Christian Dating Service and Dating Services

A Christian dating service can help single Christians meet one another and find companionship that is based on Christian principles and foundations. A Christian dating service can help thousands of Christians meet, and sometimes marry, others who share their values and faith. The Internet is an incredible access point for those looking into dating services. Now, most dating services begin with online applications and postings, letting email be the beginning point of a contact. Not every Christian dating service has the same philosophy, and not all dating services truly have a member's best interest at heart, but, with some research and investigating, signing up with a Christian dating service can bring new friends and a potential partner into a single's life.

Online, through the Internet there are a myriad of dating services. A Christian dating service is a service that has members who profess to be Christians, practicing the Christian faith of belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the Savior of the world. Timeless faith is a common thread among Christian believers. Most Christians feel that to make a relationship successful, the common ground of faith in Christ is essential. Close relationships and marital bonds simply cannot happen without it. Dating services throughout the Internet are experiencing a high success rate, and Christian dating service providers are among those successes. With our fast pace society, and the wide open market that the Internet brings into our lives, Christian dating companies online seem to be the answer for the Christian singles scene.

There are cautions to be heeded when searching for dating services. This caution can apply to a Christian dating service as well. Many dating services charge costly fees, and make promises that cannot be kept. Also, the danger of meeting someone with ill intentions can always be a factor, when agreeing to meet a person in person. Selecting dating services that do background checks, or verify information will be best, and still, always use extreme caution when planning to meet a person you have only met via chatting online. Research and investigate a Christian dating service before paying for any membership fees or before receiving potential companion's emails.

A Christian dating service can provide needed friendships and relationships of support. Expanding our friendships and Christian fellowship around the globe is a good thing. However, God always has a plan for our future in an active status. While He may use dating services to introduce you to your future mate, a Christian dating service should not be seen as a way to fast forward God's plans. "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." (Jeremiah 29:11) Use balanced and good judgment when seeking friends online with dating services.

For more information about Christian dating service and dating services, visit:
http://www.christianet.com/chatroom/
http://www.christianet.com/

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10 Tips to Help You Use Professional Dating Services

For people on a budget, there are free dating sites like plentyoffish and okCupid. For those interested in paying a bit more, there are paid sites like Lavalife and Match.com. And for those who are short on time and willing to pay for the privilege of saving some of that time, there are professional dating services. Designed to be one-stop-shops for people looking for a relationship, professional dating services take care of every aspect of setting up date. They find out what you're looking for in a mate, search for that kind of person, coordinate your schedules, set up the date... and generally coordinate everything so that all you have to do is show up. It's not for everyone, and it's expensive, but it's also very convenient. Over the next few days I'll go over some advice to help you get the most for your money if you choose to seek out a professional dating service.

Tip #1: Take your time and choose wisely.

Dating services stand out as an option for meeting people for many reasons. One of them is the simple fact that they can be pricey. For that reason, take your time and look at all the agencies out there before choosing one and shelling out your hard-earned cash. A reputable agency should take the time to work with you on a one-to-one basis, so you should think about how you'd like to work and choose a provider accordingly. For example, do you prefer lunch dates during the week, or weekend dinner dates? Also, you should think about the kind of person you're looking for. Agencies have a certain clientele, so make sure that your needs match what they can offer. Spending a lot of time considering these factors upfront will save you a lot of headaches - and money - in the long run.

Tip #2: Set yourself a budget before starting.

Once you've chosen some dating services that you think are a good fit, starting comparing prices. While you shouldn't shy away from a interesting option just because it's a bit more expensive than the others, you definitely want to have a budget in mind. This budget should be a kind of "experimentation" budget. In other words, ask yourself how much you're willing to "lose" in order to experiment with a dating service. While you should never assume the worst, you have to assume that you're going to have to spend some money before you find your soulmate. By setting yourself a budget, you'll become more comfortable with spending a bit of cash on a dating service, and you'll also set yourself a point at which you'll stop if it just isn't working for you.

Tip #3: Write down a description of what you're looking for in a soulmate.

The first step of a starting with a dating service is an interview where you'll be asked questions about yourself, and what you're looking for. You want to make the most of the interview, because that's how the dating service will search for singles for you. So it's a good idea to write down what you're looking for before you begin. By taking the time to really think about what your ideal date would be like, and then writing it down, you're going to paint a clearer picture of what you actually want in a soulmate. The better this picture is - and the closer it is to what you NEED in partner, and not what you WANT in one - the better your dates will be.

Tip #4: Get some quality face-time with a prospective service provider.

One of the great things about dating services is that you get something which is getting very rare these days: quality face-to-face time with someone (or at least, phone-to-phone time). This face-to-face time usually takes the form of an "interview," where the dating service gets to know what you're looking for. Make sure to squeeze all you can from this interview. Personalized service is great, so don't let yourself be rushed at any point. Answer all the questions they have for you truthfully, but also, ask them anything you want. Take your time. Get their advice. You never know what you may learn, and the more they know about you, the better your matches will be.

Tip #5: You're the boss, so make sure they do the work for you.

A dating service is just that: a service. You're paying someone to look for potential matches for you - so make sure they look hard. Don't be afraid to ask questions, to be critical of matches they've made, to give them constructive feedback, and to do anything else that you feel will help them find great dates for you... and that will make your life a little easier. Remember, a dating service can be a great time saver if you put the onus on them to work hard for you. And they're not just there to listen: so don't forget to ask questions. Pick their brains and squeeze them for everything they've got... it's one of the nice perks of hiring a dating service.

Tip #6: Be upfront about the fact that you're using a dating service.

Don't be shy about the fact that you're using a dating service, either with the people you meet on that service, or with your friends or family. Instead, be proud of the fact that you're taking matters into your own hands, and taking a very proactive approach to meeting people. By taking this position, you'll come across as being confident, instead of being insecure. This will help you on the dates you get through your service: by being upfront and confident about the fact that you're using a dating service, you'll put your date (who may be insecure about it) at ease, and instantly break the ice. Have fun with it. Laugh about it. It'll make your date that much more pleasant.

Tip #7: Make sure your behavior on a date is in line with your dating service.

Make sure your behavior on a date is in line with your dating service. What does that mean? Quite simply this: if you decide to go with a dating service designed for young business professionals, don't show to up to a date you got with your service dressed in ripped jeans and an old t-shirt. Remember that by definition, a dating service is matching you up with other members of that service, which means that you're joining a group of like-minded individuals. This is one of the big advantages of going with a service, because you have a pretty good idea of what kind of people you're going to be matched with. So make sure that you fit in to that group.

Tip #8: provide feedback to your service provider after a date.

Don't be afraid to provide your dating service with feedback. Their job is to match you with suitable people, and while they should be good at that (it is, after all, their livelihood), one thing they can't do is read minds. That means that if you go on a date, and the person you were matched up with just wasn't your type, you have to tell your dating service. Tell them exactly why the fit wasn't good: give as many examples as you can. The better your service knows your tastes, the better they'll be at getting you on dates with potential soulmates.

Tip #9: Don't be afraid to ask for a credit or refund.

It'll take some time, and a lot of constructive criticism in order for your dating service to get to know what you're looking for. So expect a couple dates that just won't work out, because the person just isn't right for you. That's perfectly normal. But if you go on several dates, and they're all with people who just aren't right for you, and you've given what you feel is a fair a mount of feedback, then don't be afraid to ask for something back. It's fair to ask for a credit, or even a refund. If the service is a professional one, they should give it to you, because the last thing they want is a disgruntled customer.

Tip #10: if it didn't work for you, try another one.

If your dating service helped you find your soulmate, then give them a big thank you. But if they weren't able to find you someone, then evaluate your experience before giving up on the idea of a dating service. If you you were happy with the process, then try another one. There are many different kinds of services out there which cater to different demographics. Each has a different group of members, and one of those members could be your soulmate. So try another one, ideally with a different philosophy. For example, if you tried a business-oriented service like It's Just Lunch then try a more generic service to see what it does for you.

Mitch Conway is the author of The Go-Getter's Guide To Finding Your Soulmate, the first dating guide designed to help singles save time and become more proactive at meeting people. To find out more, visit http://www.gogettersguides.com.

Mitch Conway is the author of The Go-Getter's Guide to Finding Your Soulmate, the first installment in the Go-Getter's Guides series. Mr. Conway describes himself as having been an "average single guy" who decided to take a pragmatic and structured approach to finding his soulmate. His techniques and advice were put together over a period of three years into what is now The Go-Getter's Guide to Finding Your Soulmate.

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Choosing an Online Dating Service - 5 Things You Must Consider

Online dating is a rapidly growing phenomenon. With an overwhelming number of online dating services, estimated to be in the millions, it becomes increasingly difficult to choose the right one. There are many factors to consider, some of them are crucial to your online dating success.

Niche Service vs. Generic Service

First, you need to consider what type of relationship you are looking for, marriage, friendship, sex. The generic service does not focus on any specific demographic, so it may have a larger database, but how many of those who join everyday are really a match for you. If you are a person who is greatly concerned about race, religion or sexual orientation, you would probably be better off with a niche service. If you are looking for something that is not considered main stream, there is probably a dedicated service for you amongst the millions available services. It is my personal opinion that niche services are much more efficient than generic type services. Searching a database where most of the members are already qualified in some respect creates a more efficient and less frustrating experience. If you are still interested in using a generic service, send an email to the service in order to see if they cater to your special need. Some websites require you to sign up and sometimes pay blindly before they allow full search capability. It would be a shame to pay a fee, only to discover that very few match your need.

Local vs. National or International

It only makes sense to choose a service that caters to your local geographical location. You are going to filter all other people in your search anyway, aren't you? Maybe the hopeless romantic in me does not want to limit something as significant as love and relationships to a geographical area. Or maybe I am just curious to see if other singles look different, based on geographical location. Part of me always wanted to move, and signing up for a local service, just forces me to admit it. I just like to keep my options open. If these are your thoughts too, then a national service is for you. However, if you are more realistic, have two feet on the ground, and are definitely not the type who is cut out for a long distance relationship, you should probably sign up for a local service.

Paid Vs. Free

If you can get the service for free, why would you want to pay any money, right? Not necessarily. Is it the same service with the same quality? I can't tell you for sure. However you need to be aware of the pitfalls associated with free dating services. I don't want to resort to cliches like "you get what you pay for", but it seems to be true for online dating. There is something about a person who pays his hard earned money to find a match that makes me feel he is more serious than the one who chooses a free service. Also, the fact that a person gave his credit card number indicates he is more serious, reducing the chance of a fake profile messing with your heart. Few people will pay to be a fake.

Free dating services are notorious as places for lurking predators, spammers and prostitution services. And since they are free, the web masters will likely have less staff available to insure quality. So if you can find a match there, it could be after the effort of reducing all the noise, and filtering all the fake/promotional messages, greatly reducing the pleasure you derived from the experience. In addition, it is hard enough to put yourself (your profile) out there. You certainly don't want to be the subject of laughter or abuse from a group of bored teenagers, who had their afternoon off and didn't know what to do with their time.

Some free services can be good, but finding a good one will be a challenge, since all will tend to be subject to these pitfalls, just by virtue of what they cost. Often people choose to overlook these disadvantages because the service can sound so good, and very often these same people have bad experiences and decide to switch to a pay service anyway.

Features

You should choose an online dating service that is on top of the latest technological advancements. Today's top features include video chat and video downloading. These latest technologies allow you to both see and hear your potential date, before you actually meet them in person. And the more you learn about them before you actually give out your personal information, the less awkward it will be, and the less risky it will be. And when it comes to security, spammers and predators are known to work best where they can hide who they really are. The more visibility you have, the more exposed they will be. These latest technologies make it hard for them to hide, and give you better visibility and more security.

Choosing the service with the best features is a tough one. As I mentioned before, many dating services will not let you to use their best features before you actually pay. It varies from service to service. You can compare online on their web pages or contact their customer service. Also, features are not necessarily related directly to price. Some services charge a higher fee simply because they are established and have a large database, for that reason, they are not pressured to upgrade their software. You may get better features with the newer less established services.

Maintenance

One of the major problems with dating services is that they keep inactive, stale profiles for months, even years. It is my belief that this is ethically wrong. It can cause frustration for the singles who use the services regularly and who might send messages but get no response. This can be a hard hit on their moral as well. Dating services leave those stale profiles in order to create an impression of much greater selection. Having said that, there are some dating services that actually clean their database every few months, removing members who have been inactive for a certain period of time. If you want to save yourself some frustration, stick to those who do.

Finding the right dating service can pose a challenge, but it is worth the time, as it greatly improves the quality of your experience and your chances of success. If I had to summarized my advice in one sentence, I would say, 1) Pick a niche service that caters to your special needs, 2) Choose a local service if you are not cut out for a long distance relationship or willing to move, 3) Stay clear of free services, unless they are highly reputable, 4) Make sure the company has the latest features and technological advancements, and 5) Choose a service which does regular maintenance to keep their database fresh and current, 6) Don't forget to have fun!

Looking for an online Jewish dating service that provides a fun, safe, and simple way to connect with other Jewish singles? At Yenta911.com we understand the importance of privacy and integrity and we pride ourselves on our excellent customer care, and our commitment to stay on top of technological advancements.

Please Visit: http://www.Yenta911.com - Where Jewish Singles Meet!

About the author: Alexanndra Weiss is the co-founder of the Jewish Online Dating Service Yenta911.com, she is also a blogger at Jewishblogger.wordperss.com  

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Online Dating Services - How to Pick the Right One For You!

Why Use Online Dating Services

Online dating is one of the greatest innovations that the Internet has made possible. Easy access and the means to store millions of profiles from people around the world make online dating services an exciting resource.

This relatively new capability advances matchmaking light-years ahead! Unlike any other time in human history, we can now easily find a truly compatible partner. Anyone who doesn't take advantage of this incredible resource simply does not understand what they are missing.

According to studies conducted by universities in several different counties, compatibility is the most important factor in producing a successful relationship. If a person relies solely on fate or his or her own means to find a highly compatible partner, their chances of finding one are very low.

Online dating services have the huge advantage of comparing your compatibility criteria with those of millions of other members in order to select the best possible matches for you. Compare that to the obsolete methods used by pre-Internet generations. Look at the results they got - 50% divorce rate. And many of those who remained married were miserable!

The matching technology used by leading online dating services could change everything! Our society could be transformed because its building blocks - couples and parents - would be more compatible, fulfilled, and stable. This would in turn lead to more harmonious, productive, and secure families, communities, cities, states, and countries.

Considering how much joy or sadness a love relationship can bring, buying one or more online dating service memberships would be a very worthwhile investment that could last a lifetime! The key is to find reputable services that align with your principles, tastes, and needs.

How to Pick the Right Online Dating Services for You!

Selecting an online dating service is similar to picking someone who you want to date. You look them over to see if you find them attractive, you learn as much as can about them, and then you make a decision on whether to give them a try based on your intuition (or gut feelings).

With online dating services, you evaluate the appearance of their website to see if you find it attractive, you learn as much as you can about them by reading their online material, and then you make a decision on whether to give them a try based on your intuition (or gut feelings).

You can determine more than you might think by the appearance of a website. Its look, feel, and headings reflect an organization's philosophy, approach, and professionalism. If it's filled with a lot of marketing hype and flashy ads on a poorly designed site, than you should beware. If on the other hand, it contains a reasonable mix between marketing language and sincere discussions about their service on a well designed site, then you might consider them further.

To get a true understanding about an online dating service, dive deeper into their site than just reading their "home," "how it works," and "menu of services" pages. Although these pages are important, and they often provide a summary of their matching methods, they don't reveal much about the true nature of the organization. To learn what really drives an online dating service, read their "about" and "management bios" pages. To dive even deeper, scan their "press," "career," and "affiliate" pages. These pages will give you hints about their "behind-the-scenes" business philosophies.

If a particular online dating service's website appearance, matching method, services, and philosophy align with your principles, tastes, and needs, then go for it! If they fall short, keep looking! If you're not sure, then give them a try by registering for their free offers.

Many online dating services offer the opportunity to look at your matches for free after you have registered and completed their matching questionnaire or profile. The catch is that you won't be able to communicate with any of the matches that interest you until you pay their membership fee. This is a great way to evaluate an online matchmaking service for several reasons. First, you get to see the criteria and methods they use for matching you with your perfect partner. Secondly, you get to see how successful their system performs by evaluating the resulting matches. Thirdly, you get to see if you are comfortable with the functionality (user-friendliness) of their system. If you've never used an online dating service or you've had poor results in the pass, I recommend that you do take advantage of these free offers.

What's the Surest Way to Find the Best Online Dating Services?

This method requires that you organize this project a bit. The four (4) steps shown below will help to do this to whatever degree you wish.

Step 1: Get yourself motivated! Visualize how your life would be right now (present tense) if you were sharing it with the love of your life! Imagine how you would feel. Picture every detail. Visualize your perfect partner's appearance, your interactions, and the activities you would do together - including the intimate ones. Now consider the fact that there has never been a better time to connect with a highly compatible partner than RIGHT NOW! (That statement will never become outdated because matching technology will only improve with time.) Finally, think about what compatibility means to you. It might help if you think about what incompatibility means to you as well.

Step 2: Quickly evaluate several online dating services based solely on the appearance (and headlines) of their website. In other words, do it based on your first impression. First impressions are powerful because they are created using the vast storage of information in our subconscious mind. Our subconscious mind reflects our true essence because it contains a record on every moment of our lives. This is where our intuition comes from.

Make notes as you visit various online dating services using some kind of scoring system like A, B, C... or 1-10. Then pick out the top three (3) based on whatever scoring method you used. I am suggesting three (3) because it has been found that this is the ideal minimum number of proposals (or estimates) needed to make a solid decision on a new product or service. I like to call it "The Rule of Three."

Step 3: Sign up to use as many of the free offers as you can with the three (3) online dating services you selected. This will be particularly valuable with those online dating services that allow you to complete their matching questionnaire or profile. This instrument is the key to producing matches that align with your needs, values, and aspirations. For example, if a matching questionnaire (or profile) instrument does not include criteria about appearance, occupation, or religion, and these issues are important to you, then that service probably would not be a good match for you.

If an online dating service has a small number matching criteria and you want to get the most precise match possible, then you should look for a service that has an extensive number of criteria.

If you are looking for an online dating service that uses sophisticated scientific methods in their matching, I suggest that you look for information about this on their site and carefully examine their matching questionnaire (or profile).

Make notes on the strengths and weaknesses of each of the three (3) online dating services you picked as you go along. Create a list of key issues that are important to you and score them as you proceed. These issues might include the matching method, ease-of-use, member services, and cost. I don't know about you, but if I don't keep notes while I am evaluating several unfamiliar service providers, I usually get mixed up at the end.

Step 4: Based on your evaluation and, most importantly, your intuition (or gut feelings) make a decision, become a member, and then give it a 100% effort! Don't be in a hurry though! You'll get much higher quality matches if you carefully work through each step of the process. This is particularly true when it comes to filling out the matching questionnaire or profile. Everything that follows depends on what you put in this questionnaire (or profile). And anything less than total honesty is a waste of your time!

Finally, keep your thoughts on your target and your reasons for using an online dating service.

I don't want to give you the impression that this needs to be an elaborate scientific process, but it should be something that you put your full efforts into. The rewards and costs are too high to do anything less. Like everything else in life, you get want you put into it and what you expect, desire, and think about on the deepest levels. This is a bit heavy, but so is being in love. And so is divorce!

It is my hope that you find an online dating service that connects you with the love of your life!

Brad Paul
Solotopia.com

Copyright © Brad Paul

To learn more about intuition, read my article on the Solotopia website entitled, "Intuition - How to Access, Recognize, & Trust It."

To see the original article with graphics & links at Solotopia.com, click: http://www.solotopia.com/online-dating-services.html

To see a list of all articles by category at Solotopia.com, click: http://www.solotopia.com/dating-articles.html

Brad Paul is the founder of Solotopia.com, which provides FREE resources for being single successfully whether a person chooses to remain unattached, just date, or find a perfect partner.

Brad began learning about the needs of singles as he built and led a unique, highly successful non-profit singles organization. He refined his knowledge about singles as he researched and wrote books on finding a perfect partner and couple's communication. Before changing careers, he headed a marketing group responsible for generating $400 million dollars in annual sales.

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Professional Online Dating Services Are Crucial For Meeting Your Match

Choosing the best online dating site is quite difficult. It is like looking for a needle in haystack. This is because not one online dating service could really make claim to the best online dating site. Choosing the best online dating site will depend on a number of factors and on the person casting the vote. Plus the fact that there are thousands of online dating services all over the net, it is definitely hard to compare them one by one.

Online dating services are traditional dating companies that have moved and expanded to the online service of providing dating services to the public via the internet. These online dating service providers allow for a database of potential relationships with like minded people to grow.

Professional online dating service is done via real time chat, emailing, profiling and telephone access dependant on the clients' choices. In order to access this service, the potential client must have access to the Internet via an Internet service provider, over the age of 18 and have registered with their chosen dating service provider.

Professional online dating service allows people to meet online. These services allow you to search thousands of singles and discover the best matches for yourself. Posting a profile on the dating sites is the best method of introduction. Profiling allows users to limit their search to include those matching the criteria that are absolutely vital in their future partner. Criteria such as location, age, etc. can be accurately limited. The schedules and geography are no limitations for professional online dating service.

Many professional online dating services provide the facility of limiting searches to a specific location. People have the advantage of having variety of ways to interact in professional online dating service. The various professional online dating service sites provide a wide range of services and features chat rooms. Some of the services also have advanced features like voice/video greeting. With features like these you stand a far better chance of finding that special someone than you would by placing a 5 line letter in newspaper personals or in the social parties.

The online dating offers unrestricted conversation with one person. Keep interested in several people and get to know them via email before committing to that first phone conversation, or first date. The relative cost of meeting someone online versus those of more conventional methods is numerous. Most of the professional online dating services provide free membership to begin with. In general, many professional online dating service sites will offer the following services for free after you sign-up:

1. Profile Posting including age, height, hair color, eye color, body type, hobbies, activities, etc.

2. Photo submission of up to four personal shots

3. Database Search of potential partners to meet

4. Instant Messaging to send/reply (depending on the site) to member messages

5. Event Invitations about singles events in your area where you can meet new people

Membership fees for professional online dating service sites vary and some sites are completely free. However, most professional online dating service sites offer basic services for free and then additional services for paid members.

Some free online dating services will let you instant message or post on a forum with your fellow daters. However, this is where free online dating services draw the line. If you want to avail of more benefits then you need to subscribe.

Dean Shainin is a successful Webmaster and publisher of Dating.MyWisdomBase.com For more articles, and valuable resources for getting effective dating tips and services, visit his site at: best dating services

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Choosing an Online Dating Service

The problem with choosing a dating service is choice -- too much of it! There are hundreds of services. To choose a dating service that's right for you, you need to be clear about what exactly you're looking for. As a newcomer to online dating, unfamiliar with all the options, you might be a little hazy on this front. Here's a rundown of the main areas in which dating services differ which will help you draw up a dating service wish list to compare sites to.

Relationship options

One of the most obvious things to think about when choosing a dating service is what kind of relationship(s) you're looking for.

Some services, including top dating sites like Yahoo! Personals (singles dating) and eHarmony (soulmates) focus on one type of relationship only. The advantage of choosing a dating service that's dedicated to a particular type of relationship is that everyone will be on exactly the same page as you are in terms of intentions.

If you're not clear what your intentions are, you might be better choosing a dating service where members can pursue different types of relationships within the same site. Again there's no shortage of choice. However, at some multi-relationship services it's not immediately clear who's looking for what and up to you to figure it out, using the search tools. If this sounds like trouble (and it can be), choose a service like Lavalife which has separate communities within the site for each type of relationship.

Members

Think about the type of person you want to meet. Are you open-minded, in which case a mainstream service will be fine, or do you have a lengthy list of "must haves" regarding your perfect match?

If you have set ideas about the type of person you'd like to meet, finding them in a mainstream service could be like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. (By "mainstream", I mean that members are as diverse as the general population.) Instead, consider choosing a relationship service that specializes in bringing people together who have something very specific in common -- religion, political beliefs, ethnicity, body size, certain lifestyles, you name it.

Simply run a search for "dating (or matchmaking, or marriage)" plus whatever you're looking for (vegetarian, republican, biker...) and it's almost certain you'll find a relationship service to match.

Matchmaking features

Dating sites have thousands if not millions of members so good search tools are important. However, it's still up to you search out your perfect match and not everyone has time for this. Luckily many dating services have matchmaking features (more sophisticated search tools) that will help you find "the one" quickly and easily.

Matchmaking features range from the very simple, based on profiles and/or basic wish lists, to the sophisticated, based on personality and other tests as well as more detailed profiles and wish lists. Unless you're unusually picky (or just very unusual), these one-click options will typically churn up a good selection of possible matches on a regular basis -- popular dating services attract many new members a day. You can usually opt to have these matchmaking searches run automatically on a regular basis and receive new match details by email -- another time-saver.

At some services, matchmaking features are part of a complete matchmaking service where the selection process is much stricter, usually because they're geared towards serious relationships. Typically you'll receive just a handful of potential partners over a length of time. For example, eHarmony (designed to help people into marriage) advises clients not to expect more than one or two matches a month. To accept this level of matchmaking you have to be happy with the idea of letting the "experts" have the final say about who's right for you and who's not.

Tests

Online dating services are about much more than dating. They're also an opportunity to gain some valuable insights into yourself and the type of person you're looking to meet which could help improve your love life, online and off. If this appeals to you, choose a dating service with personality and other tests for members to take.

For the most part, larger, well established online dating services have the most insightful and detailed personality tests because they have more resources to put into their design. Almost all personality tests are free to take and at many sites matchmaking tools draw on the results to find members who are compatible with each other. So, by taking several tests and judging the results, you'll get a good idea of which site is going to do the best job of helping you find your perfect match. After all, if the results are a true reflection of what you're like, they'll be a true reflection of potential matches too.

Communications

There are two levels of communication to consider when choosing a dating service -- what you get for free and what you get as a paying member. On both fronts, some services offer a lot more than others.

Free communications matter because they let you get to know someone, or at least that the interest is mutual, before you spring for a subscription. (A subscription will let you communicate as much as you like.) At most services, free communications are limited to flirty icons and preset messages that members send to each other, but search around. Some services are much more generous than others.

Once you subscribe, the norm for communicating is by on-site email and instant messaging. Many of the top dating services, Yahoo! Personals included, have stuck with this simple set up and show no sign of changing any time soon. Others, like Match.com, are continuously adopting new technologies to offer members more communications options. Typically you'll pay more so think about whether or not you really need to to be able to access their services anytime, anywhere.

Entertainment

Think about what sort of experience you'd like to have with online dating services. Do you intend to focus on finding your perfect match or would you like to enjoy other activities as well? Many services offer entertainment features including light-hearted quizzes and polls, contests, articles and newsletters, as well as chat rooms and the option to sign up to meet new friends as well as dates.

Offline activities

If the idea of meeting someone online then having to meet them face-to-face at some stage is a little intimidating, look for a dating service that helps members meet and mingle, casually and as part of a group, offline too. Though some dating services go as far as offering singles holidays, offline activities usually involve meeting for concerts, shows and other events in your area or elsewhere.

You can get that all-important "feel" for someone in relaxed atmosphere with plenty of food for conversation and make as much or as little of the occasion as you like. If you haven't met someone yet, offline activities are an opportunity to meet someone you might like to continue chatting with online, with the advantage that you've already met.

International dating

If you're away from your native country, would like to chat in your native language or are planning to relocate or travel to a different country, some of the more established and successful online dating services have extended their services into countries other than the US. For example, Yahoo! Personals has a new Canadian service while Match.com is live in 27 different countries.

Cost & Payment Options

Most online dating services charge about the same for a subscription -- between $20 and $25 a month -- so cost isn't going to be much of a deciding factor when choosing a dating service. Instead, look for value -- services might charge about the same but there are big differences in what you get for your money. Also, check out payment options. Several dating services accept money orders and checks as well as the usual credit cards.

Find out what discounts will be available if you sign up for several months at once, and if any special offers are available. Finally on this one, look for free trials and try out all the extra subscriber features before committing to a subscription.

More resources to help you choose a dating service

When you've drawn up a checklist of what you'd like in a dating service (and hopefully this article has helped) choosing a dating service will be a lot easier. You can compare your checklist to dating service reviews and, for more specific details, explore FAQs, help pages and "take a tour" options (all good dating services have these). And don't forget, signing up is free and you can usually explore sites without having to post a profile first. Most of all, though it's important to choose a dating service that's right for you, one you'll enjoy using and are mostly like to have success with, choosing a dating service should be fun. If one dating service doesn't work out for you, move on and choose another!

For more online dating tips and advice, visit http://DatingMuse.com.

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