It takes more than vital statistics to make an online love connection these days as dating services hone their matchmaking queries to include intangible “lifestyle” questions.
Moving beyond age, size and eye color, online dating services are expanding their user profiles to pinpoint more specific traits and interests.
“They’ve got to at least want to have kids because I don’t have any,” said Heather Khan, 29, of San Jose, Calif. She is single and hoping to find her match online. “And if they have kids already then they have to want more.”
With the number of visitors growing steadily at online dating services, sites such as Match.com and Yahoo’s ClubConnect are stepping up efforts to meet the needs and interests of diverse subscribers. Through improved technology, personal ads now feature “self-weighted matching,” allowing users to select the importance of their preferences and increase the quality of their results.
Users can identify essential interests like ethnicity, religion, income and location to find potential dates online.
For instance, a user might select religion and can indicate how important the matching requirement is: “not very important,” “somewhat important,” or “absolutely important.”
“We’ve added more lifestyle questions to round out the glimpse of people online,” said Trish McDermott, vice president of romance at Match.com. “Dating is part science, art and emotional negotiation.”
Revenue surging
Founded in 1995, Match.com has more than 3 million monthly visitors and about 380,000 subscribers. In its most recent quarter the company took in $17.6 million in revenue compared with $7.2 million a year ago.
“Our success is a combination of subscriber growth and people wanting more meaningful relationships post Sept. 11,” said Tim Sullivan, Match.com president. “It had an effect on people’s attitude about dating and finding the right match.”
Analysts agreed that the aftermath of the terrorist attacks has prompted a surge in use of online dating sites.
“Traffic has exploded in the last three months,” said T.S. Kelly, an Internet analyst at Nielsen Net Ratings. “It’s an evolving marketplace and businesses have to create a friendly environment because dating is a personal experience.”
More Top Picks Best Family Tents For Camping
For many, online dating sites have become the new singles scene, alternatives to more traditional places like clubs and bars. These sites attract a variety of people looking for romantic relationships, from receptionists to executives and long-time singles to widowers. Online matchmaking services can even accommodate specialized dating requirements for singles over 50, African-American singles, Jewish singles, gay and lesbian singles and singles in the same profession.
“It’s a way for me to cut through wasted time of people who aren’t what I’m looking for,” said John Heinlein, 31, of Sunnyvale, Calif. He is an executive manager and a subscriber at Match.com. “The enhanced profiles give people a sense of who you are.”
More control, less chance
Some experts say singles are turning to online dating instead of the traditional dating process because it creates a better sense of safety and community.
“Dating online is more about control and less about chance,” said Lawrence Cohen, a professor of anthropology at the University of California-Berkeley. “This is a scary time and people are looking for security and looking toward marriage and more enduring qualities.”
Many of the lifestyle questions added to online dating questionnaires are to help users define their ideal mate. They incorporate a number of variables, including age, location, smoking and drinking tendencies and education. In addition, users can type freeform in a text box detailing more insight about themselves and interests.
Online dating service subscriptions can cost about $20 for one month and upward of $50 for three months and $100 for a year. Services have added instant messaging and daily e-mail alerts letting subscribers know when new members join.
The online companies have moved offline as well, hosting activities throughout the year to bring members together at theater shows, jazz nights, tarot card cocktail parties, day hikes and cooking classes.
“I think the likelihood of meeting someone online is great,” said Drew Marks, 32, of Cupertino, Calif. He has used the services for about two months and has corresponded with three potential matches. “There’s probably someone for most everyone online.”
Here is a selection of some online dating sites. Most offer free trial subscriptions.
– Date.com: Browse function displays photos and brief information about prospective dates within age groups, but not by location.
– JDate.com: Jewish singles network claims 300,000 members.
– Kiss.com: Features breakdowns by gender and age of members online at any given time.
– Match.com: Quick search shows a member’s photo, age, location and whether they are signed on at the time. Allows blocking other members if necessary.
– Matchmaker.com: Established in 1984. Allows searching by ZIP code, age, religion, sexual orientation. Flip book gives a glimpse of people who’ve posted their information.
– UDate.com: Claims to be No. 1 site for singles 25 and older. Operates Kiss.com site.