Editing Dotdash Meredith (section)

===2005–2012: Times Co. acquisition, Abang.com, About en Español===
In February 2005, [[The New York Times Company]] (Times Co.) announced it was buying About.com,<ref name=allthingsd-about/><ref name=NYT20050218>{{cite news|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/18/business/media/18times.html |title=The Times Company Acquires About.com for $410 Million|author=Katharine Q. Seelye|work=[[The New York Times]] |date=February 18, 2005}}</ref> a purchase that was completed in the first half of the year for US$410&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite news|author1=David Teather|title=New York Times buys About.com |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2005/feb/18/media.pressandpublishing|access-date=November 5, 2014|work=The Guardian|date=February 18, 2005}}</ref> [[Google]] and [[Yahoo!]] were reportedly among the other bidders.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/08/technology/08deal.html |title=About.com, Primedia's Web Venture, Is for Sale|author=Katharine Q. Seelye|work=The New York Times|date=February 8, 2005}}</ref> Following the Times Co. acquisition, Peter C. Horan was appointed as About Inc.'s president and CEO, but he was soon replaced by Scott Meyer in May 2005.<ref>{{cite news|title=Times Co. Names About Inc. Chief |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/19/business/media/19times.html |access-date=September 26, 2010|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 19, 2005}}</ref>

In March 2007, About.com's patronage was measured at 33.5&nbsp;million unique visitors. On May 7, 2007, About Inc. acquired ConsumerSearch.com—a site that generated 3&nbsp;million unique monthly visitors during the first quarter of 2007—for US$33&nbsp;million in cash following two other purchases that were made in the preceding eight-month period: UCompareHealthCare.com and Calorie-Count.com.<ref>{{cite news|title=About.com Buys ConsumerSearch.com|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/07/technology/07about.html|access-date=November 5, 2014|work=The New York Times|date=May 7, 2007}}</ref>

Initially conceived of in January 2007, About.com's first fully owned foreign venture, the China-based Abang.com, debuted in December 2007.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Rafat Ali|title=About.com's China Entry: Abang.com|url=https://gigaom.com/2007/12/07/419-aboutcoms-china-entry-abangcom/|website=Gigaom|publisher=Gigaom, Inc|access-date=November 5, 2014|date=December 7, 2007|archive-date=November 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141106013343/https://gigaom.com/2007/12/07/419-aboutcoms-china-entry-abangcom/|url-status=dead}}</ref> At the time of the launch, the company had a Japan-based online entity, Allabout.co.jp, but it functioned under a licensing agreement. By January 2008, the China site consisted of around 25 employees, as well as 80 guides who were responsible for article production within seven categories: Fashion, Food, Health, Hobbies, Pets, Digital, and Travel. As part of the [[Language localization|localization]] process, the China initiative—led by Matt Roberts, who became the CEO of Abang.com, and Wen-Wei Wang, the vice president of technology for the launch—was named "Abang" because the Chinese character "bang" refers to the concept of a group or community.<ref>{{cite web|author1=piet walraven|title=Abang.com: Don't Bring Your Baggage to China|url=http://technode.com/2009/05/23/abang-donot-bring-your-baggage-to-china/|website=TechNode|access-date=November 5, 2014|date=May 23, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author1=Thomas Crampton|title=Exclusive: Matt Roberts on About.com's launch in China as Abang.com|url=http://www.thomascrampton.com/media/exclusive-matt-roberts-on-aboutcoms-launch-in-china-as-abangcom/|website=Thomas Crampton|access-date=November 5, 2014|date=January 14, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141105204721/http://www.thomascrampton.com/media/exclusive-matt-roberts-on-aboutcoms-launch-in-china-as-abangcom/|archive-date=November 5, 2014|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

The About Group generated US$102.7&nbsp;million in 2007, which represented a 135-percent increase from the time of the Times Co. acquisition. Meyer stepped down from the chief executive role in March 2008 and was replaced by Cella Irvine, who previously worked for Hearst Corp. and Microsoft Corp.<ref>{{cite news|author1=Russell Adams|title=New York Times Names Irvine CEO of About|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB121323381723966703|access-date=November 5, 2014|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=June 12, 2008}}</ref> In April 2011, Irvine launched the About en Español website, which was About's first Spanish-language channel and initially featured nine topics, including movies and makeup, that were to be expanded by around 100 by the start of 2012. The launch was part of an overall strategy that included a redesigned About.com homepage, a doubling of the number of "how-to" and [[Do it yourself|do-it-yourself]] videos on About.com's 24 channels, and new outlets on About.com for advertisers.<ref>{{cite press release |title=About.com To Expand Expert Premium Content |url=http://www.thestreet.com/story/11076595/1/aboutcom-to-expand-expert-premium-content.html |publisher=[[TheStreet.com]] |access-date=November 5, 2014 |date=April 8, 2011 |archive-date=November 5, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141105202908/http://www.thestreet.com/story/11076595/1/aboutcom-to-expand-expert-premium-content.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The significant impact of the [[Great Recession|global financial crisis]] upon online advertising was experienced shortly after Irvine's appointment and she was removed from the CEO role after three years and three consecutive quarters in which revenue decreased. Martin Nisenholtz, SVP of digital operations, temporarily replaced Irvine following her departure in May 2011.<ref>{{cite web|author1=David Kaplan|title=About Group CEO Irvine Out; NYTCo's Nisenholtz Will Run Unit|url=https://gigaom.com/2011/05/10/419-about-group-ceo-cella-irvine-out-nytcos-nisenholtz-will-will-run-unit/|website=Gigaom|publisher=Gigaom, Inc|access-date=November 5, 2014|date=May 10, 2011|archive-date=November 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141106013347/https://gigaom.com/2011/05/10/419-about-group-ceo-cella-irvine-out-nytcos-nisenholtz-will-will-run-unit/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In July 2011, Darline Jean was named CEO of the About Group, after the company's second-quarter revenues totaled US$27.8&nbsp;million. Jean previously served as About's [[chief financial officer]] (CFO) and was promoted on September 1, 2011.<ref>{{cite news|title=About.com Gets New Chief Executive|url=http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/26/about-com-gets-new-chief-executive/ |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=February 7, 2014|first=Jeremy W.|last=Peters|date=July 26, 2011}}</ref>