The Growth of Online Dating Sites

The growth of online dating sites can tell you a lot about the types of people who sign up. They are mostly short term subscribers who either find their soul mate or give up after 3 months.

The numbers of subscribers online have grown significantly in recent years. Currently, there are over 25 different acceptable currencies that credit card companies now accept. When an online dating service opens their doors, many offer a free platform and some offer a paid platform. The majority don't offer both.

Free sites allow for one or two pictures of members to display their best efforts. Paid sites allow for up to 5 photos. This allows other members to get a better feel of the type of personality they are looking for.

Most online sites pay to advertise using AdWords. This has become the standard way to aquire new members. The paid sites use a multitude of other ways to capture new members such as radio, television and social media. The cost to acquire a new member is expensive and owners of these sites have calculated that the average member spends $237 a year and stays on an average of 3 months before leaving or joining another site.

Mobile applications are becoming the new way to search for love. The average profile of a mobile user is a male, age 35, who surfs the internet community using an iPhone.

Of all the dating sites, 53 percent specialize in one type of market, a niche market. 79 percent are online dating sites and 6 percent are online matchmaking sites. The main difference between the two are dating sites are run by data bases and matchmaking sites are run by real live business people who offer more personal services.

In addition, the paid sites have installed filters to block hurried applications and they cancel out your attempt to become a member. The free sites do not.

The highest growth rate for dating sites have cell phone applications where members can turn their phone on and perform a search. There are actually more men on sites than women. In 2011, the ratio was 55% men and 45% women.

Very few online members are over the age of 65 with the majority of users being in the age of 18-30. The highest growth rate for new members are coming from Global members who pay for 3 month cycles in advance.

The largest online companies use automatic background checks to screen out those that have criminal backgrounds and eliminate those that have been placed on the sexual offender lists.

In conclusion, the online dating industry is a high growth industry with mobile applications in Global markets.