NY Times, About.com and the long tail

Comments | Posted by Lee Odden on Feb 21st, 2005 in Online Marketing

The acquisition of About.com from the New York Times has prompted some speculation regarding the cost justification and the real reasons for the move.

Jay Rosen at PressThink makes some interesting observations about how About.com’s search engine optimization skills and visibility could bring ” second life of content” to the information published by the NYT. The permanence of content published on the web extends the possible readership (and advertising revenue) beyond the initial subscriber base.

John Battelle provides some insight into why the New York Times wanted About.com and the role “search – and the long tail – plays in the deal”. About.com provides a platform that is search engine friendly, allowing NYT to get into the search engine game and further capitalize on advertising opportunities offered through natural search engine rankings.

All I know is $410 million is a lot. Congratulations About.com!

Tags: About.com, New York Times