Realtor.com operator Move Inc. is ramping up its online home and garden content with the addition of new videos and articles from sources including BeJane, This Old House and Elle Decor, among others.
The additions, which more than double the existing content at the site, are part of a re-launch of Move.com’s Home & Garden section to make it more accessible to consumers, said Patty Mitchell, senior vice president of consumer media at Move Inc.
Move’s new home and garden content partners benefit by the additional distribution of content through Move.com‘s audience, Mitchell said.
There are other sites that offer home and garden content, she said, though she said that providing content these days is more about providing freely accessible content than competing with other content providers.
FrontDoor.com, a site that is affiliated with HGTV, the Home and Garden Television channel, and owned by Scripps Networks, is another site that offers rich home and garden content, including online video.
Scripps also operates the DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Network and the Fine Living TV Network, among other companies.
Mitchell said the added multi-media content at the site aims to draw advertisers as well as consumers. "The growth in video advertising and the growth in advertising around traditional media content is huge. One of the things that we intended to do with this re-launch was to have more video advertising opportunities and for brands … to have visibility within the site," she said.
While newspapers and television stations lost an estimated $720 million to $890 million per year from 2004 to 2007 in total ad spending, Move hopes to benefit from a rise in online advertising.
Home and garden content has been a good fit for Move because it reaches those consumers who may be looking for homes or recently purchased homes and are interested in remodeling or engaging in some home improvement projects, Mitchell said.
Move Inc. is also revamping its flagship Web site, Realtor.com, with new features. The new version of the site is in testing but hasn’t formally launched yet.
Move Inc. announced a $5.3 million loss in fourth-quarter 2007 and its CEO reported in February that 2007 marked "the toughest real estate market in 50 years." The company’s revenue grew from $280.1 million in 2006 to $286.3 million in 2007.
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