They also bought a social network in China.
Looks like Match.com bought the largest free dating site in europe, and probably #2 in the world with 3 million members. netclub.com 3rd place in france, 6th in Canada.
Paid dating is dead and many of the major players are looking to reinvent themselves. Latin america and china will be the first markets to be solely free in my opinion. There is a lot going on behind the scenes in the industry, and this is just one of many little things before the storm. Lavalife has recently bought a Advertising network, and a large mobile company. Aquisitions are coming fast and hard here.
The last few years has been about user generated content, and online dating by another name ie social networks. 2008 is the year that users start coming back to free dating sites and paid dating declines even faster then it has been.
February 27, 2007 at 10:39 am |
Hmm….biggest free dating site in Europe? 4 million members?? I don’t think so….so you hate Alexa, but even so, at 22,000 this site is full of dead profiles, I estimate about 200,000 active users in total, which no doubt match will try to convert into paid profiles. I would expect them to sue this site as a feeder, and no doubt socialnetworkicize it (new word?) to get the address biook spam booster in place.
February 27, 2007 at 11:36 am |
There is something called QQ which is used by most of online users in China.
That IM platform got everything, e.g. IM, Blog, Personal Home page, games etc. The IM created a good ambient of conversation or love factors. A couple of my friends found thier wives by that IM community. QQ’s social networking platform dominant China. I have seen and I am in. And People need to pay money to buy some cool features in those services.
February 27, 2007 at 5:24 pm |
Alexa is useless outside of english speaking world. Also they are huge in mobile last I heard. Comscore and nielson definately rank them high, and they were owned by the trader network. That is an absolutely massive company.
February 28, 2007 at 4:44 am |
Marcus, as I said over at OPW:
So, Match.com’s revenue was up 25% in 2006 over 2005 to $311,000,000, yet Marcus is convinced paid dating is dead or dying?
Would someone please tell Match’s subscribers this? Because, apparently, they are unaware;-)
February 28, 2007 at 5:17 am |
Hey Markus… would you like to buy my web site?
I’ll sell it if you want it…
February 28, 2007 at 6:42 am |
Hiking prices and claiming growth can’t last forever. 20% decline in traffic in one year is a big deal. Most of matches growth in subscribers comes from europe.
You will also note that match.com is publically stating they are losing subscribers to myspace and others.
February 28, 2007 at 2:36 pm |
A 25% increase in revenue and a whopping $311,000,000 is hardly peanuts, my friend, nor an indication of a company in dire straits. What – this year it’ll only be an increase to $345,000,000?;-)
February 28, 2007 at 9:15 pm |
They aquired two sites: eBobob (china) and NetClub (EU). NetClub does not appear to be free….they’re just using the same deceptive copy every paid site uses these days such as “sign up for free” … but they also say “try for free”.
February 28, 2007 at 9:31 pm |
looks like they converted netclub already. Match sure works fast.
March 12, 2007 at 11:37 pm |
women looking for men 32 to 42 years old
March 12, 2007 at 11:38 pm |
women looking for men 32 to 42 years old for fun and friendship
March 13, 2007 at 11:27 am |
GOOD MORNING SIR,
My name is Suzan,i am 27 yrs female, i am single looking for the love of my life and it was very great when i got your site and i felt interested in your site despite that i am not a regester member for now but the site realy gave a nice pleasure to communicate with people i am sure that you will make me a regester member please mail me suzan_oc@yahoo.com for easiest communication. i will be sending you my pictures for you to see how i look like as soon as i hear from you via the given email address.
i am looking forward to hearing from you real soon
yours Suzan with hugsssssssssss
suzan_oc@yahoo.com
March 28, 2007 at 9:36 pm |
I have to agree with Markus. Free is the only way to go….it is not expensive to host a web site these days and with advertising options such as Google and Yahoo’s advertising programs along with any advertising you may pick up on your own you can make a nice income from your site. We run ezdate123 on a small budget with a pay as you go business plan. We have been growing steadly each month except for a small mistake that was made by our programmer at the time which caused us to be booted off Google. ( which we quickly fixed). I do believe that more and more singles will migrate to the free dating sites over time. The bottom line is no matter if you pay or use a free site you still have to put forth the effort to contact other members to be successful with dating…So why not save your hard earned cash and sign up with a good quality free site and have some fun…..its not rocket science, it just takes a little elbow grease and patience…. I wish the best to all the singles and hope to see you at ezdate123…….Michael
April 8, 2007 at 5:07 pm |
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October 16, 2007 at 2:07 pm |
AM MICHEAL 20Y OF AGE , AM SINGLE AND I NEED LOVE NOW SO PLEASE MAIL ME BACK
October 16, 2007 at 2:10 pm |
AM MICHEAL 20Y OF AGE , AM SINGLE AND I NEED LOVE NOW SO PLEASE MAIL ME BACK . MY ID IS T_JEY1@YAHOO.COM
November 1, 2007 at 4:22 am |
Match is a great site you gotta believe it
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June 9, 2008 at 8:30 am |
All this talk of free sites vs. paid, I’d have to say I disagree with Marcus about paid sites being the way of the past – business is about the bottom line, right? I’m not sure what your making these days Marcus (I know at one point you were on radio saying 10K a day), even its double that now, how can you compare that to 300 Mil plus for match.com, not to mention all the others (like AFF for example), in terms of a business model you only need a tiny percentage of the members on a paid site to equal the $’s you would pick up on a free site (even one as good as plenty etc) – besides having members pay can act as a filter against those that arent serious about connecting, if Marcus takes advice he should try converting his members to paid members, he’d probably end up better off, would like to know what everyone thinks
July 5, 2008 at 10:58 pm |
adultdate365…
I have too many favorites. I can’ t pick one all time favorite. As a child I kept rechecking out the different colors of fairy books- “ The Red Fairy” book etc. As an adult my favorites are even harder to pick. “ Good Omens” by Neil Gaiman an…
July 6, 2008 at 3:02 am |
I have too many favorites. I can’ t pick one all time favorite. As a child I kept rechecking out the different colors of fairy books- “ The Red Fairy” book etc. As an adult my favorites are even harder to pick. “ Good Omens” by Neil Gaiman and Terry…
July 11, 2008 at 11:39 pm |
Hello
my name is richard rolly i have been looking for a girl that will love me with are heart.
If i found the girl who will love me and care about me i promise i will love her
till enternity, with true.
You can reach me with this e-mail address if you are intersted in knowing me better.
vikkyrichard@yahoo.com
July 15, 2008 at 10:48 am |
hello i like to meet a man of 35 to 45 tht will be trust and good in bed and working class for my purpose
July 15, 2008 at 10:53 am |
yep meet me at tht messager 4 more introduction
July 23, 2008 at 10:25 am |
All i want his to get a partner hee
July 23, 2008 at 10:26 am |
SARAHGILBERT08@yahoo.com
July 28, 2008 at 1:19 pm |
Free dating is like more easy, but paid dating prevents scammers… So my choice will be paid dating..
July 28, 2008 at 11:06 pm |
hello,
my name is george brown i’m 43 yrs old
i’m good looking and loving guy i’m a marine engineer
who want to have any real woman like you for marriage
ilove swiming,watching movie,singing and dancing
too god knows that i’m a faithful guy i’ll always
pray that one day i can have a faithful and romantic lover
like you i am 5′7ft. tall fair in conflexion have black hair
-and eyes i’ll wait for your mail.have a greatday and god bless
you always you can contact me on*george_brown0000@yahoo.com
CHEERS
George
August 9, 2008 at 4:42 am |
Well, I agree with Markus. I believe most people want to spend the least amount as possible. My site is a niche site for the automotive world. I hardly have any members but I know in time that will change. My main focus will be to focus on what the users want and not how much money I can get out of their pockets.
Wealth when seeked directly will never be achieved. It is a by product of a usful service…..
My money will be made from advertising on the site and special future features I have for the users who really want them.
Nobody can guess the success of one’s vision,but with alot of hard work and endless devotion. One can achieve anything.
Peace to ALL
August 11, 2008 at 6:37 am |
With the popularity of free social networking sites like MySpace and FaceBook, those paid online dating sites are bound to be on the decline.
August 11, 2008 at 12:36 pm |
wow good job!
August 11, 2008 at 8:01 pm |
Paid sites are sure better quality. I doubnt that they will fade away.
August 12, 2008 at 6:08 pm |
If you are looking for a free dating site try Plentyoffish! The Plentyoffish online dating service is completely free and filled with profiles of men and women from all over the United States, Canada and Australia. Members can post a profile, post pictures, send and receive messages. When you’re creating your profile, be sure to use some of the many icons available to spice things up and add some humor. You can also rate members from “great catch” to “fish again,” in keeping with the light-hearted mood of this site. Searching is very easy and flexible, allowing you to look for potential matches by age, gender, zip code, city, and state.
August 27, 2008 at 10:04 am |
Markus. Try not banning quite so many people (me) and you might get a better membership in the UK. Banning arbitrarily is your thang. Oh the power …………..NOT. Small man Markus. Small man……
August 28, 2008 at 5:48 am |
I wish it was my site that they bought :S good luck to them.
September 8, 2008 at 5:34 am |
hi am erica am looking for man who can take care of me
September 13, 2008 at 2:10 am |
There always be a room for specific niche paid sites.
September 13, 2008 at 8:07 am |
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November 14, 2008 at 9:45 am |
Do you want buy my dating service?
November 22, 2008 at 3:53 pm |
i need a man
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