According to comScore, between July 2007 and 2008, the health information site category grew 21 percent in terms of visitors – more than four times the growth rate of the total U.S. Internet population.

The most popular site was WebMD Health, which had 17.3 million visitors in July (up 3 percent versus year ago).

In order of visitors, the top four health networks were as follows:

• WebMD Health, with 17.3 million visitors;
• Everyday Health with 14.7 million (up 63 percent);
• Revolution Health Network with 11.3 million visitors (up 182 percent); and
• AOL Health with 11.1 million (up 88 percent).

While Everyday Health and Revolution Health Network both achieved significant organic growth on their core Web sites, their recent partnerships with several smaller health sites, as well as some strategic acquisitions, contributed to their respective gains.

Source: Press Release, “Online Health Information Category Grows At Rate Four Times Faster Than Total Internet”, comScore, September 9, 2008

Good blog post by Alice Seba. She reiterates a point that just doesn’t seem to be emphasized enough: that the best affiliate programs are NOT necessarily those that pay the highest commissions.

This should be obvious, shouldn’t it? I mean I could give you a rock to sell and offer you a 90 percent commission on it… but does that mean you’ll be raking in the big bucks anytime soon?

Ms Seba recommends looking past an attractive commission rate to consider such factors as the:

Dollar amount per sale - how much money will you actually make on the sale? For example, 10 percent of a $1,000 product will generate more cash ($100) than 50 percent of a $50 product ($25).

Conversion rate - is the product a hot seller? A product that consistently sells for $50 and offers a 10 percent commission may offer better *real* returns than an equivalently priced product offering a 40 percent commission. Simply because the first product actually sells, while the second does not.

One time or recurring commission - if you are promoting a membership or subscription program, will you get a commission only on the initial sale or on the recurring membership or subscription dues? Obviously the latter is preferable.

Source: Alice Seba, “Myth: Affiliate Programs with the Highest Commissions Are Best”, Internet Marketing Sweetie, September 15, 2008

Starting a business? Wondering which hot, new niche to get into? Stop!

Seriously. While there’s no doubt that the market for a certain solution, product or service may be bigger or growing faster than various other markets, starting a business in a given niche purely because it’s hot is a recipe for failure.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m definitely a fan of finding out what people are looking for and then delivering it to them. Ideally, in a way that’s both unique and better than everything else. But just because a given market looks promising doesn’t mean you have the talents, skills, knowledge and other resources necessary to succeed in that market. Or that you have a business model that will allow you to be profitable in that market. For example, the online diet market is hot… but can you cost-effectively reach that market in a meaningful way?

I’m not talking about the need for you to be an expert in a given field. Running a successful business based on providing a given solution doesn’t require you to be an expert in that solution – it requires you to be an expert in producing and marketing that solution.

And that’s what I’m getting at. Rather than jump into what’s “hot”, I urge you to take the time to work out whether you (as opposed to anyone else) can profitably reach and deliver an appealing product to the target market.