iac.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=53&item=219 -
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Published on: 8/21/2008
Last Visited: 8/21/2008
Said SVP/GM Ben Joslin: "Obviously, at IAC we have deep SEO expertise."But, he noted, the goal is still to make good content, not just to make content that shows up well in search.
The obvious question: What will make Life123 stand out from the crowded herd, including the competitors listed above, along with numerous other guides, directories and how-to sites?Joslin had good stuff to say about About, but said the site lacked its own, branded content.As for Mahalo, he said: "What they've done is gone and created a landing page."Rather than a place to go discover more stuff elsewhere, Life123 wants to be a destination.And as for all those other sites out there, he said most of them spoon feed users content, instead of allowing them to discover at the depth they want.Lots more after the jump
Business model: Life123 offers a mix of licensed and originally produced content.Only written, in-house content, which will make up 70 percent of the site, will be paid for directly.Content acquired from outside partners is obtained through a variety of deals, including performance-based measures.For video?one of the hottest how-to areas?the company is partnering with 5min.com, an Israeli startup that raised $5 million earlier this year from Spark.The revenue model is pretty straightforward, based around advertising.And while Joslin likened the business to an annuity (it keeps paying you in perpetuity as long as it shows up in search), a key goal here is to help the rest of IAC, including the spins.