Why About.com ‘took a business that was perfectly fine & crashed it into the ground’

It’s not every day that you find a veteran website publisher willing to share details about their marketing strategy, from SEO to social media to content marketing and beyond. It’s even more unusual when that publisher is in the middle of remaking itself the way About.com is, pivoting from an all-inclusive website covering innumerable topics into a series of separate websites focused on specific verticals like health, home and finance.

“The market is really different now and there isn’t a place for a general interest site,” says About.com’s CEO Neil Vogel in this week’s episode of Marketing Land Live.

Vogel says the decision is paying off. After crashing About.com into the ground, the new sites are seeing significant gains in search traffic and on social networks, especially Facebook and Pinterest. But Twitter is practically a dead zone: Vogel says the company’s content performed better after the Twitter sharing buttons were removed. He also talks about how showing fewer ads on pages has helped the bottom line, and why the company isn’t a fan of Facebook Instant Articles.

It’s a fascinating conversation with Marketing Land’s Tim Peterson, so be sure to stay tuned for the full 51 minutes. You can listen here or use the link below to subscribe via your favorite podcast service.

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Show notes

USA Today: About.com is about to change its name

Marketing Land: About.com takes new direction with launch of standalone health website Verywell.com

Thanks for listening! Join us again next week for another episode of Marketing Land Live.

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About The Author

Matt McGee

Matt McGee is the Editor-In-Chief of Marketing Land and Search Engine Land. His news career includes time spent in TV, radio, and print journalism. After leaving traditional media in the mid-1990s, he began developing and marketing websites and continued to provide consulting services for more than 15 years. His SEO and social media clients ranged from mom-and-pop small businesses to one of the Top 5 online retailers. Matt is a longtime speaker at marketing events around the U.S., including keynote and panelist roles. He can be found on Twitter at @MattMcGee. You can read Matt’s disclosures on his personal blog. You can reach Matt via email using our Contact page.

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Channel: CMO ZoneMarketing Land Live Podcast