HealthContentAdvisors

Waterfront Media Buys Netramind to Bolster Online Presence

• Posted July 16th 2008
• by Marji

Waterfront Media Inc., publisher of EverydayHealth, has acquired Netramind, a search engine marketing company, in its quest to become a more powerful health information site. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Netramind provides online marketing solutions and helps web publishers increase their site traffic by optimizing the use of general search engines (like Yahoo and Google).

Waterfront Media plans to use Netramind’s technology to improve its results when consumers conduct online searches for health-related information. The company hopes to overtake the advantage WebMD has in the online health information space. In addition, Netramind’s technology will also help Waterfront Media increase traffic to its 20 health-related websites, such as SouthBeachDiet and WhattoExpect.

Netramind, which is based in India, will be integrated into Waterfront Media. It is the second acquisition for the media company. Last year, Waterfront Media acquired My-Calorie-Counter.com, an interactive tool that helps users track their calorie intake.

Waterfront Media has also added new leadership. About.com’s Marjorie Martin was hired to lead Everyday Health and the company’s other health sites. Doug McCormick, former iVillage chief executive and partner of one of its venture investors, Rho Capital Partners, was named chairman of the board.

The online health information market is definitely a competitive and crowded space. And anything companies can do to gain a competitive advantage is a good thing. This acquisition shows how serious Waterfront Media is about gaining that edge in the marketplace, and how concerned the company is about taking a leading position from WebMD.

Most companies just hire technology companies in their quest to become more prominent online. Actually purchasing the technology company is certainly an aggressive step. With new leadership in place as well, it will be interesting to track Waterfront Media’s progress in this endeavor. The company should do well as long as it remains equally committed to the quality of health information it provides to consumers who do Waterfront Media online.