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Hearst, which has magazines like O at Home and Cosmo under its publishing umbrella, has just acquired Answerology, a family and relationship-oriented Q&A website, according to Paid Content. This acquisition further validates the growing popularity of user-generated Q&A online properties, and Hearst hopes to layer Answerology into its own expanding portfolio of digital media.

Answerology had reportedly received funding from investors including Jim Treacy, the former president and COO of Monster.com, but the acquisition price for Hearst has not been disclosed, though it’s been reported that the acquisition price is in the seven-figures. With a good amount of social networking capabilities, a free-for-all of Q&A across various family and relationship-oriented topics, and personalized recommendations based on user activity and bookmarked advice, Answerology is very much like a niche version of Yahoo Answers.

With Hearst having recently launched a joint ad network with a handful of other publishers, its acquisition of Answerology will surely be worked into the equation. This seems to be a primary goal for a number of traditional media companies, especially as they all launch their own ad networks or team up with other traditional media companies to do the same. Demand Media is another large network that has recently received funding to follow a similar path. Hearst has also made some strategic investments in other digital media offerings, including TurnHere, perhaps in hopes of delving deeper into th video ad market as well.

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