Online Dating UK
Online dating in the UK has really taken off in the last few years.
There are literally hundreds of UK dating agencies all wanting you
to join them online.
The UK dating services industry is now worth around
£600m per annum (2004). It is estimated that over 200 new online
dating sites have been established since 2003 alone.
You will find information and links to the Top 10
dating sites in the UK here. We may also stray into the world of
friend sites where you can date too.
Online Dating Tips
It is worthwhile joining up to several agencies
at the same time as they all work in different ways and you will
be able to make some comparisons. Some dating agencies concentrate
on instant chat and others on compatibility. Most agencies won't
make you pay until you find someone you are interested in and want
to get in touch.
Never pay straight away. See what the agency is
like and find out how it works. If you like the agency or see
someone you like then by all means get a subscription..
Be safe. Always follow each dating agency's safety
advice. Don't publish any sensitive information about yourself on
the internet.
The
Top 10 UK online dating agencies according to hitwise in
June 2004 according to market share were - (Click on the link to
see the review.)
1 Gaydar.co.uk www.gaydar.co.uk Gay Community (19.04%)
2 Udate www.udate.com Owned by Match (13.92%)
3 Datingdirect.com www.datingdirect.com
1.5M members (4.64%)
4 Yahoo! uk.personals.yahoo.com Started 2003
(4.37%)
5 Friend Finder Inc.www.friendfinder.com (4.00%)
6 FriendsReunited Dating www.friendsreuniteddating.com (3.65%)
7 Love@lycos love.lycos.co.uk (3.21%)
8 Match.com www.match.com US based (3.05%)
9 Loopylove.com www.loopylove.com (2.72%)
10 iSingles www.isingles.co.uk
(1.96%)
See the hitwise data for September
2003
According to hitwise: Each day Hitwise analyses the networks of a
range of ISPs, counting the visits that any website receives from
the ISPs subscribers. The figures from each ISP are then aggregated
and analysed to calculate a site's position in the rankings. The
figures may be a little misleading as not all UK ISPs provide data
to hitwise.
However the Nielsen//NetRatings' (reported April
2004) puts DatingDirect.com at number one with 414,000 unique users
a month, then Meetic.co.uk, with 391,000;
uDate.com, 292,000; MSN.co.uk/love
dating site, with 233,000, and Yahoo! Personals, at 230,000.
Other dating agencies worth mentioning
TrustCupid
Online Dating - A new uk dating agency with an honesty policy
and star sign compatibility. Free Membership for six months if you
quote B8BY when you join. Recently featured in the Sun Online.
Faceparty Not strictly a dating
site but as it has over 3 million members, most of them in the UK,
it is worth a mention. All ages on the site. However if you are
easily offended then perhaps it is not for you.
Please note that the views expressed are entirely
our own and in no way recommend that you join or not join a particular
site.
If you are a UK based dating agency and want your
site reviewed, wish to correct any errors or provide more up-to-date
information please tell dateing.org.uk.
|
