OPW — Mar 26 — Since November 2006, Match.com moved up from 4th place to take first spot in February 2007 with 19.6 million user logins, pushing Y! Personals, Singlesnet, eHarmony and PlentyofFish down one spot. BlackPeopleMeet and Manhunt.net enter the top 10 at #7 and #9 respectively.
Compete.com also provided OPW with data for the average visits per month for February 2007.
1. Manhunt.com – 13.37
2. PlentyofFish – 10.46
3. BlackPeopleMeet – 7.94
4. Gay.com – 7.15
5. Cupid.com – 6.88
OPW — Mar 16 — We've just updated the internet dating rankings. The changes are: Match moves down from #1 to #3 and MSN Dating (powered by Match) moves up one spot to #4, kicking Singlesnet down one spot to #5. eHarmony moves up two spots to #6 pushing Mate1 and American Singles down one spot. – Mark Brooks
OPW — Mar 16 — We've just updated the internet dating rankings. The changes are: Match moves down from #1 to #3 and MSN Dating (powered by Match) moves up one spot to #4, kicking Singlesnet down one spot to #5. eHarmony moves up two spots to #6 pushing Mate1 and American Singles down one spot. – Mark Brooks
THE DAILY JOURNAL — Mar 15 — Released sex offenders would be barred from using the Internet and online dating sites would face new security rules under bills to be considered today by the Senate. Senate President Richard J. Codey is sponsoring the legislative package that has raised constitutional questions and opposition from Internet companies. Released sex offenders caught using the Internet would face up to 18 months in jail and fines of up to $10,000. A bill also would require online dating sites to notify New Jersey residents whether they do background checks, a proposal opposed by Internet companies such as Yahoo!, AOL, eHarmony and Match.com. "Criminal background checks provide users of online dating with a false sense of security," said Bill Ashworth, director of state government affairs at Yahoo! No federal law imposes Internet restrictions on convicted sex offenders, but Florida and Nevada have enacted such measures.
THE DAILY JOURNAL — Mar 15 — Released sex offenders would be barred from using the Internet and online dating sites would face new security rules under bills to be considered today by the Senate. Senate President Richard J. Codey is sponsoring the legislative package that has raised constitutional questions and opposition from Internet companies. Released sex offenders caught using the Internet would face up to 18 months in jail and fines of up to $10,000. A bill also would require online dating sites to notify New Jersey residents whether they do background checks, a proposal opposed by Internet companies such as Yahoo!, AOL, eHarmony and Match.com. "Criminal background checks provide users of online dating with a false sense of security," said Bill Ashworth, director of state government affairs at Yahoo! No federal law imposes Internet restrictions on convicted sex offenders, but Florida and Nevada have enacted such measures.
OPW — Feb 26th — Here are the male/female ratios, most popular age range, and proportion of visits from 'regulars' and 'addicts.' Ranking courtesy of Hitwise. Ratios, age range and addiction levels courtesy of Quantcast. '100' represents the 'internet average.'
1 Singlesnet
Male 112, Female 88, age 45-54, 91% of visits from regulars and addicts LINK
2 Yahoo Personals
Male 114, Female 85, age 45-54, 78% regulars and addicts LINK
3 RUET
Male 116, Female 83, age 45-54, 77% regulars and addicts LINK
4 Match
Male 100, Female 99, age 45-54, 94% regulars and addicts LINK
5 eHarmony
Male 73, Female 125, age 25-34 and 35-44, 95% regulars and addicts LINK
6 Plentyoffish
Male 112, Female 87, age 45-54, 98% regulars and addicts LINK
7 Mate1
Male 97, Female 102, age 45-54, 74% regulars and addicts LINK
8 Blackpeoplemeet
Male 94, Female 105, age 35-44, 96% regulars and addicts LINK
9 Manhunt.net
Male 177, Female 24, age 35-44, 99% regulars and addicts LINK
10 Adam4Adam
Male 170, Female 31, age 35-44, 99% regulars and addicts LINK
11 American Singles
Male 120, Female 89, age 45-54, 82% regulars and addicts LINK
12 Gay.com
Male 171, Female 30, age 35-45, 96% regulars and addicts LINK
13 Hot or Not
Male 122, Female 78, age 18-24, 95% regulars and addicts LINK
14 MSN Match
Male 103, Female 97, age 45-54, 71% regulars and addicts LINK
15 Cupid
Male 110, Female 89, age 45-54, 95% regulars and addicts LINK
eHarmony clearly has more guys than girls. Given the raunchy TRUE advertising, one would expect a higher representation of males than the 116 scored here. I think this is because TRUE is using their raunchy advertising in male oriented spots, and also, the edgy ads still manage to attract women. American Singles scored higher with a 120 for males. The gay sites and PlentyofFish have the highest addiction levels. Yahoo Personals, TRUE, and Mate1 scored a little low for user engagement. All in the 74-78% range. – Mark Brooks
OPW — Feb 26th — Here are the male/female ratios, most popular age range, and proportion of visits from 'regulars' and 'addicts.' Ranking courtesy of Hitwise. Ratios, age range and addiction levels courtesy of Quantcast. '100' represents the 'internet average.'
1 Singlesnet
Male 112, Female 88, age 45-54, 91% of visits from regulars and addicts LINK
2 Yahoo Personals
Male 114, Female 85, age 45-54, 78% regulars and addicts LINK
3 RUET
Male 116, Female 83, age 45-54, 77% regulars and addicts LINK
4 Match
Male 100, Female 99, age 45-54, 94% regulars and addicts LINK
5 eHarmony
Male 73, Female 125, age 25-34 and 35-44, 95% regulars and addicts LINK
6 Plentyoffish
Male 112, Female 87, age 45-54, 98% regulars and addicts LINK
7 Mate1
Male 97, Female 102, age 45-54, 74% regulars and addicts LINK
8 Blackpeoplemeet
Male 94, Female 105, age 35-44, 96% regulars and addicts LINK
9 Manhunt.net
Male 177, Female 24, age 35-44, 99% regulars and addicts LINK
10 Adam4Adam
Male 170, Female 31, age 35-44, 99% regulars and addicts LINK
11 American Singles
Male 120, Female 89, age 45-54, 82% regulars and addicts LINK
12 Gay.com
Male 171, Female 30, age 35-45, 96% regulars and addicts LINK
13 Hot or Not
Male 122, Female 78, age 18-24, 95% regulars and addicts LINK
14 MSN Match
Male 103, Female 97, age 45-54, 71% regulars and addicts LINK
15 Cupid
Male 110, Female 89, age 45-54, 95% regulars and addicts LINK
eHarmony clearly has more guys than girls. Given the raunchy TRUE advertising, one would expect a higher representation of males than the 116 scored here. I think this is because TRUE is using their raunchy advertising in male oriented spots, and also, the edgy ads still manage to attract women. American Singles scored higher with a 120 for males. The gay sites and PlentyofFish have the highest addiction levels. Yahoo Personals, TRUE, and Mate1 scored a little low for user engagement. All in the 74-78% range. – Mark Brooks
MEDIA POST — Feb 19 — France has the highest proportion of Internet users visiting online personals sites. ComScore Networks recently reported that 22% of French Internet users, age 15+, visited online personals sites in December 2006, followed by the British with 20%, and the Americans with 13%. Interestingly, usage of dating sites seems to peak in the summer months in each country; July in the U.K. and U.S. and September in France.
Top Personals Sites in the U.K. (Visitors Age 15+ December 2006 Home and Work Locations)
Total Web Users in U.K. (Age 15+): 29,788,000
Personals Category Total: 5,836,000
DatingDirect – 1,427,000
LoopyLove – 960,000
GirlsDateForFree – 618,000
Match.com Sites - 510,000
Interrodate.co.uk – 452,000
Top Personals Sites in France (Visitors Age 15+ December 2006 Home and Work Locations)
Total Web Users in France (Age 15+): 24,409,000
Personals Category Total: 5,317,000
Meetic - 2,258,000
Easyrencontre - 724,000
CapFriends.fr – 369,000
2Become1-fr.com – 337,000
MSN Dating & Personals - 299,000
Top Personals Sites in the U.S. (Visitors Age 15+ December 2006 Home and Work Locations)
Total Web Users in the U.S. (Age 15+): 152,350,000
Personals Category Total: 20,555,000
Yahoo! Personals - 4,153,000
Match.com Sites** - 3,970,000
TRUE – 3,086,000
Spark Networks - 2,504,000
Singlesnet – 2,173,000
The full article was originally published at Center For Media Research, but is no longer available.
MEDIA POST — Feb 19 — France has the highest proportion of Internet users visiting online personals sites. ComScore Networks recently reported that 22% of French Internet users, age 15+, visited online personals sites in December 2006, followed by the British with 20%, and the Americans with 13%. Interestingly, usage of dating sites seems to peak in the summer months in each country; July in the U.K. and U.S. and September in France.
Top Personals Sites in the U.K. (Visitors Age 15+ December 2006 Home and Work Locations)
Total Web Users in U.K. (Age 15+): 29,788,000
Personals Category Total: 5,836,000
DatingDirect – 1,427,000
LoopyLove – 960,000
GirlsDateForFree – 618,000
Match.com Sites - 510,000
Interrodate.co.uk – 452,000
Top Personals Sites in France (Visitors Age 15+ December 2006 Home and Work Locations)
Total Web Users in France (Age 15+): 24,409,000
Personals Category Total: 5,317,000
Meetic - 2,258,000
Easyrencontre - 724,000
CapFriends.fr – 369,000
2Become1-fr.com – 337,000
MSN Dating & Personals - 299,000
Top Personals Sites in the U.S. (Visitors Age 15+ December 2006 Home and Work Locations)
Total Web Users in the U.S. (Age 15+): 152,350,000
Personals Category Total: 20,555,000
Yahoo! Personals - 4,153,000
Match.com Sites** - 3,970,000
TRUE – 3,086,000
Spark Networks - 2,504,000
Singlesnet – 2,173,000
The full article was originally published at Center For Media Research, but is no longer available.
WSJ — Jan 27 — Match has been reaching out to singles over 50 and divorcées, pitching itself as a destination for mainstream daters who want serious relationships. Its TV ads feature a 71-year-old with the user name DanishBeauty22. Although Match made up less than 5% of IAC's $6.5 billion in sales over the past 12 months, it contributed more than 10% of the company's $464 million in operating profit. In the past two years, Match has boosted the number of paying customers by a third. At Match, 23% of subscribers are over 50, more than double the number two years ago. Yahoo Personals has seen double-digit growth in the number of users over 50 in the past two years, thanks in part to a new service that provides extra control, privacy, and security. eHarmony's fastest-growing age group last year was the over-50 segment. CEO, Mr. Safka asked his staff to check the behavior of older daters on the site and to pinpoint their difficulties in using it. For example, many were stopped cold while filling out their online profile by the fourth question, which asked their views on body art and piercings. Match developed a variety of one-click buttons: "How It Works" to help new users navigate the site, "See More Like Him/Her" to help users find other candidates that might catch their eye, and most important, a "No Thanks" button to ease the awkwardness of turning down electronic suitors. Mrs. Williams likes Match's "Connections" button, which takes her to a set of pictures of the men with whom she corresponds. Match hired "Dr. Phil." Match is policed by a staff of 12, who review each profile before it is posted, removing explicit photos and working to keep out prostitutes, financial schemers, agencies offering foreign brides, and liars.
Mr. Safka is also trying to repeat his stateside success internationally, challenging Match's chief international rival, Meetic, which has 80% of the French market and attracts young daters with sexy, fast-paced ads. Based on its experience in the U.S., Match is aiming at over-40s seeking someone to "share life's journey," not younger ones looking for hookups.
Mark Brooks: Match is wringing more money from each customer, targeting the users that are more likely to be paying customers, and expanding abroad. A winning combination for revenues and the bottom line. They have also just started charging for MatchTalk and are testing different pricepoints.
