The first quarter of the year represents a busy time in the online dating world, and 2007 has been no exception, with traffic to mainstream dating sites growing by 15% from December to February. The real story, however, is told through members.

The chart below ranks online dating services by member activity, which was described in more detail in December. In February, we improved the metric to include direct logins through email, and this had a significant impact on the rankings.

  • True, previously ranked 9th in terms of member logins, moved into the top five sites. Like many dating services, True sends email as a way to encourage paid subscriptions, and in February nearly 60% of member traffic came through this channel.
  • Match took the lead with nearly 20 million member logins in February.
  • PlentyofFish.com, the largest free site in the group, was pushed out of the top 5 but still captured over twice the member activity of 7th place Mate1, despite being 1/5th its size in visitor traffic.

Competition for the attention (and revenue) from potential daters is fierce, but it appears that consumers like to shop around for the optimal match. In February, the average member at the top 15 online dating services visited nearly three other personals sites in addition to the service they belong to. The chart below illustrates the number of dating services that members visited or logged into during the month of February.

  • While the vast majority of dating site members are loyal to one particular service, 22% showed activity at multiple services.
  • 8% showed member activity at more than three sites.
  • The threshold for dating sites is apparently 10. There was no indication that members were actively involved in more than nine sites in February.

While seasons change and Valentines Day is behind us for another year, the real test will be sustained activity, and keeping members from moving to another service. Looking at the overlap between dating sites, these daters may be loyal to their partners but this doesn’t extend to the dating services themselves.


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  1. Ljubisa

    Free online dating site!!! Check it out it will be most popular soon!!!
    http://www.dating.220kg.com

  2. Ned for Netflix

    Ljubisa:

    That site sucks. If more than 10 people ever visit it I’ll be surprised. Actually, make that 11 since I just went there.

  3. Zoltan

    I am wondering about other free dating sites. Will you publish a report on this as well?
    My free dating site http://www.onelovenet.com is quite new yet but if you check my quantcast ranking, you can see an exponential growing trend.
    Also, how long does it take to get “noticed” on compete?

  4. Pookie

    Of more significance that any BS review about which is the best dating site is a relatively new phenomenon: an increasing number of fraudulent contacts. Most of the “interests” I get on Matchmaker are from fictitious users, people who are obviously Nigerian 419 scammers or the like. The services do nothing to filter these people out. Within a few years, the dating services will become unusable. It can only be worse with free dating services.

  5. Bruce

    You forgot millionairematch.com, the premium dating site for single millionaires. I believe the member visits of Millionairematch.com are higher than that of several sites you mentioned above.

  6. Joseph Morgan

    Hi Max,

    A very informative article, I have been researching other dating sites to see how my site compares to their sites in regards to member features and membership costs. Although my site is not a completely free site, we do have a free membership plan just like all the other sites, however our plan is to save people money on paid memberships with a yearly plan at $8.33/month, and even a Lifetime membership plan at $147.95. Our other focus is on our member’s safety. All Contact with other members is anonymous, whether you are using email or our chat systems. This includes our New Live Video Chat and Video Profiles.

    Plus in a few months, we will have our Date Guard System online to help keep our members safe when they meet another member in person. If you have time, I would like to get your opinion of my site and give me any suggestions on anything that could be better for our members. The details of our upcoming new features can be found on my Coming Soon Link or use this url:

    http://www.tex-match.com/static/coming_soon/coming_soon.do

    I look forward to hearing what you think about my site. Keep up the good work, and I will continue to follow your article submissions.

    With Regards.

    Joe Morgan
    http://www.Tex-Match.com

  7. tessy

    i am a nice good looking girl sarching for a man who is love caringi am a nice good looking girl sarching for a man who is love caringi am a nice good looking girl sarching for a man who is love caringi am a nice good looking girl sarching for a man who is love caringi am a nice good looking girl sarching for a man who is love caringi am a nice good looking girl sarching for a man who is love caring

  8. Daphne

    You forgot this one.

    RichKissh.com is a premier service that provides successful professionals with a place to meet quality individuals. RichKiss.com prides itself on upscale clients such as CEO’s, doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs, celebrities and professional athletes and has just implemented a certification service of millionaire members. The initial membership is free to sign up however there is a gold membership for selected clients that requires a fee. The free membership includes a profile post, email and conducting profile searches. RichKiss.com members can enjoy online chats and can create their own blog for extra exposure.

  9. rosse

    Finally, I Got My Love At Billionairecupid.com. It’s Fantastic.

  10. rosse

    A year and a half ago, I was just about to give up on Internet dating…although I had met several men that I have the highest

    respect for,none seemed to be real serious in persueing a long distance relationship.

    A relationship with a guy that I had met on the Interest had just ended and I had gotten very badly hurt….I told myself, this was

    the last.

    time that I would give Internet dating a chance, however, a few days later, I received an email from a gentlemen and we began

    corresponding for a few months…We got together April 14th, 2006 and we are now getting married on the 19th of Feb.

    I guess the old saying is true…Never give up trying. I met the most wonderful man I have ever know….I wish you all luckiness in

    your search of a lover! If you want, you can try billionairecupid.com, this is a great community full of good, well-off people who

    are searching loves.

  11. Fun Quizzes Girl

    interesting content!
    fun stuff

  12. james

    am a rich had working and handsome man with one kid looking 4 a nice wife

  13. james

    am 45 uk looking for a wife

  14. james

    45 male uk looking 4 a wife

  15. Kevin from Best Online Dating Sites

    The web’s best general dating sites reviewed. Adult, Alternative, Asian, Black, Christian, Jewish, Free, Gay, Lesbian, International, Interracial, Latin and Niche dating and matchmaking services.


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