In business, an asset is a property that has economic value or can be used to generate income.
Robert Kiyosaki expertly explains this in his famous book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad,” defining the difference between an asset ( e.g., a rental property ) and a liability ( e.g., a car ). In this sense, a company website is an asset in its own right . It’s your property, it generates traffic, it attracts customers, and ultimately, it generates revenue.
The value of a website also exceeds that of social media channels. This is because a website is an asset owned by your company, including the domain and everything on it. In contrast, social media are third-party platforms over which you have limited control. Therefore, a website has greater intrinsic value than social media , as it represents a digital asset that your company has full ownership and control.
What determines the value of a website
The value of a website is determined by a series of factors:
Website traffic : The number of visitors your website attracts is a key indicator of its value. The more traffic you have, the greater your revenue-generating potential. Of course, traffic that’s perfectly targeted to your business is definitely worth more than “dirty” traffic, but in the game of big numbers, every number has value, even if it’s small.
Traffic to a site with a well-defined growth strategy is incremental and potentially exponential. In this example of a project we implemented, traffic is growing steadily after approximately two years of inception, thanks to the distribution of evergreen content based on a weekly editorial calendar.
- Dofollow Backlinks and Their Relevance to the Industry : Backlinks are links from other websites that point to yours. Dofollow backlinks are particularly valuable because they pass authority to your site (contributing to determining
your domain authority ),
improving its visibility in search engines . Clearly, among this last type of link, the ones that contribute the most to a greater economic value of your site are those most directly related to your business (
for example: if you own a car sales business, a dofollow link from a domain in the automotive sector will have greater value than a link of the same type from a domain in any other sector ).
In this example of a project we created, the site demonstrates growth in both backlinks and domain authority. Of the 376 backlinks shown in the graph, 72 are “nofollow” links: they do not contribute to increasing domain authority and therefore the site’s value.
- Quality content : A website with
high-quality content will attract more visitors and keep them on the site longer, increasing the chances of conversion. Comprehensive, complete, and well-curated content
increases the time readers spend on your site , a very important factor in Google’s eyes. At the same time, demonstrating expertise and professionalism will exponentially increase trust and awareness of your company.
In this example, a content strategy contributes to a longer average engagement duration, which translates into greater organic exposure for your site and consequently, its greater economic value. Algorithms based on qualitative parameters increasingly similar to those implemented on social networks are also gaining ground on search engines. It is therefore essential to focus on creating content-centric sites even before over-optimizing them for organic positioning.
CPC multiplied by the organic keywords you rank for : Cost-per-click (CPC) is an indicator of an advertisement’s value. Multiplying the CPC by the organic keywords your site ranks for gives an indication of its value. Specifically, this value best reflects the market trend in your industry , as it reflects how much your competitors realistically spend on advertising for the same keywords you appear for on Google without having to invest a single cent.
This example site, compared to the keywords it’s organically ranked for on Google and other search engines, is worth $1,228 per month. This means that to position the same site using paid traffic, the company would have to invest the equivalent amount in an online advertising provider (excluding profile management and setup costs).
Website Monetization : If your website generates revenue, for example through the sale of products or services, advertising, or affiliate marketing, this will increase its value. There is no hard and fast rule for determining the so-called “delta” to value your site based on this factor, but you can use
your average monthly revenue generated by the site multiplied by 20 or 30 as an indication , also based on the
lifetime value of your customer (example: if your site generates €10,000 per month, an indicative value ranging between €240,000 and €360,000 should be added to the aggregate value ).
The “moonify method” for calculating the value of a website
- Online website valuation tools : There are numerous online tools that can provide an estimate of your website’s value. At Moonify, for example, among many tools, we use Uber Suggest’s premium plan, which provides accurate estimates of CPC, rankings, domain authority, and backlinks.
- Evaluation by an SEO expert : An SEO consultant can review your website and provide a valuation based on their experience and industry knowledge. An empirical evaluation is a crucial step in evaluating a website. Just as an art critic can assess the value of a painting based on its pictorial quality, artist, market, and frame, an SEO expert can also evaluate a website based on experiential criteria.
- Comparative analysis and benchmarking : Comparing your website with similar sites in your industry can help you understand how you stack up against your competitors. Having an average website will result in average overall value. Demonstrating a competitive advantage based on demonstrable technical factors can lead to greater financial value.
- The market determines the price : Finally, the value of a website is ultimately determined by the market. There are many non-objective metrics that can influence a site’s value , such as brand reputation, customer loyalty, and industry trends. For example, a website about blockchain, all else being equal, will have a higher value than a website about gardening. This is precisely due to the market’s significantly greater potential in the years to come.
How to sell a website: 3 options
1. If your website is associated with a company, its value will be tied to the company’s performance . In this case, the website should be sold along with the company itself as part of an exit strategy . A website with a solid brand will therefore be considered an asset only to the extent of the performance of the company to which the brand is associated.
2. If your website is an e-commerce site with its own brand, it could be sold privately to companies operating in the same sector with a view to mergers and acquisitions ( M&A ). This rule applies only to sites offering products and services that can be considered commodities.
3. Last but not least, there are website marketplaces ( Flippa being one example ), where you can sell your website as if it were a physical product.
Conclusion
A website’s value is determined by a number of factors , including traffic, backlinks, content quality, CPC, and monetization. There are various methods for assessing a website’s value, including online tools, SEO expert ratings, benchmarking, and the market.
If you’re thinking of selling your website, remember that its value will depend on your business’s performance if the site is associated with a company, or it could be sold privately or through a dedicated website if it’s an e-commerce site with its own brand.
For more information on how to evaluate and increase the value of your website , contact Moonify . We are SEO experts with over 10 years of experience in the industry and can help you get the most out of your website.
SEO & GEO specialist.
