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Analysis of Similar Sites

(June 2000)

Since the online educational business has such great potential, there are numerous web sites devoted to education. Some are general education sites with a wide range of lessons, while others specialize in certain subject matters. Some offer free lessons, some charge for their lessons, and some have a mixture.

It is worth studying such sites to see what works, to get marketing ideas, and to improve this site. 

Sites that offer a wide range of lessons and courses include:

  • About.com
  • AskMe.com
  • Click2Learn.com
  • eHow.com
  • Headlight.com
  • Hungry Minds
  • Learn.com
  • Learn2.com
  • LearnLots.com
  • Smart Force

The following material will analyze each site, explaining what they offer, what their competitive advantage is, and how they generate revenue.

About.com

About.com Inc. started as the MiningCo.com, which was a popular portal and information site. They changed their name in 1999 and Web traffic boomed. 

About.com consists of information on over 700 topics, each overseen by a subject specialist who writes content and provides links to resource sites, including the School for Champions. The site features over 250,000 articles and has over a million links. They have 520 employees and are ranked number 7 in overall Web traffic according to Media Metrix. They took in about $40 million from advertising in 1999, but the still are operating at a loss. About.com Inc. is publicly traded.

 About.com is now launching a business-to-business service to provide serious information in 75 industries, following a similar format as their standard site. They are hiring people from each industry to set up these areas or sites and provide pertinent information and resources. This will be another source of income.

About vs. School

Whereas About.com is a complete generalist, the School for Champions approach is more focused on getting people started on the right track on a subject, as well as showing how the subject fits in the overall view of life. Once a learner understands the concept he or she can move on to get more information from About.com or similar sites.

AskMe.com

AskMe.com consists of a wide range of subject matter experts who answer viewer questions via e-mail. The FAQ list is posted and viewers can vote on their value.

AskMe.com claims to have 2.5 million users per month. They get revenue from advertising banners, and they pay their experts a commission, according to popularity. Experts also can establish a reputation through this exposure, allowing them to get business referrals. 

Click2Learn.com

Click2Learn.com was formerly Asymetrix and is owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. They changed their business model from providing computer-based training software to providing e-Learning solutions to businesses, government and educational institutions.

They provide online courses for a fee. Subject matter experts can write a course, using Click2Learn's e-Learning platform, and then sell the course on the Click2Learn site. Fees are split 50-50. Top subject matters are business and management, computer and IT skills, and IT certification courses.

eHow.com

eHow.com is a comprehensive source of information on how to do things. The site generates revenue from banner ads and online shopping affiliations.

The site has its own affiliate program that pays commissions to owners of other sites linked to eHow.com, when viewers click through on banner ads. This is also a good way to motivate other sites to link to the eHow.com site.

Headlight.com

Headlight.com is a source of online training for small and medium-sized businesses at minimal cost. They offer free skills assessment in networking and NT administration and give course recommendations. They offer free and low cost courses in Web development, business applications, certification, and IT. Courses range from $12 to $200, with an average of $50.

Headlight.com has content and distribution partners and offers an affiliate program to sell their courses.

Hungry Minds

Hungry Minds wants to be a one-stop source for finding online courses from top universities, professional training companies, and experts on the Web. They have a mixed revenue model, providing material for free to get in users and gaining revenue from banner ads, commissions of sales and referrals, and selling their service of designing custom courses.

They have partnered with top universities and companies, they have a group of top investors, and they have been advertising their company through effective press releases.

Learn.com

Learn.com has a great domain name, which should help their business. They require a free membership, so they may be selling the information on their members. Courses are free and for pay. Experts can write their own course and get a commission from the sales. Their educational format and interface is not too apealing.

Learn2.com

Learn2.com is an e-learning company that provides multimedia learning solutions for corporate, government and individual clients.

In March 1999, two small online training companies merged to form 7thStreet.com. They then changed the name to the more catchy Learn2.com and popularity grew to the point of incorporating and going public.

Although they still have free tutorials, they now consider themselves the premier destination for e-learning solutions. They offer individual courses for fees and comprehensive employee training. They offer over 1,200 online courses, which may also be purchased on CD-ROM and video. They have also formed Learn2University, which includes reporting and administration, for corporations.

More than 700,000 people a month visit their site. They presently have over 300 employees.

LearnLots.com

LearnLots.com offers Internet-based commercial-enabling education.. The company was formed to enhance the value of its partner sites through high-quality education. They create 4-8 step tutorials with graphics. They partner with content experts and partner companies. The subject matter consists of primarily computer, IT, and Internet subjects.

Smart Force

SmartForce was previously CBT Systems, one the of world's largest CBT providers. They are located in Ireland, with offices throughout the world. They have changed their business model to focus on Internet delivery. They mainly provide their e-Learning solutions to Fortune 3000 companies.

In conclusion

There are a wide range of companies in the e-Learning area. The competition for users is stiff. Further analysis of what these companies do to be successful and what markets they are exploiting should give us better insight on how to best serve our users and what niche to focus on.

Know the competition better than they know themselves.

Where can you go from here?