• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, March 4, 2010

Expanding its reach into various niches, iVillage has partnered with health and nutrition Web site EatingWell.com to share ad sales and marketing opportunities.

The partnership follows the launch of iVillage's food-dedicated site iVillage.com/food late last year. "It's very complementary to the newly relaunched iVillage food site," Joe Lagani, SVP at iVillage, said regarding EatingWell's offerings. Per the deal, the NBCU-owned, female-focused iVillage will lead EatingWell.com's digital sales force through the creation of custom campaigns. "Our expertise in digital marketing offers tremendous value to the overall food marketplace," added Lagani.

Part of EatingWell Media Group, EatingWell's motto is "Where Good Taste Meets Good Health." EatingWell will continue to maintain its own sales team to sell print advertising in EatingWell Magazine , a national consumer magazine with a paid circulation of 350,000.

iVillage relaunched its Food site last October with what it called a "real-life" approach to how women and moms consume, shop and "integrate" food into their lives.

Clearly hitting a nerve, the site's unique visitors increased nearly 300% between the third and fourth quarters of the year, while click-through rates increased 87%.

The food site is part of iVillage's broader effort to delve deeper in specific content categories. Last September, iVillage launched a new entertainment site focused on celebrity news, movies and television shows for women and their children.

Across its various destinations, iVillage's focus will remain on community, Angela Matusik, iVillage's chief content executive, said when she joined iVillage from People.com late last year. As such, women are being encouraged to weigh in and share their opinions with others throughout the site.

Built on an entirely new technology platform, the new iVillage purports to offer better navigation and content access to visitors. Additional sites rolling out over the coming months will include astrology, family, home and beauty and style. A health site is expected to debut later this month.