How I made $178,000 a year selling one site

• Rob Boirun has been building websites and writing content as a hobby since 2002.
• Boyrun began monetizing its content seriously in 2019 and sold its hobby sites in 2020.
• He now buys and flips websites from platforms like Flippa, raking in up to $178,000 per flip.

That said, the essay is based on a conversation with Rob Boerun, the 50-year-old website flapper and the company’s CEO. Popnet Media LLC, From Huntsville, Alabama. Edited for length and clarity.

I have a lone-wolf personality; I don’t want to manage a group of other business owners. So in the year In 2019, when my website-hosting and VPN businesses grew to the point where I couldn’t manage it alone, I knew it was time to sell.

They always gave me a place to have fun and write about things I found interesting on informative websites.

Money was not my motivator, but I was monetizing them.

Once I sold the businesses, I realized I needed a new, consistent monthly income. That’s when I focused on my hobby sites as a casual side gig instead of running them as a business.

I have maintained a few sites over the years at various levels. I own startup sites with 10 to 20 posts, over a year of consistent growth, and authority sites with good traffic income – that means more than $5,000 a month in revenue.

I’ve found sites on cloud storage, lawn care, drinking alcohol, water purification, paintball, pinball machines, and general reviews.

The pages focus on answering questions from the community, along with content and reviews.

To replace my monthly income, I got into content marketing by gaining more knowledge about certain topics and creating helpful content for people searching the internet. It takes more discipline and focus than running sites as a side gig.

For the most part, I taught myself content marketing. I’ve also taken some guidance over the years from various sources, including The Income School, Matt DiGigi, and the late James Martell.

I decided to list one of my cash flow sites on the Investors Club Marketplace and reached out to find a broker.

In the year In 2020, I received an invitation to sell one of my hobbies.

The process of selling a digital business and talking to my accountant opened me up to website flipping.

There are thousands of websites for sale at any given time on marketplaces like Flippa and Investors Club.

On Flippa, you can buy startup sites for $100 or businesses worth $1,000,000 or more. Investors Club focuses on established and monetized sites; They usually cost more than $20,000.

After I sold my first site, I found another one that generated $2,000 a month; The seller is asking $52,000.

The website was generating revenue, but it was clear to me that the seller was leaving money on the table. With a little work, I knew I could increase the revenue the site generated, so it made sense to buy it.

I bought the site in June 2020 for $52,000 using the profit from the first sale.

Finding ways to increase website revenue immediately is key to website success.

After I buy a site, I do a full SEO audit using tools like Ahrefs and Semrush to see which websites and keywords are ranking on Google.

Using the keyword reports from these tools, I have 100 to 200 keywords for my website topic that have a good chance of ranking. I search for the phrases to see what other pages are currently ranking and analyze whether the content is outdated or incomplete.

If the top-three search results on Google for these keywords can be improved, I know that writing a more comprehensive guide or article is a top priority. For each term I build a list of topics to discuss in my articles.

Then, based on the overall monthly searches the keyword gets and the chance score I gave during the research, I rank the to-do list in order of importance.

Once this list is complete, I submit the article to a freelancer who wordmarks the topics into something informative, such as a blog or guide.

In addition to keywords, Google is moving toward listing results based on search query and interest, which means the algorithm is getting smarter at figuring out the intent of a search query.

I also find ways to monetize sites using ad networks, affiliate marketing, and sponsorships.

Using these methods, I was able to grow this site from generating $2,000 per month to $13,000 per month. In June 2021, I sold the website on Investors Club for $230,000, kicking my website flipping journey into full swing.

Using the $178,000 I made from my first flip, I bought five more sites last year that I now work on full-time, with a small freelance staff helping manage and grow each one.

I am still managing all five sites, and they are producing varying levels of income.

Some websites are better for advertising revenue while others are better for selling e-commerce or affiliate products. I manage each site for at least a year before deciding whether or not to flip it.

If I’m burned out on the topic or feel like I can’t add anything of value to the site, I’ll list it for sale – at that point, it’s better off with someone who can continue to grow the site.

Ever since I started flipping websites, the lion’s share of my monthly income has been generated by the pages.

I take 50% to 60% of the profits to acquire new sites in the first few months after the flip happens. The rest goes to salary and saves for future purchases.