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Today, we look at a Koi fish website with lots going for it.
Let’s explore
Table of Contents
Koi-Care.com
What are Koi fish?
- Koi are an beautifully-colored type of carp that can be found all over the world
- Originally domesticated in Japan and east Asia, koi ponds are a popular hobby for fish and nature lovers.
- There are regular competitions for top Koi. Just like prized dog breeds, Japanese people take Koi breeding very seriously.
- Koi fish can be worth millions, and can definitely be considered an alternative asset! The most expensive Koi fish ever sold was for $1.8 million
What’s the site all about?
- Koi-care.com is a 8-year old content site for Koi fish & Koi pond enthusiasts
- Aimed mainly at those who already have a Koi pond, the site has 41 informative & how-to articles covering maintenance, help, tips, etc
- Design is pretty bad, but the content is honest and rich. Owner has a background in biology
- Site has consistent, seasonal traffic and revenue, earning money from display ads, affiliates, and even some dropshipping
- The site was a no-reserve auction, but is gaining popularity, and is likely worth purchasing at the buy-it-now price of $6,000
Details
- Net profit/month: $157
- Pageviews/month: 12,734
- Age: 8 years
Strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities
Strengths
- Aged site. Built up over 8 years
- Original owner & quality content. Site built from scratch. Content is helpful, accurate, and scientific
- Tons of referring domains. Authority is pretty good, and 2,200+ referring domains is very high. At just $3, this site has one of the lowest PPRDs (Price Per Referring Domain) we have ever seen. (Median benchmark is $23 dollars, 7-8x higher)
- Good keyword rankings. The site ranks for 219 terms in the top 10, and ranks #1 for terms like “Koi Pond Plants”
- Growing organic traffic. While overall traffic is flat, organic traffic is growing nicely over the past few years
- Great revenue diversity. 66% of the site’s revenue is from Ezoic, 22% is from affiliates (Clickbank, Amazon) and 12% is from dropshipping. Always great to see content sites that have expanded into physical ecommerce, even if it’s just 12% of revenue.
- Social presence. 7,000 Pinterest followers with 1.9 million monthly views. Pinterest makes up 94% of social traffic. Email list with 1,300 subscribers.
Weaknesses
- Design and UX. Site is pretty gross to look at, and navigation isn’t fun either. Of all niches, this is one which would really benefit from having a good user experience. A designer could have a field day with this site (We’re thinking a colorful, underwater theme would do well)
[2 more weaknesses for Insiders Only]
Opportunities
- Revamp navigation and design. Giving this site a facelift could work wonders for engagement and revenue. First order of business.
[5 more opportunities for Insiders Only]
The Koi Niche
Sure, Koi ponds are a cool hobby. But how big is the interest? And how is it trending?
Interest in koi ponds have held pretty steady over time, with a slight uptrend in recent years. Since ponds freeze over in winter months, it’s clearly a seasonal hobby, with interest peaking during the northern hemisphere’s summer months.
Comparable Sales
Inferred Value: [Insiders Only]
Insider Score
EPMU
EPMU is a site’s monetization efficiency. It tells you how much a site earns per visitor. A site with good EPMU means the site is efficiently converting eyeballs into revenue. A site with bad EPMU means the site is not efficiently turning eyeballs into revenue. Learn more.
> This site has an EPMU of $18,87, right in line with the benchmark median is $19.04.
15/20
MEPR
MEPR is a proprietary Alternative Assets metric. It stands for the Monetization Efficiency to Price Ratio. A site with good MEPR means the site is well-priced, given how effectively it turns eyeballs into revenue. MEPR is an even stronger metric than the multiple or EPMU, because it shows you the impact that an increase in traffic would have on revenue. Learn more.
> At the Inferred Value of $16,450, the MEPR is 6.5, right in line with the benchmark median of 5.0
16/20
Price Relative to Inferred Value
For sites with a fixed asking price, this measures the asking price against the inferred value. This metric is not applicable to auctions.
Age, Authority, and Backlinks
With content sites, authority and backlinks are tremendously important measure of strength.
PTFU
PTFU is the cost per true, free user. It is a measure of how much you are paying for the site’s most valuable users. It’s a good way to measure the value of a site based on its traffic, and an excellent barometer for sites which have high quality traffic, but suboptimal earnings. A site with low PTFU means the buyer is acquiring high quality traffic for a lower price than expected. Learn more.
Organic Traffic Stability and Strength
Organic traffic is like gold. This measures how strong, influential, and stable the flow of organic traffic is to the site.
Revenue Stability & Diversity
How many different sources of revenue the site has, and how stable or bouncy it is.
Recent Growth
How much has this asset grown over the last twelve months.
Category Strength
This measure is relative to all other categories.
Social Presence & Email
Includes Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and TikTok followers, as well as the email list size & activity.
> Pinterest is very strong and drives lots of traffic. But email collection methods are outdated and other channels are under-utilized.
6/10
Domain Strength
How strong and valuable a site is based on the domain alone.
Maintenance and Upkeep
This measures how heavy the time & cost requirements are for the site.
Visitor engagement
Engagement is comprised of engagement rate, bounce rate, time spent on site, pages per visit, return visitors, and loyalty.
Under-the-Radar Factor
Sites that fly under-the radar have less interest & activity, and are therefore easier to negotiate and purchase.
Overall Insider Score: [Insiders Only]
Recommendation & Outlook
[Recommendation for Insiders Only]
Due Diligence Service
Remember to do full due diligence before purchasing any website. Stefan created and runs Flippa’s Due Diligence program, and can offer the same service to you.
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