Jagran Prakashan launches health and lifestyle portal Onlymyhealth.com

Online health information category is still nascent and there are not many big health related portals in India

MMI Online, the Internet division of Jagran Prakashan, has launched the beta version of a health and lifestyle portal, named Onlymyhealth.com.

The site will be available in both English and Hindi. Onlymyhealth.com will offer information on medicine, diseases, lifestyle, yoga, alternative medicine therapies, parenting, pregnancy and kids' health issues. Videos, slideshows and recipes related to the topics will be presented on the site, along with online directories of doctors and hospitals.

Currently, MMI Online has uploaded about 10,000 articles on the site. The company will produce some exclusive content for it, too. It will also tie up with some content producers to syndicate health related content. The company has already tied up with Harvard Medical School as a content partner.

This is the first time that Jagran Prakashan has ventured into the online health information category, which is still in a nascent stage in India. There are not many big health related portals in the country. Some sites active in the health information space in India are NDTVDoctor.com, Bolohealth.com, MedIndia.net and Divinewellness.com.

Speaking to afaqs!, Sukirti Gupta, chief executive officer, MMI Online, says, "We have realised that a significant percentage of Internet searches are happening on health related topics. Since there are not many popular and exclusive content rich health websites in India, the traffic usually gets routed to health websites operational in other parts of the world. This led us to think of creating a health portal."

MMI Online plans to monetise the site mainly through advertisements. Gupta says, "We believe that there is a rich base of advertisers - health and lifestyle goods manufacturers, over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, hospitals and doctors - who are ready to advertise or tap their target audience on the Internet."

MMI Online will sell advertising inventory on Onlymyhealth.com on cost per thousand (CPM) ad impressions basis. Rich media innovations, page takeovers and video ads will be offered to advertisers, apart from regular banner ads.

Gupta refused to share the company's revenue expectations from Onlymyhealth.com.

It will be interesting to watch how MMI Online monetises its health site, considering the fact that the total ad spend routed to health based portals is not much as of now. As per an industry estimate, health related advertisers spend about Rs 40 crore online annually. Of that, about 10 per cent goes to health information sites; the remaining portion gets directed to other generic portals. Also, most health advertisers prefer cost per lead (CPL) campaigns.

Currently, the company has opted for subtle branding on Onlymyhealth.com and the company's or the Jagran logo is not visible at any of the prominent positions. However, Gupta adds that the Jagran logo will be placed at a prominent position very soon.

Some other portals managed by MMI Online are Jagran.com; JagranJunction.com, a blogging platform; and an online shopping portal called Jagranshop.com.