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It wasn't so long ago that there was a stigma around finding a partner online. As we move into the future, and as the boundaries of reality and internet become increasingly blurred, finding that special person via dating sites has become far more socially accepted. As the New Year swiftly approaches, it's as good a time as any to look at what to expect in such a rapidly growing market and how best to prepare for it over the coming year.
The New Year and the lead up to Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day is the day for romance; the day for happy couples to tell each other how much they love each other. Somehow, it doesn't have quite the same ring when you celebrate it on your own, so it is no surprise that the seasonal peak that we see for dating occurs in January and February.
As soon as New Year is over, singletons make their way over to the internet to see if they can find that someone special. This year alone saw a 29% rise in traffic in generic dating searches from December 2008 to January 2009. Make sure that you have your ad copy relevant and ready, and any offers you have are prominent in your message. This is the most important time of the year for the dating market so the sooner you get those keywords into your account, the sooner you will be reaping the benefits of all that additional traffic.
Free Dating sites and competitive offers
As a consequence of the economic downturn, it only makes sense that there has been an upsurge in free dating sites. People are less inclined to want to spend money for a pay-based site, and at the same time they may have more time on their hands if they're working less (Hitwise). Even the larger companies have had to change their strategy with offering 6 months free if they can't find you love as well as offering free searches for registered users. (Match.com)
Although the landscape is rapidly changing and most previously paid-for sites are now offering free registration, it is the rise of truly free sites such as Plentyoffish that are seeing rapid growth. If you have anything "free" about your site, make sure people know about it! Include it in your ads and make sure it is prominent on your destination page. While times are hard, nobody wants to pay to find love if they can find it for free.
Niche Dating Sites
Two groups who are rapidly growing are Asian dating sites and what can be considered the "baby boomers" or the over 50's segment.
Previously quite a taboo subject, we are seeing a rise in dating sites specifically targeted towards Asians and other ethnic groups. Sites like Shaadi.com go one step further, attempting to provide a matrimonial service and have been well documented in mainstream news such as the Guardian. If you provide these services, make sure you included targeted keywords at specific ethnic groups, especially if you have targeted landing pages designed for these specific users.
According to onlinepersonalwatch.com, around 30% of the nation's 80 million "baby boomers" (or over 50's) are single, and they have money. With such a high target group, it is no wonder that this particular demographic has grown rapidly over the last year. With AdCenter, we can target by demographic so make sure you include keywords targeted to these "baby boomers" as well as taking demographic targeting into consideration to really make the most out of that traffic.
(UPDATE January 5, 2010: Info contained in the graphs above refer to historical adCenter data)
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I liked this site's approach. They let users person post a message to the person they want to go out with. It's then up to the user to contact that person, anonymously, and have them read their post to get a date.
There is a little more work involved than traditional dating websites but it is a nice alternative to getting hit on by random strangers online.
Speed dating was dumb idea to begin with; and with internet added to the mix it takes the dumbness of this concept to the 3rd power. “People make decisions about each other in 30 seconds. They can tell if they don’t like somebody within three seconds”. Yes sir, they do. When we are looking for a mate 2/3 of the decisions we make in 30 seconds or less are really, really bad ones. All these women and men may well just flush their money down the toilet, or mail it to me. Use the time saved, not doing speed dating online, to read a book and expend their minds. I can already see a future where many of these online speed daters, in a desperate attempt to make an impression by any mean necessary, just taking off their clothes to show what they have to offer. The internet has that effect on people.