About.com Looks for Brand Amigos With 'En Español'

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Online advertisers targeting Spanish speakers may have a new amigo in About.com, which has launched "About en Español." The 14-year-old company's headline for the site on Friday was "Compras seguras en Internet," which means "Internet safe shopping" in English.

About en Español currently includes content about movies, music, kids, dogs, Internet for beginners, personal computers, literature, makeup, and spreadsheets. About.com, property of The New York Times Co., said it expects to have around 100 of such sections by the end 2011.

Evan Minskoff, VP of marketing for About.com, told ClickZ that the Spanish-language site will help advertisers reach "search-driven users in a new language, across new topics, and in a way that further positions their brands as relevant, actionable solutions to our users' specific needs."

Minskoff suggested that some ads could appear in English instead of Spanish, depending on the brand's objectives. "[We work] with our advertisers to ensure that their communications are packaged and positioned in a way that delivers both the best user experience and the best results for the marketing goal at hand," he said.

The marketing VP said advertising for the Spanish-language site will be sold through About.com's existing sales team.

The company also announced it will increase by 25 percent the specialty content made by its "guides" on the newly redesigned About.com (English-language version). About.com's so-called guides are freelance writers who manage content in topical categories such as traveling in Greece. Meanwhile, the new content will largely be focused on the food, health, home, parenting, and automotive categories.

In addition, the site plans to double its how-to and do-it-yourself video content this year.

The About Group reported revenue of $136 million in 2010, an increase of 12.4 percent compared to 2009.