Specialized Online Dating

Online dating for specific groups

Niche online dating websites are a good option for those with specific criteria, catering to specific groups based on religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity or hobbies. These specialized sites are gaining ground as people realize that bigger dating sites aren't always better. At the same time, the big general dating sites like Match.com and Yahoo! Personals are growing at a much slower pace, according to reports.

In an April 2008 Tech Crunch article, Mark Brooks compares online dating market share and growth rates of the top mainstream sites to the market share and growth rates at niche sites. Results show rapid growth in specialty sites such as Adam4Adam, BlackPeopleMeet and ChristianMingle.

There are now hundreds of niche sites and the categories are endless. Some niche sites worth investigating are JDate.com for Jewish singles and MuslimDating.net for Muslims. For Christian dating, there's ChristianSingles.com. Seniors can try SeniorFriendFinder.com, and African-Americans can check out BlackSingles.com. Those interested in interracial dating have InterracialRomance.com. Gay men and women can try Gay.com. For plus-size singles and their admirers, there is LargeFriends.com. Those with chronic diseases can try Prescription4Love.com. There is also AgeMatch.com for intergenerational dating. Another category that is growing is dating sites for wealthy people. WealthyMen.com is for men who make over $100K a year and the women who want to meet them. All subscribers have their incomes, professions and photographs verified. Richkiss.com only allows those who make more than $150,000 a year to join.

For hobbyists, there is a site for bikers (BikerKiss.com) and science fiction fans have TrekPassions.com. There are sites for single parents (SoloParentMatch.com) and for people with disabilities (Whispers4u.com). For the politically inclined, Republicans can try RepublicanPassions.com, and there's LiberalHearts.com for the other side of the political fence. Adulterers have their own site (AshleyMadison.com), which has signed up over two million members.

A new niche category is matchmaking sites. At Engage.com, after creating a profile, users can be either the "dater" and/or the "matchmaker." What distinguishes Engage.com from other sites is that it uses its members to set up others on dates. Users can search the profiles looking for matches for themselves or for friends or family. This site is not only for singles but for those in a relationship who want to play matchmaker. People who aren't members can also be suggested for a date. Engage.com is a free dating site, with no membership fees. A similar site is GreatBoyfriends.com that allows friends to post profiles of eligible men and women. You can't create your own profile, but you can ask a friend to do so on your behalf. One of the advantages of this site is that everyone on it has been vouched for by a friend.

Once you've got some experience with online dating, there is also a site for you to rate your date. TrueDater.com (www.truedater.com) is a free site that allows people to write and read reviews about members of online dating services. Singles are rated by those who have dated them. Reviews of those with profiles on Yahoo! Personals, Match.com, MySpace and other sites are available. You can also write a review if someone didn't match the information in his or her profile. Research shows that many people lie on their profiles. eDateReview.com writes that men mostly lie about being single and women lie about their looks. Match.com claims it removes about 2,000 profiles per month from its database because of complaints from members about dishonesty. TrueDater is a watch list for the dating world.