What are key success factors of dating sites like Match.com , eharmony? IMHO, while the technical/ user friendliness of the site is important I would think the marketing/ promotion would make the difference. And that means that big sites like Match.com (which has 15 million members) would have to spend $$ millions.
For dating sites - by far, the number of users....whoever has the most users is the most demanded. Nobody wants a dating site that only has 10 people on it.
Agreed, it starts with the amount of users registered to a site. Actually, it's the size of the Active member base that matters most. So... marketing dollars to get that member base, followed by great features and user friendliness/layout to retain those users.
Its all about the users...paid or not. I used to work in that business. All they care about is sign-ups.
Large user base, frequent new sign ups, able to upload good quality photos, easily contact other members.
Good luck in this niche. Ran a dating site for over 3 years. Dumped major $$$$ into the development, interface, promotion, marketing etc, and when I finally closed the doors on it, it had about 5,000 members. The niche is extremely competitive and when places like eHarmony, Match.com, PlentyOfFish ramp up their marketing campaigns, it buries the little guys that are trying to scrape a living.
Sorry to hear that - this is why I'm afraid to attempt to get into that market. However I think the best strategy is to go hyper-local instead of broad.
I think going even a step further - local niche - is where the small guy has a chance. For example: New York Single Parents Dating. This is just an example, obviously the local niche needs to be researched to determine if the market is large enough to make a profit.