Many of the well established online dating websites like Yahoo Personals, Match and eHarmony are starting to see a decline or a change in their membership numbers. While many online dating websites have made every effort to build a database with hundreds of thousands of profiles, they have forgotten one very simple rule. Bigger is not necessarily always better.

The real growth in the online dating industry, in terms of membership numbers, appears to be coming from the smaller niche dating sites. More and more websites are beginning to cater to people with specific interests and needs.

Single golfers can go to one of the bigger name sites and sift through thousand and thousands of profiles looking for someone in their area who likes to play golf. Alternatively, single golfers can go a dating website with a specific interest like golf and quickly find people they have something in common with.

The problem with many of the newer niche dating websites is the lack of a track record in the online dating world. The barriers to entry are very low when starting an online dating website and as a result, this is bound to attract some companies or individuals who are not very reputable.

If you are considering joining a newer niche dating website, you should always exercise caution. New online companies have to be t

ested and proven just like their bricks and mortar cousins.

To help determine if a niche dating website is legitimate, one very simple and effective test you should do is to look for the companies contact information, which should be clearly posted.

Red flags should go up if a niche dating website does not have their contact information clearly posted on the site. If you can't find a street address or a contact phone number, chances are you will probably not find them if a suspicious charge appears on your credit card.

If the only way to contact an online dating website is through email, you maybe well served to take your business elsewhere.

Common sense suggests this is probably a good idea for any online business you are considering purchasing something from.

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