If you are serious about finding the best partner you possibly can or dating as much as you possibly can than online dating is definitely a tool you should use(alongside the old fashion way) and like any tool there are best ways to use it.
First you should research two good sites.
One that you have to pay for and one that is free.
You should not find it difficult to work out which sites are the best by using Google.
I use RSVP in Australia as my paid site and Plenty of fish as my free site.
Free sites are great for saving money but you should be aware that it is more difficult to win over your prospective match.
I am fairly certain that this has to do with the amount of men (competition) that use free sites and the amount jerks that lie and write sleazy messages making us all look bad (at least to the nice girls).
Paid sites seem to have better odds and you don't have to actually pay until a girl reciprocates your interest.
You basically cyber poke them and they poke you back if they are interested which gives you the go ahead to pay to contact them.
Be aware however that even if you get the go ahead they still sometimes may not reply to your messages, especially the young and attractive ones.
This is usually for two main reasons.
One she might just be looking for attention and two she is playing games and wants to see how hard you will chase her and how you will go about it.
After you sign up you have to create a profile.
In real life a guy can use his personality to full advantage with women but online your looks matter more (initially) than they would in real life.
To this end you have to optimise your profile pic.
It should not be taken by yourself (or at least not look like it).
It should be taken while you are out and about doing something active or scenic and it should be at a good angle with good lighting while you are wearing good clothes and are smiling.
It might seem like allot but if you have a pic like this or can organise to get one taken then it will help you allot.
If you are in good shape then showing that off is a good thing too.
But don't BE a show off and pose.
Some types of girls will go for this but those same girls will still go for a tasteful pic plus so many more.
Once your pic is taken care of you have to add content to your profile.
You can do a cliche or boring one liner in your info and some women who like your pic will still talk to you but if you put a little effort into it then those same women will still go for you plus the ones who wouldn't.
There are many things that you should and shouldn't do in your profile but here are the main ones.
* Two paragraphs max! Allot of women get allot of contacts and they mostly wont be inclined to read an essay unless they start to like you.
But by that point you are already talking to them anyways so you can just write them an email.
* First line should be something interesting.
If you want them to read the two paragraphs then open with something entertaining or witty.
* Nothing negative and nothing about your ex.
Keep everything in your profile positive.
Write about the good things about yourself or if you have a good sense of humour then just experiment until you write a profile that you think looks pretty good.
* If you are a bit geeky or a bit nerdy(like me) leave it out in the main.
It doesn't really help at all even though it is awesome:) I went through a trying to get a geek girlfriend stage.
I found and got three attractive younger geek girls on dates.
The one that loved my favorite sci-fi strung me on for months to no end.
The Trekkie(I kid you not) just wanted to be friends and the World of Warcraft addict just wanted to use me for sex as she was having a break from her boyfriend...
I found out later: (Non geek girls I have much better luck with which I think is because I have no incentive to let my geek side out around them.
Point, don't let your geek side out if you an help it.
* You shouldn't lie but you can embellish.
Your life is going good...
your life is going great! You have a good sense of humour...
you have a great sense of humour! Stuff like that.
Since this article is for a university course I am doing and the lecturer wanted 300 words and I am up to 900 I will stop now.
The other part of my assignment is on a website(in the initial stages of construction) which you are welcome to visit for more free tips on online dating and dating in general.
In time I will have advice available on ways to go about contacting women and what to expect, emailing women and instant messaging women.
I hope this article has been informative and I wish you the best of luck should you delve into the online dating game.