Buyer resource
Due diligence for web property acquisitions
Trust the listing. Verify everything in it.
Due diligence for digital assets is different from physical businesses. Most of the evidence is portable and screenshot-able, which means sellers can present a curated view. Independent verification matters. Know what you can verify independently and what requires seller cooperation.
01
Traffic verification
Google Analytics read-only access — check direct vs organic split, landing page distribution, bounce rate by channel. Use Ahrefs/SEMrush for independent traffic estimates. Check if rankings held through major algorithm updates.
02
Revenue verification
Affiliate dashboard screenshots vs bank statement reconciliation. Review trailing 3 months vs trailing 12 months — and which matters more depending on niche seasonality. Check refund rates and chargebacks where applicable.
03
Content audit
Content age and update recency — stale content in a post-HCU world is a liability. Look for thin pages and doorway patterns. Signs of AI-generated bulk content (date ranges with unusually high publication volume). Topical coverage gaps.
04
Technical audit
Core Web Vitals and page speed — Lighthouse score below 50 means buyer inherits a rebuild. Google Search Console access — manual actions, coverage errors, crawl anomalies. Hosting, CMS, and migration complexity — factor these into true acquisition cost.
05
Legal and operational
Domain ownership confirmed in registrar (not just Whois — request transfer confirmation). Affiliate programme transferability — some require re-application after ownership change; Amazon Associates is strict. Existing supplier or content contracts. Social accounts if included.
- Revenue not independently verifiable
- Traffic from single viral post
- Affiliate programme forbids transfer
- Manual penalty in GSC
- All backlinks from one campaign
- Content indistinguishable from AI bulk
- Seller unable to provide 12-month revenue history