type of link building methods have been done for the site. The majority of these sites are using arTcle directories, as it’s free and effecTve.As you build more content and backlinks for your site, you should conTnue to see beAer results and more traffic. ConTnue the process or create new mini niche sites and expand your por[olio of sites that you can soon flip for cash.The process may be overwhelming the first Tme around, but as you create more niche sites you will get a beAer handle on it and be able to pump them out faster.
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
Remember, not all mini sites will come out winners, but when they do, you can usually flip them for 10-‐20 Tmes their monthly earnings.Also, don’t focus your long-‐term goal on flipping mini niche web sites. The real money is from generaTng large content and authority web sites!As always, please don’t hesitate to contact me with any quesTons or comments you might have! Here’s to your success and I look forward to hearing from you soon!
-‐ Zac Johnson
Thank you for downloading my free sample version of “Flip This Web Site”. In this guide I introduce you to the world of web site flipping and how thousands of users are making big money through the use of Flippa.com.
I’ve also included my “Bonus Guide: The Mini Niche Web Site Guide”, which is only available through the full paid version of my book.
Enjoy the first ten pages and bonus guide of the book for free, and if you’d like to purchase the full guide, simply click the link below!
Get the Full 147 Page “Flip This Web Site” Book!
Thanks again, and I’d love to hear from you!
Zac Johnson
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson
NoTce of Rights:All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmiAed in any form or by any means, without the prior wriAen permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotaTons embodied in criTcal arTcles or reviews. NoTce of Liability:The author and publisher have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the informaTon herein. However, the informaTon contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied.Neither the authors and ZacJohnson.com, nor its dealers or distributors, will be held liable for any damages caused either directly or indirectly by the instrucTons contained in this book, or by the sofware or hardware products described herein.Earnings & InformaTon Disclaimer: All informaTon, products and services listed in this book are for educaTonal and informaTonal purposes only. Partnerships with individual services listed in this guide may result in a commission. Use cauTon and seek the advice of qualified professional. Check with your accountant, lawyer, or professional advisor before acTng on this or any informaTon. Users of this product, service and web site are advised to do their own due diligence when it comes to making business decisions. Copyright 2011, Zac Johnson -‐ hAp://www.zacjohnson.com
Flip This Web Site: How to Buy, Improve and Sell Web Sites on Flippa
“Flip This Web Site” is Copyright and WriAen by Zac Johnson