In my years as an owner and operator of online dating websites, I have seen just about every kind of online dating profile you can imagine. From the obscenely vulgar to the sublime, from the deficient to the overwhelming, I’ve seen just about all of them. Where your online dating profile is concerned, close enough is by no means good enough.

To me, the worst profile is the one that lacks a photo or does not have an essay. I have seen so many profiles that say, “I’ll fill this out later,” or sometimes just “later.” When you write things like this in you online dating profile essay, you are telling every potential mate that looks at your profile that you really aren’t serious and don’t care whether you meet someone or not.

That brings me to the subject of this article, that is, the anatomy of the online dating profile.

The online dating profile generally consists of five parts:

• A headline (Many sites don’t include this part)
• A profile photo or photos
• Miscellaneous questions
• An essay
• Photo albums (some sites don’t include this part)

Let’s explore each of these important parts of the online dating profile one at a time.

The Online Dating Profile Headline

Your profile headline (if provided) is one of the first things that a potential mate will see when he or she visits your online dating profile. It is essential that you write a good headline that will grab attention. You may actually want to consider trying your online dating profile out on a different dating website, one which you have little interest in utilizing, prior to publishing what might be a terrible profile on your site of preference.

Your Profile Photo(s)

The importance of the online dating profile photo can not be overstated. I’m going to be very blunt: If you don’t post a photo on your online dating profile, you might as well just delete your profile and forget about online dating. You’re wasting your time.

Miscellaneous Questions

Most dating sites are going to include some miscellaneous questions that will help to add to your profile and tell other online daters what you are like. You should take the time to answer at least some of these questions. They’re usually in the form of check boxes or radio buttons and are easy to go through and answer.

The Online Dating Profile Essay

Although it is accurate that the photos on your online dating profile are worth a thousand words or open up a lot of possibilities, it’s the profile essay that will help you find the best match. The way you represent yourself with this essay will indicate to possible matches exactly how interesting a person you are.

Photo Albums

Some sites offer you the possibility of uploading several photos either in the form of additional profile photos or in photo albums. Either way, you should take advantage of that opportunity. Try to find good photos that show you involved in fun activities or with attractive friends. Avoid photos that show you using alcohol and partying.

You should view your online dating profile as a small book about you. If you were going to write a book about yourself, wouldn’t you want it to be an interesting read? Sure you would, so near enough is not good enough when it comes to your online dating profile.

With online dating you are much more likely to meet someone who wants the same things as you a lot quicker than with regular dating. Generally, the women and men on online dating sites are there simply because they really want to find somebody.

Your online dating profile is the way in which you promote yourself to the numerous people who find themselves out there on the web searching for love. The trouble is that there are so many dating profiles on the market today that it may often seem to be impossible to make yourself stand out.

One thing you can do to stand out in the crowd is to upload good online dating profile photos. Many people upload tiny, blurry photos or don’t upload photos at all, and you can take advantage of that by using quality photos for your online dating profile.

Studies have shown that an online dating profile will receive better responses if a photo is included. It is easy to obtain a very good photo using a high quality photographic camera, and the image must look like you.

Many people are making big changes on their online dating profile photos using photo editing software to try to make themselves look better. Sometimes these “touchups” are so obvious that it has the opposite effect. If your retouching is amateurish or overdone it’s pretty obvious to anyone who sees your photo. There really is no point in using a phony or retouched photo or being untruthful in your profile. The truth will come out on your first date and your first date will probably be your last date.

Nearly none of the dating services obligate you to put your photograph on your online dating profile, but virtually every dating site strongly recommends that you do include a photo. Online dating sites stress the importance of an online dating profile photo for good reason. The profile photo improves your likelihood of meeting singles by an estimated factor of at least 20.

Your online dating profile is really just like a snapshot of your everyday life and demonstrates to all of your potential online dating partners exactly what you are all about. Instead of selling goods or services, you are selling yourself to thousands of online dating personals members. Your photo is your best friend on an online dating profile, so it should be the best photo you have.