4 Tips for Buying Websites

Over the last couple of years I bought a handful of websites, every time thinking I could tweak and optimize things around to make it attract more traffic, grow over time and consequently make more money.
Sometimes I got it right, other times I screwed up, but I learned some lessons either way. Below you’ll find some of them:

1. Focus on a single niche or sector

I always liked technology, and most of my sites are related to that. I guess it’s no coincidence that when I bought websites inside the tech like, like one about the iPad or one about Android, they ended up growing and generating a good ROI. When I bought websites on other niches, mostly because they seemed more profitable, the results were not as good.
What does this happen? For many reasons. First of all by focusing on one niche you can cross promote your sites. Second, you’ll be able to use your existing network of contacts, since they will own websites on the same niche. Third, you already have experience regarding the type of content and marketing ideas that work on that niche.
If you buy websites on niches all over the place you’ll lose all the benefits above.

2. Implement changes gradually

The biggest mistake you can make after you buy a website is to start changing a lot of things, all at once. This will probably confuse Google and other search engines, so your rankings will take a hit in the short run.

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Not only that, since you are changing many things at once you won’t be able to identify which changes had a positive effect and which had a negative one.
A better approach is to change things gradually, one at a time. After each change let the site be for a month or two at least, so that you can track the results.

3. Never change structural elements

I wouldn’t recommend making structural changes to the site, because you might end up hurting your search rankings and traffic irreversibly with those.
The two most important factors you should avoid touching is the permalink structure and the title tags. Google trusts websites that are stable in regard to those factors, so play it safe.
Other factors that are tricky to change are the H1 or H2 tags around post title, the internal link structure and the structure/order of your HTML elements (for instance, putting a sidebar above the main content could hurt your rankings in the short term).

4. Don’t neglect the content

Remember that at the end of the day content is still one of the main SEO drivers, so don’t neglect it.
More specifically pay attention to the frequency that the website was updated before you purchased it, and try to main that. Over time you can also increase it if the revenues justify, but avoid decreasing it.
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Second, try to keep the same style going. This includes the length and structure of the articles, as well as the topics covered.