As the digital market continues to grow and change, more people are dealing in digital real estate. This trade doesn’t require significant cash upfront, nor does it pose the same huge risks as other markets.
If you’re considering getting into this market, here’s what you need to know about digital real estate and how to get a share of it.
What is Digital Real Estate?
Everyone’s familiar with the real estate business. It’s as easy as getting a house or land to rent or sell for profit. Digital real estate works the same way. Every domain name, website, and blog you see online is Internet property. They reflect digital real estate that you can buy and sell just like houses, apartments, and lots.
In fact, there are people who have full-time jobs, from buying and selling domain names and websites. Some domain names sell for millions of dollars, and websites often get bought for lots of money as well. You, too, can make money from Internet real estate.
How to Invest in Digital Real Estate
One of the biggest reasons many people stay away from engaging in websites is they think it requires advanced technical knowledge and web design experience to build and run a website and avoid web design mistakes.
However, the reverse is true: You don’t need any experience to set up a website and start dealing in digital real estate. New technologies and free software platforms, such as WordPress, have made this process much easier for newbies. Today, you can set up a website with just one click. You can make a website from scratch with the purchase of a business domain name, or you can buy an established website.
Each approach comes with benefits and downsides. Building a website from scratch takes only a small expense. However, you have to put in a lot of work to make it great, and it will take a long time before you can sell it for a profit. If you decide to buy a website, it will cost you a lot of money, but because the site is already making a profit, you can get a return on your investment much sooner.
Where to Buy Established Websites
If you have enough funds to buy an existing website, there are several markets you can explore to find websites for sale. Flippa is one of the most famous markets and a good place to begin your search. This platform allows you to join in website sales and buy websites that are already making a profit.
The website ads in the marketplace show you the exact amount of money the site makes every month and what type of marketing techniques it uses to generate income.
Keep in mind that when buying online, you can’t always trust the ads. Do your research to ensure your purchase doesn’t go to waste. You can use a tool like Semrush to study a website and check its search engine optimization (SEO), backlinks, user count, and other data before buying.
You can also hire a website exchange company, such as FE International. These companies handle all that hard work for you and help you find the right website for your business.
How to Build Your Own Website
Another way to invest in digital real estate is by building your own website. While this choice means more upfront work to create the website, you’ll also have full control over the name and its content. If you decide to make a website from scratch, you can do it yourself by using one of the best website tools.
Essential Tools to Start Your Website for 2025
Choosing the right options for your website is time-consuming. business.com looked at dozens of choices to come up with the following suggestions:
Wix
With over 900 flexible, industry-specific themes and customizable tools, Wix makes it easy to create a website regardless of your experience level. Tech newbies can take advantage of the platform’s easy setup guide and drag-and-drop tools. Wix gives both free and paid plans, but the free plan comes with ads.
Hibu
If you’re looking for a professional to take the reins, Hibu may be the right fit for you. The full-service web design firm specializes in building “smart” websites suited to both search engines and focused audiences.
Weebly
Weebly’s simple design and extensive features make it easy to build a website. The platform includes more than 50 website themes, a drag-and-drop design, and an HTML tool for custom code.
Duda
A mobile-friendly website is a major edge in today’s marketplace. Duda allows you to build a mobile-responsive site and update it based on the access device. Website design software is a self-service tool that lets people build their own websites. Web design services, by contrast, are full-service companies that support website creation, building, and upkeep.
How to Benefit from Digital Real Estate
After buying or making your website, you need to create content on a regular basis to attract people to your website and generate traffic. Use Google’s Keyword Planner to brainstorm ideas for your blog using things that people are already looking for.
If you’re too busy to write blog posts and promote your website, hire writers to create content on your behalf. You can find workers from sites such as Upwork at reasonable prices. Once you’re getting enough traffic to your website, utilize that traffic to create cash. Here are some ways to make money from your computer traffic:
Advertising
Sell ad space on your website, or use an ad network such as Google AdSense to monetize website traffic. When people click an ad, you make money.
Affiliate Marketing
This includes pushing and selling goods made by other companies. Whenever someone buys a product through your partner link, you earn a fee off the sale. Product Sales you can create and sell your goods like e-books, online classes, and software on your website.
Sponsored Content
Advertisers often reach out to companies to sponsor blog posts that promote their brands and goods. They will pay you to write about their products on your blog. Eventually, you may start making a profit from your website. Then, you can decide whether to sell it for a profit or continue building the site as an income stream.
The good news is that you don’t have to spend a lot on a website. The bad news is that, unlike when you buy stocks or real estate, you can’t sit back and watch the value of your digital real estate go up over time; you have to put in the work to improve your website’s value.
