Online dating sites have been on the rise since the invention of the Internet. And now in March of 2014, several popular review sites have given us a view of what’s popular and what’s not in the world of online dating.

For those still getting up to speed, online dating is a form of dating that allows users to create profiles with personal characteristics so that they can be matched, either by themselves or via an algorithm of some sort, with a person or multiple people who are compatible.

Many online dating services started as a simple match-making service, a way to pair individuals with any number of characteristics to others with similar characteristics. But in recent years, many niche online dating services have sprung up, with sites focused on a specific common factor that its clientele share.

An example includes Christian Mingle, which uses a common denominator such as religious background to help pair individuals.

So which dating sites are the most popular according to review sites which rate these dating sites according to popularity or other factors? Let’s go to the tape.

The two that consistently pop-up on any list of the top online dating sites are Match.com and eHarmony.com. Both are general sites and rely on secret (eHarmony) or not-so-secret (Match.com) algorithms for pairing individuals based on what characteristics they put in their profiles.

Relative new kid on the block Zoosk, which was founded in 2007, targets younger users aged 25 – 35 and averages 11 million unique visitor hits per month according to ebizmba.com. On the other end of the age spectrum, OurTime targets the baby boomer generation and averages nearly two million unique hits.

So what does this mean to you?

Whether you’re looking for a long-term relationship or a purely sexual hookup or are black, gay, Christian, or getting up there in years, there’s an online dating site for you, allowing you to meet the mate you want with some particular characteristics that you value.

Of course, there are hangups such as liar, deceivers, and people who generally mislead others online where it is easier to do than in person. But that will be for another article. Date away, readers!

Image via Wikimedia Commons