Question of the day – What will happen to the indicated recession-based growth the online dating industry is currently experiencing when Team Obama and the US collectively gets ourselves back on track? Will it continue, decline or something else?
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I think the recession is starting to affect the dating industry. I suspect most dating sites growth has flat lined and none are experiencing the major growth we saw in Nov, Dec, and early Jan.
First we had the recession driving growth in the online dating industry for three whole months and now its eating away at that very growth, interesting.
How are the affiliate links on your site converting these days? One would think that your revenue would drop in tandem with dating sites.
some of the earlier press releases touting incredible growth were for the most part just spin, so let’s take them with a grain of salt. sure, one can show increased revenues by spending more marketing dollars (or in the case of WLD, signing up more Publishers), but generally speaking i guarantee you that most in the dating industry are experiencing lower conversion rates and shorter membership life cycles.
until the economy shows signs of life and consumer confidence goes up, flat is the new up…that said, if the economy continues to deteriorate, most sites will see lower revenues.
when it’s all said and done, there will be a shake out where the leanest, best run companies will not only survive, but thrive as the economy begins to grow. cash is king, and if you are a 2nd/3rd tier dating co., hang on to your moola.
disclaimer: i dusted off my old crystal ball and as a result, my predictions are rusty and may be way off =)
I agree with you for the most part. In terms of holding onto cash, and this is a bit of a pitch, doing an overhaul of tier two sites to increase conversions is a worth considering.
How many dating sites have high bounce rates because the home page is ill-designed and the conversion process makes it easy for people to drop out.
Finally, how many sites have lackluster home pages which in no way differentiate them from the competition?