The top rated online dating sites consist of websites that are popular, well-liked, full-featured and unique. Let's start with the juggernauts of online dating. Yahoo Personals and AOL Personals benefit from their popular names. Let's face it, even if their service was awful they would still have millions of members. Yahoo and AOL are actually fairly good in quality, even though they do fall short of some of the fantastic features of other popular sites. What are some other top rated best dating sites?

Let's next consider some of the most popular websites that have stumbled upon greatness. These sites might include dating hangouts like Zoosk.com (which benefited from easy Face Book integration) as well as AmericanSingles.com, PlentyofFish.com, FriendFinder.com, Date.com and LavaLife.com. These websites, while offering standard features, really don't have anything that elevates them above the competition. Yet, some of them are insanely popular in terms of total memberships and web traffic. What makes these companies the top rated online dating sites? Well-executed marketing for one, as well as graphics, clean and simple web presentations, and of course, general popularity.

Websites can also become top rated online dating sites if they focus on region. Cupid of the UK, Lava Life of Canada and Indian Friend Finder are good examples of regional dating sites that have found mainstream success. Some top rated online dating sites benefit from a unique idea as well as attentive and personalized interaction with the customer. Chemistry.com, PerfectMatch.com, Great Expectations and Matchmaker all use personality tests (some of which are created by psychologists) to match people together. E-Harmony is possibly the standout here, as it has actually created a patented system of scientific matchmaking. True.com is a popular site because it is so obsessive about identity verification, going so far as to threaten married people or ex-felons who would dare apply.

Where does this leave you, the single person just now getting into the idea of online interaction? Oh yes get ready for cyber dating, cyber conversation, cyber looks and glances, cyber expressions of love and maybe even cyber sex. Why don't you know, there are even cyber weddings and cyber divorces!

Seriously, don't put much stock in top "rated" online dating sites, as in traffic or popularity. The best bet is to choose a site that has the features that you most appreciate. You don't need to browse through millions of online members. You don't need to sample every service on the net. All you need is one perfect match!