

Ask HN: Why is WebMD so profitable? - AKSHAYUDAYBHAT

I have a question regarding WebMD and it's good financial performance. WebMD is a publishing company similar to (in a sense) the Old School Magazine publishers.  However in a time when other content producers are loosing money continuously, WebMD seems to earning quite handsomely?<p>http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=WBMD+Profile<p>Can you help me understanding reasons for it:
Here are my guesses<p>1: Unlike other publishers WebMD reviews it contents from a certified doctor 
hence people are more likely to trust it over mom and pop blogs.<p>2: A real good SEO job, since for nearly any health related term it is one of the top few results.<p>3: Web focused content development, unlike other companies which are still focusing on print media.<p>4: A niche market and first mover advantage. ( WSJ, Newsweek have many competitors)<p>5: Aggressive nature of advertisers. Most of the advertisers on WebMD seem to be drug companies which spend significant amounts on advertising, and WebMD represents a perfect platform to reach out to potential consumers?<p>Also in light of potential competitors like HealthLine (a focused semantic search engine) receiving VC funding. Is content aggregation a good idea as far as healthcare related information of internet is concerned?
http://deals.venturebeat.com/2010/04/26/healthline-funding/<p>These are few reasons I could come up with. 
Please Comment!
======
lenley
a.) How much new content do they add on monthly basis? b.) How much
competition do they have in SERPs? ( subclass of 2, no comp from wikipedia).

