OPW — Nov 21 — We have just updated Hitwise US online dating rankings for October. PlentyofFish.com is now the #1 dating site in the US followed by Singlesnet, Yahoo Personals and Match.com. PlentyofFish.com is also the #1 dating site in the UK according to Hitwise.
Category: YahooPersonals
Dating Sites Hang On Despite Increasing Competition
IDG SERVICE — Sep 23 — Owners and companies running dating Web sites are meeting Monday and Tuesday at the Internet Dating Conference in London to discuss challenges in their industry. The top dating sites in the U.K. for June were PlentyofFish, followed by Meetic, Match.com, Gaydar.co.uk and GirlsDateForFree, according to comScore. In North America, the top sites in June were PlentyofFish, Singlesnet, eHarmony, Match.com and Yahoo Personals. The number of page views for dating sites are falling, and people are spending less time but revenues are growing. The main revenue model is subscription. Other dating sites are offering premium services used by traditional matchmaking companies. A site in China, Zhenai, charges $200 a year for access to its online site and team of match matchers who work with singles over the phone. That's far less than fees charged by traditional matchmakers, which can cost $5,000 or more a year, said Mark Brooks, who runs a consultancy focusing on social networks and dating sites. FreeDating.co.uk is free, and makes money by showing ads. It's the same model used by PlentyofFish, a relatively simple site that debuted in 2003 and has surged to the top spot in the U.S. and U.K. markets. FULL ARTICLE @ PC WORLD
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Dr Kirschner Launches Love in 90 Days Site
PR WEB — Sep 17 — Dating expert and psychologist, Dr. Diana Kirschner, launched the Love in 90 Days website, which includes a blog, new cutting-edge articles on rapid dating success for women, etips, a discussion forum, relationship quizzes and advance promotion of her new book Love In 90 Days. Dr. Diana is a frequent guest on The Today Show, has appeared on Oprah and Good Morning America, is a featured dating expert at Yahoo! Personals.com and is the Official Dating Guide at Selfgrowth.com. She is also an Expert Author at EZineArticles.com.
The full article was originally published at eMedia Wire, but is no longer available.
Nielsen Internet Dating Rankings Update
OPW — Sep 16 — We have updated Nielsen Online U.S.A. internet dating rankings. Yahoo! Personals, Match.com and Singlesnet maintained their 1st, 3rd and 4th position respectively. TRUE ousts MSN Dating from it's 5th position. PlentyofFish jumped from #9 to #7. AOL Personals went down to #8 from #7. Mate1 and MSN Dating slide off the top 10.
Niche Sites Making A Match Easier
SUN TIMES — July 3 — Forget eHarmony, Match.com or Yahoo Personals. Singles increasingly are turning to niche online dating sites promising to match couples with similar interests, backgrounds or religions. Mark Brooks, whose blog Online Personals Watch chronicles the Internet dating industry, estimates that niche sites now occupy approximately 43% of total market share. Brooks writes that while mainstream sites are stagnating, niche sites continue to grow. People looking to meet Trekkies or truckers can turn to the Passions Network, Sugardaddie.com bills itself as the place where the "classy, attractive and affluent meet", Ave Maria Singles offers a service for hard-line Catholics interested in sacramental marriage and Positivesingles.com is for people staying positive though they've tested positive — for sexually transmitted diseases.
The full article was originally published at Sun Times, but is no longer available.
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More Singles Finding Love After Age 45
USA TODAY — June 27 — A USA Today analysis of Census records of Americans ages 45-55 shows that the percentage of those who said they had never been married in 2006 had doubled since 1990, and the percentage of those who were currently married had dropped by 9%. According to the most recent data from the federal Survey of Income and Program Participation, which includes marriage, 13% of those who wed in 2003 were 45 and older. Internet dating has largely made it possible for many of these later-life first marriages. Yahoo Personals reports a 33% increase from January 2006 to November 2007 among users ages 45 and over who say they have never been married. Match.com reports an increase of almost 10%.
The full article was originally published at APP, but is no longer available.
Mark Brooks: Things are looking up for the internet dating industry, and singles are getting more choosy. Jupiter Research predicts the internet dating industry to grow to $1.9B revenues in 2012, up from $900 million in 2007.
Let’s Say You Want To Date A Hog Farmer
NY TIMES — Apr 27 — A growing number of people have found love on dating sites that pair members based on a specific shared interest or background, like Nerdsatheart.com, DateMyPet.com, STDmatch.net and Veggielove.com. "Singles are increasingly eager to narrow the audience and really target their needs," said Mark Brooks, a consultant who keeps his own blog, OnlinePersonalsWatch.com. "It's the same reason why Procter&Gamble makes so many detergents. We are all drawn to things that cater to our very specific desires." According to Hitwise there are now 1,378 U.S. dating sites, up from 876 three years ago. Mr. Brooks estimates that 44% of those sites in the U.S. are niche sites, up from 35% in 2006. Large companies like Match.com, eHarmony, Yahoo Personals and SinglesNet.com have the general market cornered, Mr. Brooks said, "the only real entrepreneurial opportunities left in the online dating world lie in the niche market." FarmersOnly.com has attracted 90,000 members so far, 50,000 in the last year alone. One month's membership costs $15.95. Mr. Brooks said the most successful niche sites pair people by race, sexual orientation or religion. The 20 most popular dating sites this year as ranked by Hitwise include JDate, Christian Mingle and ChristianCafe.com, Manhunt, Love From India, Amigos, Asian People Meet, and Shaadi. "A few years ago, a company called Spark Networks was putting major funding into its general dating site, American Singles," Mr. Brooks said. "But when executives saw that the Jewish market was huge and relatively untouched, they switched gears and ratcheted up JDate." FULL ARTICLE @ NY TIMES. Also in THE LEDGER
Casual Dating Affiliate Payouts Top The Industry
OPW — Feb 15 — Does anyone know of any dating affiliate programs that pay out higher than casual dating sites? The super fast growing dating sites Fling and SexSearch are topping my research on payouts. SexSearch is paying out $90 and Fling $50 per paid sign up over Valentines. Adultfriendfinder is definitely feeling the heat on its tail from these two. I'm surprised how many dating sites don't have affiliate programs. Match, eHarmony, Perfectmatch and Yahoo! have good programs, but many top and second tier players have relatively small programs, if they have them at all. From the affiliate perspective adult dating sites just plain convert better, which would partly explain the rise in popularity of casual dating sites over the last few years. CJ, Linkshare, Azoogleads, Shareasale, Primary Ads, and Link Connector all drive significant amounts of traffic to dating sites. CJ seems to have the most offers. Email me at mark@onlinepersonalswatch.com for a copy of my spreadsheet listing all the dating offer payouts on the top affiliate networks. – Mark Brooks
Dating Site Visits Up, Pre-Valentine’s Day
CNET NEWS — Feb 14 — Visits to dating sites were up 26% in the week ending February 9 in comparison with the equivalent week in 2007, according to Hitwise. At the top of the rankings was SinglesNet.com, followed by PlentyOfFish.com. Rounding out the top five were eHarmony, True, and Yahoo Personals.
The full article was originally published at CNet News, but is no longer available.
Starting Up: The Business Of Love
SM SMALL BIZ — Feb 13 — Making a bundle in the dating industry, isn't easy for a small player competing against Yahoo! Personals, Match.com and eHarmony. At PlentyofFish, which now ranks among the top 10 dating sites in the U.S. for unique visitors, Frind's strategy was simple. "I undercut them on price," he says. When it comes to the business of love, newbie entrepreneurs need to figure out a way to stand out in a crowded marketplace. Here's how:
– Find a Niche
– Undercut the Competition
– Add Value
– Innovate
More narrowly focused niches have begun to surface. i.e. golfmates.com and vegetariandating.com. The best niche businesses are usually started by entrepreneurs who have a deep understanding of the community they want to serve. i.e. Patrick H. Perrine, a psychologist who spent years studying human sexuality and dating preferences, launched a gay male matchmaking service in San Francisco in 2004, and then expanded the service online – myPartner.com — to a national audience last year. "We discovered there was no space for gay men looking for a serious relationship on the web", he says. To compete with the big guys, Sam Yagan, co-founder of free dating site, OKCupid.com, offers users the ability to craft their own personality quizzes, or choose from 30,000 others. The idea behind the quizzes is that users will share them with their friends who, in turn, may sign up for the service.
The full article was originally published at SmallBiz, but is no longer available.