3 Reasons Your Online Dating Profile Isn't Getting Any Love

There's no longer a stigma to finding love online. So why isn't it working?

ByABC News
April 16, 2015, 1:46 PM

— -- A few years ago, if you met your date on the Internet, you may have hid it from your friends and family.

Today, it's practically the norm.

And it seems to be working. According to a recent Pew survey, the number of Americans who say they met their current partner online has doubled in the last eight years.

Even with these statistics, finding true love online can feel more difficult than winning the lottery, and sometimes feel very superficial; swipe right if you like, swipe left if you don’t.

“Your profile photo is really important," said Kelly Steckelberg, the Chief Executive Officer of Zoosk and one of the only female CEO's of a major dating company, told ABC News.

"Having a gallery of photos makes a big difference and we’ve seen that users that have a full body profile shot somewhere in their gallery get 200 percent more responses to their messages,” Steckelberg added.

One of the major criticisms of online dating is people don't always look the same in pictures as they do in person.

To tackle this problem, Zoosk launched a new feature called photo verification.

How does it work? You uploaded a short video of yourself to your page and other users can verify if your profile photo really looks like you in the video.

"Our members that verify their photos get 20 percent greater inbound messages," explained Steckelberg.

But it’s not all about looks: What’s equality important is transparency.

“When you are honest you can have a very favorable response rate,” Steckelberg agreed.

You could be the best looking person online, but if you start lying about a recent divorce or how many children you have, you are paving the way for failure in the future. This rule should apply no matter where you meet your next potential mate, but fear that your not good enough sometimes forces your hand to fabricate who you really are online.If you are looking for lasting love, this person is going to love being with you no matter what exists in your past.

Another tip to attract your soul mate, rather than a one time date, build a rapport online before meeting in person.

“We also encourage our users just spend a little time chatting online before they meet up in person,” said Steckelberg.

Here are three simple mistakes that could be preventing “The One” from clicking on your profile:

1. Use Spell Check

Sounds simple right? Steckelberg says, “Take a quick moment and proof read your profile and your messages. A typo can really decrease your attractiveness to certain people.”

2. Delete the Emoticons!

According to Zoosk data, there is a 60 percent decrease in response rate when those little smiley faces are in your profile.

3. Ditch Your Pet and Your Ex!

It's acceptable to post a photo of your pet in your gallery, but your profile photo should only showcase the best photo of you. That means no cats, no dogs, no birds and especially no ex-boyfriends, according to Steckelberg.

“When it has other people in it, or your pets, it really decreases the response rates that you get,” said Steckelberg.