What marketing managers need to know about website acquisition

Acquiring an existing website is much less work than creating one from scratch; how can marketing managers ensure their success online?

Web businesses are certainly an attractive proposition for business owners and marketing managers looking to take on a new brand. One thing’s for sure – it’s much easier to acquire a website than it is to purchase a traditional business, what with staff, leases, and so on. When you buy a website that already has a name for itself, perhaps even a following, the effort required to publicize it comes right down.

Find a website that already has some strong backlinks, traffic, and a popular niche, and you’ll be well on your way to running a lucrative business which, with a smart marketing strategy, will draw in customers and earn money in far less time than a brand new website.

First things first: what customers are looking for

When you’re scouting for a potential acquisition, it’s important to keep in mind what your customers are looking for online. While different things appeal to different people, there are some desirable features that are universally applicable. For example, getting a clear sense of what your business does – and why it’s unique – on arriving at your website.

Customers are also looking for trust signals, things like prominently displayed contact information, customer testimonials, the ability to offer feedback, and a professional appearance. Of course, even if the website you acquire doesn’t have those things now, you can always add them later.
Then there’s usability. Users prefer websites that are easy to use and navigate, that include clear calls to action, that guide you effortlessly through the process – perhaps with some personalization thrown in.

When you acquire a website, you have the opportunity to make improvements. But you should also consider the resources available to you. You may need the assistance of a copywriter, a graphic designer, a developer, maybe even a UX designer, to bring the website up to standard. Changing the website theme might seem like a small thing, but if it’s badly coded — you could be in for a rough ride.

Quality assessment

Before going ahead with a website purchase, you need to know how popular the website already is. In other words, is it pulling in traffic? Frankly, if you’re buying a website that currently has no following whatsoever, you might as well build one from scratch.

SEMRush is a useful website traffic checker – among many other things. You need to get to grips with the website’s metrics and overall organic search potential. This will give you a good idea of whether you’re getting a good deal (or not).

Take a look at the existing reviews the business already has. Does it have a positive reputation? You may need to look further afield than the website itself to hear what people really think. Changing the content and appearance of a website is one thing – overcoming a damaged reputation is quite another.

It may sound like a small thing, but the name of the business (and its URL) is also important. You want a name that is snappy and memorable, that clearly defines your niche, and that isn’t too similar to anyone else. The URL is one thing you won’t be able to change. Some URLs are so commercially-sound that they are actually valuable just by themselves. Flipping and re-selling domains is a whole subgenre — if you’ve found a great one — snap it up!

Overall, there are likely to be some issues with any website, so it’s a matter of choosing one with issues that won’t be too difficult to overcome.

Your target demographic

A short but essential point: make sure that any website you acquire already appeals to the target demographic you have in mind. In doing so, you inherit an existing audience that will be receptive to the takeover, continuing to visit the website after you’ve made changes to it.

Email and contact lists are the engine rooms of many successful websites, so get clear on what you are (and are not) purchasing. A website without an audience may be worthless.

Current marketing strategies – and lessons learned

When making enquiries to existing website owners, be sure to do some digging into the marketing strategies previously used – and how effective they were. Did they plan for the long-term with carefully optimized on-page content and authoritative backlinks to boost organic search? Or did they simply throw a lot of money at PPC and social ads?

All of this will help to inform your next steps, should you decide to go ahead and buy the business. For example, if the website already ranks well for SEO, you can save the budget you might have spent on an SEO consultant and use it instead for social, content marketing, and other brand assets.

Likewise, you may discover that they’ve tried other strategies and failed. So why did they fail? Consider how you can avoid making the same mistakes and save yourself both time and money.

You can’t buy social media

Legally speaking, you can’t actually buy (or sell) a Facebook Page or Twitter handle. So if you happen to stumble across social media accounts ‘for sale’, proceed with caution. If the social network in question were to discover the account had been paid for, you could be banned or restricted in future.

Social media accounts should either be sold as part of the company, or transferred for free along with the domain. If you’re unsure whether or not your purchase is above board, read these guidelines by Facebook.

Don’t get involved with a custom CMS (unless you’re a developer)

An important factor that is often overlooked is how easily your team will be able to edit the website. It’s one thing for a developer – quite another for your junior marketing assistant. If the website you purchase looks great, but was created in an unfamiliar custom CMS, you’ll have a hard time making changes as and when you need to.

Little things, from uploading blog posts to editing product descriptions, will become time-consuming tasks if the platform in question isn’t straightforward. You may wish to save yourself the time and hassle by investing in a verified Shopify website, or get one that’s developed on WordPress and is being brokered on a trusted website marketplace.

Make sure that you draw up any legal documents before any transfer of assets, and it’s an idea to invest in some payment protection too. You have to cover your back when it comes to digital purchases like licenses.

Making an impression

How does the website in question look in comparison to the competition? You will have scoped them out already, of course. Is it the same-old-same-old, or does it have an edge that you can use to your advantage?

Standing out from the crowd is important in ecommerce. It’s not just how your website looks, but the experience as a whole that you offer to customers. Does the website you’re considering have the potential to be transformed into a unique and user-friendly prospect? Some markets are more saturated than others – if your plan is to offer much the same service as other businesses, then why bother?

This is where, as a marketing manager, your skills are invaluable. Having a firm understanding of the market, what buyer personas are looking for, and how to tap into their needs and desires, will make a big difference. You must be able to relate to your audience if you hope to strategically differentiate.

A successful website acquisition is very much a team effort, unless you’re a real jack of all trades. As a marketer, you’re an essential part of taking that business forward and ensuring that it reaches its full potential.

A website really can make or break a business. And sometimes, when it comes to buying one over creating one, it can be hard to know exactly what it is you’re paying for, aside from saving a little time. As the central hub of your online presence, you can’t be too careful with your decision. At the end of the day, you need a great website that will reliably drive traffic, conversions, and brand equity. It’s time to up your game.

Thanks to Victoria Greene for sharing their advice and opinion in this post. Victoria is a Brand Marketing Consultant & Freelance Writer. She works with ecommerce businesses and marketing teams to create content and targeted digital strategies. Beautiful branding and creative copy are her passions.