Online Dating is Recession Proof

It would seem that despite being in the grip of a recession, nobody wants to give up the simple pleasures in life. As a result, one industry, which is not only thriving but also continuing to grow through the credit crunch is online dating. One prime example of this is the MakeFriendsOnline group of web properties whose expansion has continued unimpeded in recent months.

Following the runaway success of Smooch.com, launched as the recession took hold and now securely placed in the Hitwise Top Ten, Makefriendsonline adapted it's winning formula to develop ManCentral.com in what would appear to be an even riskier market. The immediate and soaring popularity of the groups latest project is more than illustrated by their continued traffic growth since January 2008.

Mancentral has reached operating profit within an unparalleled six months of launch and, with success in the pay-dating, free-dating and gay markets; the only question is which niche the company will target next.

So, what is the MFO formula for success? The sites are completely different in design and facilities, but they are all built upon the basic MakeFriendsOnline engine, which has served the company's flagship site for almost a decade.

CEO Martin Bysh explained

“building a dating website is easy, which is why there are millions of them. The key is in understanding the differences in each market and adapting the software, support and marketing accordingly. Before releasing a product or even making the decision to enter a particular market, we research the niche and adapt our software to meet the differing needs and expectations of the end users. MakeFriendsOnline, Smooch and ManCentral all have the same starting point but the end products are very different. Our highly adaptable software makes it easy for us to build comprehensively differentiated sites with all the benefits of white labelling but none of the 'one size fits all' downside.”

Make Friends Online | Smooch | Man Central