How do I show a buyer the monthly ad income history of my content website?

Buyers believe documents more than summaries. Export the earnings report from each ad network you use, month by month, and put them in one spreadsheet with a separate column for each source. Add the traffic for the same months from your site analytics so the buyer can see income moving with visits.

Then prove the money arrived. Match each monthly payment from the networks to a deposit in your bank account, and note any delay between earning and being paid. Where you earn from more than one source, show how much each contributes. A buyer will ask whether one source dominates, and it is better to have the answer ready.

Explain the odd months before you are asked. A seasonal rise, a policy change at an ad network, a redesign or a drop in search visits all show up in income. Say what happened and what you did about it. Offer to give the buyer read-only access to the reports during due diligence. Your accountant can prepare an income statement from these records so that ad income sits beside the site’s costs, such as hosting, writers and tools. Keep the original files, because a buyer may ask to see the raw reports rather than your summary.

Key takeaways

• Use the ad networks’ own reports, not screenshots or retyped figures.
• Match every monthly payment to a bank deposit.
• Explain unusual months before the buyer has to ask.