About.com to expand content offerings

The network of guide sites will also be adding a Spanish-language channel

There are plenty of irritating sites and destinations on the Web that don’t need explaining, but few sites are as irritating as content networks that crank out the cheapest, lowest-quality writing they can get away with purely to sprinkle a few high-traffic search terms in the mix and generate more ad revenue. Possibly more irritating than content farms is that Fred kid on YouTube—that guy that talks really fast in a high-pitched voice. I don’t know why, but the kids seem to love him…he even got his own movie deal…wtf? But I digress.

One content network that I actually do like because it stays relevant and actually solicits the advice of experts and professionals is About.com. The About Group, part of the New York Times Company, announced Friday morning that it will be expanding About.com’s content offerings to include more videos, more topics and guides, and a Spanish-language channel, About en Español.

Specifically, About.com plans to expand its roster of guide sites by 25% across some of the more popular topics, such as food, parenting, health, home, and more. Currently, About.com is home to 800 guide sites, covering 70,000 topics. The combined guide sites generate 6,000 new pieces of content each week, reaching some 40 million unique monthly users (80% of whom come to About.com topic sites from search engines). Additionally, About.com will more than double its how-to and DIY videos across 24 channels.

The Spanish-language channel comes in response to the growing population of Hispanic Internet users in the U.S. About en Español currently features nine topic sites, including movies, music, kids, dogs, Internet for beginners, personal computers, literature, makeup and spreadsheets, and another 100 topic sites will be added by the end of 2011.

The About Group operates a platform that includes About.com, ConsumerSearch.com, and CalorieCount.com. About.com is the company’s flagship brand site while ConsumerSearch.com delivers product recommendations to users based on professional and consumer reviews. CalorieCount.com is…exactly what it sounds like: a fitness and weight-loss website.