ABCe Puts iVillage At Top Of Women’s Web
Women’s portal iVillage UK has been confirmed as the leading women’s website in the UK, following its first ABCe audit.
The site, which is a joint venture between supermarket chain Tesco and iVillage Inc, gained 541,596 unique users in the month ended January 31 2002 and registered 6.9 million page impressions. The figures are higher than the most recent audit figures for rivals including handbag.com and femail.co.uk.
iVillage CEO Phil Rook commented on his sites fivefold increase in audience since December 2000: “The market is currently an open one and there are only a few sites attracting and sustaining the attention and activity of women. I’m glad to say that iVillage UK is leading the field”
Revenue for iVillage is made through advertising, sponsorship and some paid-for services. Despite having big name backers, the site evidently needs, like other online properties, to prove its effectiveness through auditing. Richard Foan, managing director of ABC Electronic, commented: “It is clear that as more and more new media properties demonstrate their success using industry agreed standards, advertisers are investing in those new media.”
The history of women’s websites in the UK has not always been such a happy one. Just over a year ago Natmags made the decision to put its own online offering for women “on ice”, spooked, it seems by the difficulties of others (see Natmags Gets Cold Feet, Puts Women’s Website On Ice). DMGT seems to have had better luck recently with Femail.co.uk, launched in January 2001 (see Website Review: femail.co.uk), but that site includes what was left of CharlotteStreet, an earlier attempt at winning women’s hearts online, which was revamped at least once during its short lifespan, before being swallowed by Femail. Also subject to a revamp within a year of launch was IPC’s BeMe (see IPC Gives Women’s Site An ABC1 Makeover). Four months later, under the new, post-AOL/Time Warner takeover, the site was closed.
iVillage: 020 7297 3500 www.ivillage.co.uk
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