Sphinn - 21 Questions to Ask When Buying a Web Business

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21 Questions to Ask When Buying a Web Business

Went Hot: December 15, 2007 - 6:06 pm
Posted By: chriswinfield 302 days ago
Topic Type: News Story (Jump to http://www.shimonsandler.com)
Category: Other Online Marketing

Important point from Shimon at the end too: "As a rule-of-thumb, I wouldn’t speak about your intended enhancements or marketing of the website with the present ownership. Because, they might not like what you have planned, and squash the entire deal. Or, it could give them the idea, and they pull-back from the sale, and implement your idea."

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from andrewsho 301 days ago #

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Chris,

Per the Web Analytics question I'd be very interested in the specific keyword referrals that the site gets from each search engine. By understanding what types of terms the site ranks for you can get a better read on what the upside/downside is on the SEO and what the quality of the traffic is. I'd also love to get any third party tracking data they might have (e.g. Comscore, Hitwise, etc.).

Understanding the SEO potential of an acquisition gives you leverage to raise, lower or justify your bid.

from chriswinfield 301 days ago #

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Good points Andrew - hopefully Shimon sees this ;)

from iirsys 300 days ago #

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Good article, thanks

from davnoel 300 days ago #

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Hey Andrew.

We haven't met, but, Chris is right, those are good points.

This was a great article, and it will be saved for reference; not just for the asking, but for the answering as well. ;-)

from GeneralLedger 299 days ago #

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9) If you buy the company, insist upon an asset only sale. So you buy the assets, and the seller retains liability for a specified period of time.

This needlessly complicates the sale and keeps the prior owner involved in the business. Most people do not want to retain this involvement when disposing of a business. I would imagine the liabilities would be factored into the sale price anyways. Certainly not something to insist upon.

Everything else was spot on!