Dating Services

We have lots of online dating statistics for you today. Most of them have been compiled by comScore which is a company that measures internet traffic worldwide. This will make a nice wrap-up for the year 2012.

To start things, off did you know for the month of September 1 in 10 users on the internet visited a dating site? Well they did. For users of smartphones this statistic doubled to 2 visitors in every 10. Interestingly in quarter 2 of 2010 only 2 percent of every e-Commerce dollar was spent via a mobile device. In 2 short years this has risen to 10 percent which is 1 in every 10 dollars. I would bet that the online dating segment breaks down in a similar fashion since most dating sites have dating apps now.

Anyways, did you know visitors of online dating sites are not a fickle bunch? 26 percent of them visited more than one in a given month. Personal computers still win for quality time though with on average a user spending 80 minutes using online dating sites. This compares to mobile phone users who spent only 70 minutes. Facebook is a target rich environment for the dating site marking machine. 38 percent of all dating site ads are on Facebook. These ads reach almost half (47%) of their target users.

So what are the top ten dating site companies worldwide at the end of 2012 from comScore? Well compared to last year of the top 50 dating sites, 28 percent are new to the list! That is a lot for any industry.

• 1 - Match.com Sites
• 2 - Plenty of Fish Sites
• 3 - Zoosk.com
• 4 - Xpress.com
• 5 - Spark Networks
• 6 - eHarmony
• 7 - SpeedDate.com
• 8 - DateHookup.com
• 9 - Mate1.com
• 10 - Ashley Madison

So how do our English speaking friends overseas feel about online dating? In September of this year 5.7 million people in the United Kingdom (which has a total population of almost 63 million) visited an online dating site. This is a staggering 22 percent increase over the same time period last year. The 55 plus age group demographic led the charge with a 39 percent increase in visitors which topped 1 million unique visitors. The most active age group visiting dating sites was the 25 to 34 year olds with 1.3 million users which works out to 23 percent of all visitors. What was the most popular dating site in the UK? Why Plenty of Fish of course with almost 1.5 million visitors who spent on average for the entire month 115 minutes on POF.com.

A subject related to online dating is social networking. Worldwide for the month of November in 2012, on average a visitor spent 5.2 hours on one or more social network (excludes mobile phones). Over the past 3 months according to Alexa, Facebook came out on top followed by Twitter and then LinkedIn. In the top ten country list (see this) Argentina came out on top with an average of 9.8 hours in a month. Second went to Brazil with 9.7 hours and third was Russia with 9.6 hours. Canada came in 6th with 7.9 hours and the United States was nowhere on the list. This means in the U.S. visitors spent under 7.5 hours a month on social networking sites.

To find out more about the state of online dating in 2012 you can check out this page and view a presentation here. For more information about online dating and dating sites you can read our Statistics and Facts page.

POF launched eVow back in September of 2010. Within a few months the dating site went paid. Members needed to buy a subscription to correspond with their matches and to use the advanced search features. eVow did well for a while especially when a link to the service was displayed on the Plenty of Fish website. Since then the site has seen traffic drop by about half according to Alexa. To counteract this it looks like eVow has developed a strategy which is their new dating app.

The eVow online dating app was released in October of 2012 on both Google Android and Apple iOS. The app currently has a 3.9 rating on Google Play with most of the reviews being positive and only a few minor tweaks/annoyances being mentioned. What is interesting is that the eVow app is completely free to use. You do not need a paid subscription. The eVow app doesn’t have all of the features of the website but it does have most of them. This includes sending and receiving messages, viewing your matches, and searching.

So those of you interested in using eVow I would recommend creating a membership on the dating site and then downloaded the app to message your matches. This way you can use the site for free and not pay the regular subscription fee that runs from $19.99 to $39.99 per month depending on the length of the subscription term. I am not sure how long they plan to keep the communication part of the app free so I would try it out as soon as possible.

Keeping things fresh after years together is a challenge for any couple. How do you keep the spark alive when you're more interested in catching some extra shuteye than spending quality time with your partner?

The answer may be Déjàmor, a new website designed to help couples reconnect through romantic and intimate experiences. The founders of Déjàmor researched books, conducted focus groups, and consulted with therapists, coaches, and sexologists to develop a comprehensive strategy to bring couples closer together.

Each month, Déjàmor delivers a package to subscribers with two boxes inside: one for "his eyes only" and one for "her eyes only." The boxes contain a sensual adventure guide and goodies to enhance the experience that Déjàmor promises are "always sexy and never sleazy."

What exactly is inside the mystery boxes? "Recipes for a happy, fulfilled, and sensual life," says Déjàmor, "complete with ingredients [that] are meant to surprise and delight you and your partner." The exact contents are meant to be a surprise, but the site's testimonials hint at what might be in store for you.

One customer received a package containing rose petals, "arousing" bubble bath, a vial with a blank note, and an illustrated booklet. The booklet laid out a plan for an at-home sensual spa retreat to spoil his wife. Another customer received a sash of lace, blank cards, and list of suggested notes to leave for her lucky husband.

Once they have the ingredients for a special night, it's up to the couples to make it happen. "We thought instead of telling people what to do, it would be delivering a recipe of what to do, plus the ingredients for that recipe," CEO Rodrigo Fuentes told Mashable. "The box arrives every month. Each partner in the relationship knows they are going to receive some fun surprise from their lover."

Déjàmor's monthly packages are completely customizable. New subscribers are asked a series of questions, including their sex, their partner's sex, how long they've been together. All answers are kept confidential and are used to create a personalized Déjàmor experience.

"We are all about rebuilding the bridges of communication, intimacy and romance," Fuentes says. "Once our advisors approve of experiences we go into sources and illustrations to get the experience ready. We ensure our experiences will hit home with people."

With so many people now turning to online dating services to find love, it seems only natural that couples will now use the Internet to keep that love alive.

You know that annoying couple you're friends with on Facebook? The one who's always putting up soppy status updates, cutesy pictures, and stomach-churningly sweet wall posts?

Prepare yourself: they're about to get even more annoying.

Facebook has recently launched a digital version of relationships at Facebook.com/us. If you're in a relationship on Facebook, the new page collects all posts, events, and photos that both you and your significant other are tagged in. It's a one stop shop for all the details of your digital romance.

Reviews are...mixed, to say the least.

The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) is a non-profit organization with more than 37 million members. They are the voice of Americans 50 plus and have several media publications including a magazine and website. On Monday AARP debuted a new Dating Channel on their website (found under the Home & Family tab). Within this dating channel you will find articles on dating and relationships geared towards older singles.

Along with the expert advice and dating resources AARP also has partnered with the dating site HowAboutWe.com to bring online dating to their members. Through the dating portal AARP members are offered a free 7 day trial membership along with a 50% discounted membership for those who choose to subscribe.

To celebrate the launch of AARP's Dating Channel they commissioned a survey of 1000 people. With the survey AARP found that the top 3 reasons singles over 50 try online dating are:

• 23 percent said they can meet a broader range of people
• 20 percent said that there is no pressure to communicate with others until they are ready
• 14 percent said they tried online dating because a friend recommended it

In future articles we hope to dive deeper into the AARP survey and tease out more interesting data about online dating.

To find out more details about this dating site you can read our HowAboutWe review.

About a month ago eHarmony updated their homepage with a new look and feel. Gone is the rich dark blue background and the picture of couples as seen here on the top right. eHarmony has used this general layout and colors with a number of different couple pictures for about 2 years now and has decided to make a change right before the holidays. I think this is a good thing since a number of other popular dating sites are using very similar background colors which I found tended to blend all the sites together and didn't make any one in particular stand out. I find most sites (not just dating) tend to make a fairly major change to their layout once every 2 or 3 years.

In its place as you can see in the screen capture on the bottom right of this article you will find a warmer color scheme that contains lighter blues, yellows and browns. The picture of the person on screen is also larger and appears more down to earth. As you scroll down on the eHarmony website the background changes color abruptly but I think this works as it makes each part of the homepage standout. Along with this homepage makeover eHarmony has also updated their advertising with the same look and feel.

Update: Dec. 4. 2012

It looks like I wrote this article a week to soon. 😊 eHarmony has just updated their homepage again on the US site a few days ago (Canada is still using the older one). The color scheme is very similar to the last update but the message has changed slightly. The title of the page now reads "From single to soul mate" and it then mentions eHarmony's 29 Dimensions of matching. Since Dr. Neil Clark Warren is in charge once again at eHarmony it looks like they want to get back to the core of what eHarmony was founded on. Also instead of one single photo of a person, the homepage now includes 8 to 14 photos arrange like an album with actual eHarmony members. If you put your mouse cursor over the photo a card slides up and includes details of who the person is matched with along with a quote. It looks really good and I think the simpler look will help eHarmony attract more members.

For more information on this popular dating site known for its in-depth matchmaking, you can read our eHarmony review.