The holiday season is supposed to be a time when people come together. But for lonely singles, it can also highlight the fact that they are, well, lonely and single. Whether it’s for a New Years date, a resolution to finally find a soul mate, or even pressure from family to settle down, online dating services see a ramping up of activity, starting around Christmas. How does this trend look, and what does it mean for the big players in the industry?

The chart above ranks online dating services by member activity, which was described in more detail last month. The site rankings are relatively unchanged from last month. However, in general Member activity increased.

  • Match.com moved up one spot in rank. While it’s not shown in this chart, total traffic to the site grew more than 50% from November to December, which could have resulted in new membership.
  • Yahoo Personals member visits increased by 13% from November to December, capturing the top spot, and the biggest change from the previous month.
  • eHarmony member activity actually declined from November. Perhaps their compatibility service is too good at finding matches?
  • Sticking with it’s provocative ad campaign on social networking sites, True still hasn’t been able to convert its heavy traffic (nearly no change from the previous month) into member activity.

How big was the holiday ramp up this year? Looking at total weekly traffic to mainstream dating sites, it’s apparent that interest in online dating services starts to grow right around Christmas. These sites saw about a 13% change in visitors and visits (a proxy for activity) since the week of the December 10th.

‘Tis the season to be in a relationship I guess.

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  1. sewdough

    During this season, not only do singles feel the crunch from their families about when they will find a nice husband or wife, but they are bombarded with images of couples and families spending the holidays together. This pressure, mixed with more free time to actually spend on the internet, and reminiscing of old holidays that have past with previous loves, may all be big factors in the rise of internet love.

  2. Xtasy3006

    Very interesting Blog …

    I have come accross a really great site called http://www.mixes.co.za its South African Based but has international users as well.

    They provide a really secure platform, at really affordable rates. I think that if two users that pay for a service contact each other, the fact that they are paying for it, shows that they are serious and in that case you tend to find that they are true … well thats what I think.

    Mixes really looks after their users, always has competitions and special offers, they strive to ensure each person has a brilliant online experience…

    I have tried them out as well, and apart from dating, they are a Social Networking site. I have made many great friends, and even met some of them. I am happy to say that they did not lie in their profile.. :)

    But anyways, very interesting topic, enjoyed reading your blog.

    Take Care,
    Xtasy3006

  3. Ljubisa

    Take a look at this site there are some great members and articles about dating

    http://www.dating.220kg.com

  4. Simon

    Online dating can be fun, but you need to be careful who you give your details out to. Some sites are set up or attract bogus girls, just so you will visit there sites and watch them take their clothes off (for a fee). If your able to push the right buttons with a girl, it doesn’t matter if it’s online or offline. Me - I prefer the offline world!

  5. miss honey

    A collection of some of the best free dating sites around today at http://freedatingdirectory.mysite.orange.co.uk

  6. Sammy

    Nice blog! But you seem to forget my favorite site: millionairematch.com where I had many good experiences.

  7. Elaine

    Some sites are not good. They should not be listed with yahoo personals, americansingles, match, etc. I.E. ecrush.com, it sucks.

  8. Rishi Rawat

    This is a great post. But why doesn’t anyone see the elephant in the room: adultfriendfinder.com. I remember reading a WSJ article about them and it seems they are extremely profitable. Do you have any input on them?

  9. Deborah

    Hi!

    It s not necessarily a dating site, more of a social genealogical website which aims to connect the whole world by encouraging people to build their family trees.
    On http://www.jworld.famillion.com you can also share pictures and stories and check if there are relatives out there that you didn t know about!
    It s great - I found that I had family in Argentina and this summer I am planning to travel there…
    regards,
    Deborah

  10. jake

    I love to have a person that i will call my love,i’m a woman of 26 years old of age,any parson shold contact me with via Email address stelar_23@yahoo.com

  11. Meagan

    There’s a new site out there! A revolution in online dating - location based dating from your mobile phone:

    http://www.meetmoi.com

    Check us out!
    -Meagan at MeetMoi

  12. maureen

    IM SEEKING SOME SOMEONE I CAN TRUST AND SPEND THE REST OF MY LIFE WITH HIM AND GROW OLD WITH HIM AS WELL HAVING KIDS WITH HIM.

  13. nancy

    i am a shy and cool girl who is new to online stuff…i am seeking for a good man that is caring and trsutworthy.you can conatct me through my email address (godsentnancy@yahoo.com) and i promise to email yo back with my pictures and tell you more about me.

  14. emmanuel

    i need a loving caring woman which i can spend my life with…any interested person should contact me on justnatural107@yahoo.com.

  15. Larry

    Hi, although ive tried most of those sites, ive come to find the more flooded the site is, the harder it is to meet that special someone. I recently came across a singles site that i fell in love with. http://singlesfloor.com is in my opinion the easiest to use and since its not over crowded, it has been so much easier for me to find dates.

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  17. shane

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  18. S Smith

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  20. ELD DANISMANLIK

    great article, thanks

  21. bassan

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  22. Scammer

    A TASTE OF THE BITTER TRUTH

    No.1
    You will get frequent emails like this from bootycall@onlinebootycall.com

    “XYZ,

    You have new booty call invitations waiting for you at OnlineBootyCall.com.
    Click Here to log into your profile and discover who sent the invitation.”

    When you check your account there is no invitation there. This is only to get you to login to your account. So when someone searches your account shows up as last online xyz time ago.

    No.2
    You will get booty calls from very attractive people. When you check they profile, they will be half a world away from you.

    Why would someone request booty or accept booty calls, if you are in America and they are in Australia?

    No.3
    You’ll notice that 70% of the attractive people online are from a specific location (like Dawes Point, NSW (which is in Sydney Australia). If you invite them they will accept quickly. Next will be a live chat (may also ask you to add them on your yahoo messenger buddies), in which they will give you a link saying, it is of they webcam 100% free (for sure). When you go to that link, it will ask for Credit Card for age verification (that’s where the trap is). The one who chats to you online says “Don’t worry, if you cancel within 24 hours no charges apply (you bet ya).

    Contact Online booty call via “Report Profile” and you never get a reply even if you report 100’s of them. Why?

    Well’ this is all a part of the game. To contact people who invite you, you have to get membership ($$$). These fake people work for Online Booty Call. So who are you reporting to whom?

  23. Wesley

    I think YahooPersonals is the number one in 2009. That’s also my choice. I’ve tried Match und eHarmony, but didn’t like their aggressive mailing style…also they seem to have accounts listed that aren’t active anymore. By the way, this site helped me a lot - has a lot of useful user comments:

    http://www.datingsitesranking.com

  24. kamtie

    i am lovelyen inteligent woman of 28old i am serious cool understading woman have no kids never get married i will like to be happy to have some one for the rest of my life here is my hotmail contact me if you are interset or my yahoo meesnger kamtie.rose@yahoo.fr roselyne-28@live.fr tahnk to all the best man

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    hi, my name is basan.com.tr BASSAN loadcell.your wonderful blog, 342 blog. tnx. Msj number . 342


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