Virtual Real Estate – When is the Best Time to Sell?

Ever since BloggingFingers.com sold last month for over $6,000 while only having an online presence for only a short period of time, many people around the blogosphere have been buzzing about virtual real estate. In my Tuesday’s post, I disclosed what the approximate value of my blog is worth based on a specific calculation. While the number may be higher or lower, the fact is that many bloggers you may think are here for the long haul are actually not. I spoke with two very well known bloggers who I’ve come to know closely over the last few months. Both of them (which I can’t name) are only in it to flip their sites in a few weeks. It was a big surprise to me, because their articles and posts have a lot of value and they have gained a tremendous following from their loyal readers.

While I can understand their point of view and why they want to flip their sites (money being the main reason), I don’t think its fair to the reader. In a way it misleads the visitor, because they don’t know if what you’re writing are actually your own thoughts, or just copy to fill space and boost your PR. If you are in the game to only come out with an addition to your bank account, that’s fine too, but I don’t think you should be in the blogging scene.

Virtual real estate is huge on eBay and most the sites being flipped on there aren’t blogs, but sites that offer a product or service. In an earlier post I get into the specifics about flipping on eBay.

So what steps should you take if you plan to sell a site and when is it time to sell?

The main thing you need to establish to successfully sell your site for what it’s worth is traffic. Anyone can build a great looking site, but if there’s no traffic coming to it, you may as well forget it. Secondly, a lot of potential buyers will look at your Alexa rating and PageRank. The lower your Alexa rating is and the higher your PageRank number, the more you’ll get for your site.

Establishing a reputation and generating hype about your site is also key. If your site is known as being credible, having good content and a great reader following, those are other factors you can leverage while setting your asking price.

Picking the right time to get rid of your site is also very important. I usually suggest people wait at least 6 months before getting rid of it. If your site is older than that and you’re happy with the factors as mentioned above (Alexa and PR), then it’s really up to you. But if your sole purpose is to create a site to sell, I would recommend you wait at least 6 months. There are many sites where you can put your virtual real estate up for sale, the first being eBay. I’d also suggest the SitePoint Marketplace. Many big name sites have sold in the past using SitePoint and all have been very successful sales.

Still keen on selling a blog? Darren Rowse has a wonderful post on How to Sell Your Blog.

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