"In simple terms, the average website for sale at FEI is sold for 2-3x annual net profit (24-36 months). More specifically, we use “seller discretionary income” instead of net profit which takes into account (by “adding back”) costs that are not required to run the business but may have been used by the owner for personal benefit (such as a company car). Some internet businesses are worth more than this, others are worth less.

There is no such thing as a standard industry multiple, nor is there an automated way to calculate a valuation."

Source:feinternational.com

For websites valued under $1M, they usually sell based on some multiple of net profit. It could be anywhere from 10X - 30X your net monthly profit, depending on factors such as how you position the sale, where you list, the history of the site, stability of traffic/earnings, etc.

We've recently created a valuation tool (in beta) that should help you determine the value of your website:

http://empireflippers.com/valuation-tool/

Keep in mind that NO automated tools will line up perfectly, but we do plan on using this tool as our measuring stick for listing/selling sites in 2015.

We've sold thousands of websites over the last few years - around $1.5M in website sales for 2014 alone. We're pretty experienced at this and have put quite a bit of time/effort/energy into the tool - hope it helps!

There are some things to consider when flipping a site and it's worth...

1. How many hours/month do you have to put in for the site to earn "X" amount to dollars? if you put in 40 hours/week to make $1,000/month on a site it's worth substantially less than a site that requires a couple hours/week to earn $1,000/month

2. How long has the site been earning it's current income and does it fluctuate substantially every month

3. What type of product/service are you promoting on your site? If it's a trendy item (ie. new electronic gadget that will eventually be replaced), it may not have the same value as a product/service that has remained relatively unchanged for a long time

Be aware of people claiming they will sell a site that earns on 'auto-pilot'... If I have a site earning me $5,000/month with little upkeep, why would I sell it for 10x it's monthly income ($50,000) for a quick buck?... I would be better off getting a loan from the bank for $50,000 with 10% interest and paying the bank back the total amount in a year with the money I am earning from the site and then continue with the $5,000/ month after...

If you contact a lot of the new owners of sites that were bought through Flippa, you will find they made money from the site up until they left their positive feedback.. and after that their revenue disappeared..

All the best...

Jeff

Thanks for all your comments and advice - and yes, I am trying to sell a site not just the domain - hopefully will get the right price!

Not sure if this helps, but I recently listed a site on Flippa that was averaging $150 p/m for the last 5 months. I had the reserve price at 1k. I did not get 1 bid. All income was proven in a video showing my Amazon dashboard. I think people are weary of buying sites these days with all of the Google Pandas and Penguins ruining people's businesses...

Your best bet is to just put it on GoDaddy auctions and start off with a price that you'd feel comfortable with. You can probably sign up cheaper through my webpage at http://slayton1s.com/is-godaddy-a-good-website-builder/ if you decided to go that route.

Age plays a big role in it too. One of my buddies is selling a domain that's 4 years old. He's already had 2 people offer $50 for it (me & some other dude). He ended up putting it on GoDaddy auctions though. honestdietadvice.com is the domain if you're wondering. ;)

The rule of thumb is website income x 8-10 months. Of course there is a lot to consider just like any property, is it in a good area (is the topic competive? worth a lot?). If you PM me the sites I'll give you a rough estimate of what I would offer as a buyer.