Editing Dotdash Meredith (section)

===2012–2017: IAC acquisition, Neil Vogel appointment, relaunch===
A media report published in August 2012 indicated that [[Answers.com]] had reached a preliminary agreement to acquire About.com for US$270&nbsp;million.<ref name=nyt-aboutsale>{{cite web|last=Kafka|first=Peter|title=The New York Times Is About to Say Goodbye to About.com |url=http://allthingsd.com/20120808/the-new-york-times-is-about-to-say-goodbye-to-about-com/|publisher=All Things Digital|access-date=August 9, 2012}}</ref> However, on August 26, [[Barry Diller]]'s [[IAC Inc.|IAC]] announced that it would acquire About.com instead for US$300&nbsp;million in cash.<ref>{{cite news|last=Gillette|first=Felix|title=About.com Will Rise Again, This Time With Sponsors|url=http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-10-22/about-dot-com-will-rise-again-this-time-with-sponsors|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131024015056/http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-10-22/about-dot-com-will-rise-again-this-time-with-sponsors|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 24, 2013|access-date=February 7, 2014|newspaper=Bloomberg Businessweek|date=October 22, 2013}}</ref> A source for [[TechCrunch]] later confirmed that Answers.com's offer was reportedly valued at US$270&nbsp;million, but consisted of debt and equity in Answers.com.<ref name="Tech">{{cite web|author1=Ingrid Lunden|title=Confirmed: IAC Has Bought About.com from ''The New York Times'' For $300M In Cash|url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/08/26/iac-is-buying-about-com-from-nyt-for-300m-deal-coming-either-tonight-or-tomorrow-source/ |publisher=[[TechCrunch]] |access-date=November 5, 2014|date=August 26, 2012}}</ref>

In the corresponding press release, IAC explained that the acquisition would help bolster and accompany its existing properties, such as the Ask.com [[web search engine]].<ref name=allthingsd-about>{{cite web|title=Barry Diller Shows Up Late, Gets What He Wants: IAC to Buy About.com From New York Times for $300 Million|url= http://allthingsd.com/20120826/barry-diller-shows-up-late-gets-what-he-wants-iac-to-buy-about-com-from-new-york-times/|publisher=All Things Digital|access-date=August 27, 2012}}</ref> Jean fulfilled her role as chief executive during the transition period, while ownership was transferred to IAC, and then left About.com shortly after the sale was finalized.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Anthony Ha|title=Former About.com CEO Darline Jean Joins Ad Tech Company PulsePoint|url=https://techcrunch.com/2014/05/14/pulsepoint-hires-darline-jean/ |publisher=[[TechCrunch]] |access-date=November 5, 2014|date=May 14, 2014}}</ref> At the time of the IAC acquisition, which was signed on August 26, 2012, About.com consisted of nearly 1,000 topic sites and over three million unique articles, while, in traffic terms, [[Alexa Internet]] ranked the site as number 37 in the U.S. and 80 in the global context.<ref name="Tech" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Press releases - IAC's Ask.com Acquires The About Group from The New York Times Company|url=http://iac.com/media-room/press-releases/iacs-askcom-acquires-about-group-new-york-times-company|website=[[IAC Inc.|IAC]]|access-date=November 5, 2014|date=August 26, 2012}}</ref>

On April 2, 2013, Neil Vogel became the new CEO of About.com. Up until March 2003, Vogel was a key executive member of the marketing and media company Alloy Inc., a role that he left to cofound the Recognition Media marketing business that is responsible for producing the annual [[Webby Awards]] event, as well as the Internet Week NY and Europe events.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://allthingsd.com/20130402/webbys-master-neil-vogel-is-about-coms-new-ceo/|author=Peter Kafka|title=Webbys Master Neil Vogel Is About.com's New CEO|publisher= All Things Digital|date=April 2, 2013 |access-date=February 2, 2014}}</ref> Vogel was selected by ''Business Insider'' for its 2012 "The Coolest People In New York Tech This Year" list, for his work as a venture partner of FirstMark Capital.<ref>{{cite web|title=Executive Profile Neil I. Vogel |url=http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=232601&privcapId=109866&previousCapId=109866&previousTitle=CampusU,%20Inc.|website=Bloomberg Businessweek|publisher=Bloomberg L.P|access-date=November 5, 2014|date=November 5, 2014}}{{dead link|date=April 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=ALYSON SHONTELL|title=THE SILICON ALLEY 100: The Coolest People In New York Tech This Year|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/sa-100-2012?op=1|website=Business Insider|publisher=Business Insider, Inc|access-date=November 5, 2014|date=October 25, 2012}}</ref> {{as of|2013|May}}, About.com was receiving about 84&nbsp;million unique monthly visitors.<ref name="May">{{cite web|author1=Jordan Crook|title=About.com's New CEO On How To Stay Relevant|url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/05/06/about-coms-new-ceo-on-how-to-stay-relevant/ |publisher=[[TechCrunch]] |access-date=November 5, 2014|date=May 6, 2013}}</ref>

Following his appointment, Vogel's overall plan for About focused on social, mobile, and user experience, with an emphasis on increasing the amount of time that users remain on the site, rather than attracting people in the first instance.<ref name="May" /> Vogel also stressed the importance of monetization in his numerous post-appointment interviews and he included a summary of About's revenue model as part of his discussion of the future with ''Bloomberg'':

<blockquote>[We make money] one way, in general: we're advertising-supported. And that's monetized two ways: we do a lot of display advertising, and we do a lot of people clicking on links that we get paid for from Google and others ... If we have all this traffic, and we have all this content, if we can make people engage content more, and spend more time here [About.com], and do more things, we're going to have more page views and much more of an opportunity to monetize About.<ref name="Tv">{{cite news|title=About.com CEO on Site Transformation, Strategy |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/video/about-com-ceo-on-site-transformation-strategy-PfUbWZAlQKamtmpm7GglhA.html |access-date=November 5, 2014|work=Bloomberg TV|date=April 10, 2013|format=Video upload}}</ref></blockquote>

Vogel further explained that IAC has been able to create "compelling" content that manages to successfully engage Internet users, while About's content, in particular, is favored by the Google search engine.<ref name="Tv" /> Furthermore, Vogel stated that [[native advertising]] is a marketing initiative that he would like to explore with caution, as "it's a really big opportunity to let marketers talk to our audience in the voice that they're already comfortable with."<ref name="July">{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/07/16/about-com-makes-big-leadership-changes-at-it-zeroes-in-on-native-advertising-social/|title=About.com Makes Big Leadership Changes As It Zeroes In On Native Advertising And Social|author1=Jordan Crook|date=July 16, 2013 |publisher=[[TechCrunch]] |access-date=November 5, 2014}}</ref>

In April 2014, Vogel revealed to the media that the About.com team had grown from 100 employees to 176, and the number of site contributors had increased by 20 percent. The company's developers updated the website's backend to be capable of handling a greater degree of interactivity at the front end, while a major emphasis was placed on responsive web design, as the traffic from mobile devices and tablets was measured at nearly 40 percent.<ref name="Brand">{{cite web|author1=Jordan Crook|title=About.com CEO Neil Vogel Discusses The Challenges Of Evolving An Established Brand|url=https://techcrunch.com/2014/04/18/about-com-ceo-neil-vogel-discusses-the-challenges-of-evolving-an-established-brand/ |publisher=[[TechCrunch]] |access-date=November 5, 2014|date=April 18, 2014}}</ref>

The About.com website was relaunched in September 2014, following a significant redesign that expanded upon the new homepage that debuted in July 2014. Based on an analysis of the needs of both users and advertisers, the redesign sought to create an improved user experience and facilitate social sharing, including the addition of social media buttons that were not featured at the time of Vogel's appointment.<ref name="Brand" />

{{Anchor|ThoughtCo}}