The Ultimate Due Diligence Checklist for Content Site Buyers

Traffic Verification

Never trust screenshots. Always request direct Google Analytics access (view-only) and verify the following:

• Monthly sessions and users for the past 12 months
• Traffic source breakdown (organic, direct, social, referral)
• Geographic distribution — is traffic from high-value countries (US, UK, CA, AU)?
• Bounce rate and average session duration
• Top landing pages and their individual traffic trends

Cross-reference with Ahrefs or SEMrush to verify organic keyword rankings match the reported traffic levels.

Revenue Validation

Request access to the actual revenue dashboards — not just screenshots:

• Google AdSense dashboard (last 12 months)
• Amazon Associates or other affiliate dashboards
• PayPal/Stripe transaction history if applicable
• Any subscription or SaaS revenue in Stripe or similar

Calculate the net profit by subtracting all expenses: hosting, tools, writers, VA costs, and any paid traffic. The multiple should be applied to net profit, not gross revenue.

Content Audit

Content quality directly impacts long-term site value. Check:

• Total number of published articles and their average word count
• Percentage of AI-generated vs. human-written content
• Content freshness — when were articles last updated?
• Duplicate content issues using Copyscape
• Originality scores using tools like Originality.ai
• E-E-A-T signals: author bios, credentials, citations

Backlink Audit

A site's backlink profile is one of its most valuable (and most easily manipulated) assets:

• Run a full backlink audit in Ahrefs or Majestic
• Check for PBN (Private Blog Network) links — these are a major red flag
• Verify referring domain quality: are they real sites with real traffic?
• Look for sudden spikes in link acquisition — could indicate paid links
• Check anchor text distribution for over-optimization

Technical Check

Technical issues can be expensive to fix post-acquisition:

• Run a full site crawl with Screaming Frog or Sitebulb
• Check Core Web Vitals scores in Google Search Console
• Verify SSL certificate and HTTPS implementation
• Check for manual penalties in Google Search Console
• Review hosting setup and migration complexity
• Audit installed plugins for security vulnerabilities (WordPress sites)

Seller Red Flags

Pay attention to how the seller communicates and responds to questions:

• Refuses to provide GA access: Non-negotiable. Walk away.
• Vague answers about traffic sources: "It just gets traffic organically" isn't an answer.
• Can't explain revenue drops: Every dip should have a clear explanation.
• Pressure to close quickly: Legitimate sellers understand due diligence takes time.
• Inconsistent financials: Numbers that don't add up across different documents.
• No transition support offered: Good sellers want the site to succeed post-sale.