In many ways, online property is like real estate. People buy a domain and they might enhance the site in order to make it more valuable to sell to someone else, thereby “flipping it” and selling it for a higher price. Or they might hold on to the site as their Internet “home” and use it as a place where they conduct a lot of their business. If you don’t see the real estate metaphor here, you probably have never bought a house before.
But which strategy of the two above mentioned techniques work the best? Is it better to flip out sites for a quick profit, giving yourself more money and flexibility, or does sticking with one site ultimately end up with a better long-term investment having been made? Whichever way you’re leaning, this article might flip those preconceived notions upside-down. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of each strategy.
Site-Flipping
Pros: Site flipping, if you know how to do it right, can be a great way to make not only quick money – but good money. Being able to buy a domain for its potential value and then sell it to someone for a much higher percentage of that potential value is a skill. And it’s a skill that many people can learn. Sure, there isn’t much value in it except for the money you generate, but, after all, isn’t that exactly the point of site-flipping? It’s quick, it’s relatively easy, and it doesn’t always require a lot of time or effort if you know which sites to flip.
Cons: Just as you would find if you only flipped homes yourself, you never really get a great long-term value out of your investment. Sure, you grab the quick cash, but what if the person you sold the site to builds up that domain and sells it for 10 times what they bought it from you for? You might have wished that you had held the site instead.
Site-Holding
Pros: Site holding is a great way to build up your presence on the web. When you consider that search engines like Google reward you for having a site that’s been around for a long time – which indicates trust – then you see the benefits to holding a site. Like an investment in the market, holding here will eventually reward you in many cases. It’s also a great way to build up trust with readers, customers, and other website visitors if you establish a presence on that site.
Cons: Well, it can be kind of limiting and inflexible. You commit to a site and – guess what? – you don’t really have anywhere to go. You’re stuck with the domain, unless you want to flip it. Another idea might come to you but because you’re committed to holding another site, you don’t have the time or money to worry about that other idea.
Ultimately, the choice of which strategy to employ is up to you – and sites like WebsiteBroker.com are here to support and supplement these strategies.
