Definitely, advertising and marketing is always the key. Bring in the girls and the guys would follow. You probably need a good critical mass of members as members attract members in this game. Try adding your site in local media, if you can, offer affiliate market programs and see if you can land with an interview with a local press or international magazine.
The market is completely saturated for the niche...how are you differentiating yourself from the competition?
yeah, dating websites are a dime dozen. Pick a certain section / niche that you can focus on. Also, as mentioned, critical mass and content of website.
articles, lots and lots of useful articles all about the different aspects of dating. The more articles you have the more traffic. Thanks Sean
I think articles are the way to go, too. Not only will it help with the search engines, but people who come to the site will see that it is a viable place to be. You know, you have taken the time to offer informative content.