@WhichBingo 185623 wrote:
What is the norm for buying/selling a portal? Do the affiliate accounts go with?
Really, the norm is that there is no norm.
Sites are bought and sold at such a variance of prices and conditions that in the end you just need to watch out that the price is right for the projected income, your budget and what you want to do with it.
It is actually easier to predict income by visitor number and click number than anything else, the industry is so volatile that existing accounts can become worthless overnight. In my book, branding is more of a guarantee of future income than SE positioning, branding stands the test of time, SE positioning is volatile and unpredictable.
If the residual income is not what you will depend on in future, I wouldn’t pay a prime price to obtain it. Since your business model will be completely different, I would focus more on traffic numbers, clicks and branding. Whichbingo is a fine example of a well branded site, so I am sure you know what I mean.
If the site income is totally dependent on SE positioning, ask yourself if you have the proper talent on board to maintain and nurture good SEO. If you don’t, what would it cost you?
I find the often used formulas of income x 24 months or whatever circulates at the time pretty useless for evaluation of the value the site will represent for you as an individual.