Flippa has over 3 years of comprehensive data that shows how websites make money. We’ll use this to answer questions such as “what is a visit worth?” and how niche and monetization methods impact website value. Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Monetization Andrew Knibbe, Operations Manager, Flippa.com

1. How Are Websites
Making Money?
A look at $30 Million in Website Sales
Affiliate Summit West 2013
Andrew Knibbe – Operations Manager, Flippa.com

2. How Are Websites Making Money?

3. How Are Websites Making Money?
• Approach
• Average Site Profile
• Niches
• Site Types/Models
• Advertising
• Affiliate Programs
• Platforms
• Questions

4. Approach
• Transaction data for all established websites sold in
2011 and 2012
• Over 8,000 transactions worth almost $30 Million
• Mix of seller provided and directly sourced data
• Focus on median performance
2 - 4 - 4 - 4 - 6 - 6 - 6 - 12 - 16 – 40 [mean=10, median=6]
• Compared changes between 2011 and 2012

5. How Are Websites Making Money?
• Approach
• Average Site Profile
• Niches
• Site Types/Models
• Advertising
• Affiliate Programs
• Platforms
• Questions

6. Average Site Profile in 2012
The Baseline
• Monthly Revenue: $133 12%
• Monthly Uniques: 2,097 38%
• Monthly Revenue per Unique: $0.04 15%
• Sale Price: $493 1%
• Sale Multiple: 8 x monthly revenue 21%
• Built on a standard CMS
• Single Monetization Method

7. How Are Websites Making Money?
• Approach
• Average Site Profile
• Niches
• Site Types/Models
• Advertising
• Affiliate Programs
• Platforms
• Questions

8. Tier 1 Niches – 70% of Sales Volume
Internet Marketing
Entertainment
Health & Beauty
Home
Internet Services
Technology
Hobbies
Business
Travel
Gaming

9. Tier 1 Niches – Capital/Revenue Yield
Median Monthly Revenue
$- $50 $100 $150 $200 $250 $300 $350 $400
Gaming
Travel
Business
Hobbies
Technology
Internet Services
Home
Health & Beauty
Median Sales Price
Entertainment Median Monthly Revenue
Internet Marketing
$- $200 $400 $600 $800 $1,000 $1,200 $1,400 $1,600
Median Sales Price

10. Tier 1 Niches – Traffic Yield
Median Visitor Value
$0.00 $0.02 $0.04 $0.06 $0.08 $0.10 $0.12 $0.14 $0.16
Gaming
Travel
Business
Hobbies
Technology
Internet Services
Home
Median Monthly Uniques
Health & Beauty
Median Visitor Value
Entertainment
Internet
Marketing
- 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000
Median Monthly Uniques

11. Tier 1 Niches – wheretogetmovingboxes.com
• Home Niche
• ShareASale
• PageRank 1
• $69 Monthly Revenue
• 301 Month Uniques
• Sold for $747 (24 bids)

12. Tier 2 Niches – 24% of Sales Volume
Employment & Education
Electronics
Finance
Social Media
Family
News
Sport
Automotive

13. Tier 2 Niches – Capital/Revenue Yield
Median Monthly Revenue
$- $50 $100 $150 $200 $250 $300 $350 $400 $450 $500
Automotive
Sport
News
Family
Social Media
Finance
Median Sales Price
Electronics
Median Monthly Revenue
Employment & Education
$- $200 $400 $600 $800 $1,000 $1,200 $1,400 $1,600
Median Sales Price

14. Tier 2 Niches – Traffic Yield
Median Visitor Value
$0.00 $0.05 $0.10 $0.15 $0.20 $0.25
Automotive
Sport
News
Family
Social Media
Finance
Electronics
Median Monthly Uniques
Employment & Education Median Visitor Value
- 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000
Median Monthly Uniques

15. Tier 2 Niches – iKidApps.com
• Family Niche
• Link Share (Apple)
• PageRank 4
• $1,300 Monthly Revenue
• 19,000 Month Uniques
• Sold for $19,100 (35 bids)

16. How Are Websites Making Money?
• Approach
• Average Site Profile
• Niches
• Site Types/Models
• Advertising
• Affiliate Programs
• Platforms
• Questions

17. Site Type Performance
Blog
Ecommerce
Directory
Services
Social
Forum
Marketplace
Reviews

18. Site Types– Capital/Revenue Yield
Median Monthly Revenue
$- $100 $200 $300 $400 $500 $600 $700 $800 $900
Reviews
Median Sales Price
Marketplace Median Monthly Revenue
Forum
Social
Services
Directory
Ecommerce
Blog
$- $200 $400 $600 $800 $1,000 $1,200 $1,400 $1,600 $1,800 $2,000
Median Sales Price

19. Site Types – Traffic Yield
Median Visitor Value
$0.00 $0.10 $0.20 $0.30 $0.40 $0.50 $0.60 $0.70 $0.80
Reviews Median Monthly Uniques
Median Visitor Value
Marketplace
Forum
Social
Services
Directory
Ecommerce
Blog
- 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000
Median Monthly Uniques

20. Site Types – BestHydrationPacks.com
• Review Site
• Amazon Associates
• PageRank 1
• $24 Monthly Revenue
• 870 Month Uniques
• Sold for $210 (19 bids)

21. How Are Websites Making Money?
• Approach
• Average Site Profile
• Niches
• Site Types/Models
• Advertising
• Affiliate Programs
• Platforms
• Questions

22. Advertising Performance
Google Adsense
BuySell Ads
Infolinks
Chitika
DoubleClick.Net
Openads/OpenX

23. Ad Performance – Capital/Revenue Yield
Median Monthly Revenue
$- $500 $1,000 $1,500 $2,000 $2,500 $3,000 $3,500
Openads/OpenX
DoubleClick.Net
Chitika
Infolinks
BuySell Ads
Median Sales Price
Google Adsense Median Monthly Revenue
$- $2,000 $4,000 $6,000 $8,000 $10,000 $12,000
Median Sales Price

24. Ad Performance – Traffic Yield
Median Visitor Value
$0.00 $0.01 $0.02 $0.03 $0.04 $0.05 $0.06 $0.07 $0.08 $0.09 $0.10
Openads/OpenX
DoubleClick.Net
Chitika
Infolinks
BuySell Ads
Median Monthly Uniques
Google Adsense Median Visitor Value
- 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000 120,000
Median Monthly Uniques

25. Ad Performance – CrispMe.com
• BuySell Ads
• PageRank 3
• $61 Monthly Revenue
• 110,000 Month Uniques
• Sold for $9,450 (55 bids)

26. How Are Websites Making Money?
• Approach
• Average Site Profile
• Niches
• Site Types/Models
• Advertising
• Affiliate Programs
• Platforms
• Questions

27. Affiliate Performance
Commission Junction
Amazon Associates
SkimLinks
Link Share
CPAlead
ShareASale
ClickBank
Affiliate Buzz

28. Aff. Performance – Capital/Revenue Yield
Median Monthly Revenue
$- $100 $200 $300 $400 $500 $600 $700 $800 $900 $1,000
Affiliate Buzz
ClickBank
ShareASale
CPAlead
Link Share
SkimLinks
Amazon Associates
Median Sales Price
Commission Junction Median Monthly Revenue
$- $500 $1,000 $1,500 $2,000 $2,500 $3,000
Median Sales Price

29. Affiliate Performance – Traffic Yield
Median Visitor Value
$0.00 $0.02 $0.04 $0.06 $0.08 $0.10 $0.12 $0.14 $0.16 $0.18 $0.20
Affiliate Buzz
ClickBank
ShareASale
CPAlead
Link Share
SkimLinks
Median Monthly Uniques
Amazon Associates Median Visitor Value
Commission Junction
- 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 14,000 16,000
Median Monthly Uniques

30. Affiliate Performance – LoveTheOutdoors.com
• Amazon Associates
• PageRank 3
• $1,200 Monthly Revenue
• 118,000 Month Uniques
• Sold for $37,100 (32 bids)

31. How Are Websites Making Money?
• Approach
• Average Site Profile
• Niches
• Site Types/Models
• Advertising
• Affiliate Programs
• Platforms
• Questions

32. Platform Performance
WordPress
Joomla!
vBulletin
Drupal
Blogger
tumblr
Pligg

33. Platform – Capital/Revenue Yield
Median Monthly Revenue
$- $100 $200 $300 $400 $500 $600 $700 $800 $900 $1,000
Pligg
tumblr
Blogger
Drupal
vBulletin
Joomla!
Median Sales Price
Median Monthly Revenue
WordPress
$- $1,000 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000 $5,000 $6,000 $7,000
Median Sales Price

34. Platform – Traffic Yield
Median Visitor Value
$0.00 $0.02 $0.04 $0.06 $0.08 $0.10 $0.12 $0.14 $0.16 $0.18
Pligg
tumblr
Blogger
Drupal
vBulletin
Joomla!
Median Monthly Uniques
WordPress Median Visitor Value
- 50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000
Median Monthly Uniques

35. Platform– 3ROMS.com
• vBulletin
• CPAlead
• PageRank 3
• $300 Monthly Revenue
• 42,000 Month Uniques
• Sold for $3,000 (6 bids)

36. How Are Websites Making Money?
• Approach
• Average Site Profile
• Niches
• Site Types/Models
• Advertising
• Affiliate Programs
• Platforms
• Questions

37. Questions – Take-Outs
• Website performance down in 2012 compared to 2011
• Offset by more effective monetization in 2012
• Median sale prices have held steady
• Not all Niches were created equal:
Finance, Business, Home, Entertainment/Gaming and
Family niches tend to outperform the market
• Review sites are seeing a performance comeback
• Ad revenue is generally in decline
• Affiliate revenue is generally growing
• Wordpress growth in unstoppable. Keep an eye on Tumblr

38. Questions
How Are Websites Making Money?
Contact Flippa
• Flippa.com/blog
• facebook.com/flippamarketplace
• @flippa
• support@flippa.com
Contact Andrew
• andrew.knibbe@flippa.com
• linkedin.com/in/andrewknibbe
• @andrewknibbe