If you're interested in entering the ranks of the online dater, here are some important dating tips to keep in mind and rules to follow.

#1: Find the right online dating website for you

There are general online dating services that provide you with the ability to view everyone who has posted a profile and are aimed at people looking to find a date. There are also relationship services that match you with others based on compatibility testing or some other algorithm and are for people more serious about a long term relationship or marriage.

Another type of site where you can find a date is a social network service or social media site. These are free sites that allow you to build your network of friends, find new friends, and potentially find someone new to date in the process such as My Space or Facebook. For people who have strict requirements for finding a match, there are more specialized niche dating services aimed at bringing together people who share a specific common trait such as seniors, vegetarians, Christians, animal lovers, health fanatics, or many other special characteristics.

Many online dating sites cater to multiple types of people and some serve only certain niches. Finding the best dating site for you will take some investigation and a little trial and error. It's easy to get started with online dating sites and usually only takes a little time to build a profile and start looking for a match. You can also belong to several different sites at the same time and narrow down which sites you like best or find the most useful later on down the road.

#2: Make your profile shine

Avoid creating a generic profile. Instead build a profile that is interesting and will entice others to want to contact you. Be truthful most of all and don't fib or fudge anything. You want to find a match or a date with someone who likes the real you, not the online version of you. Use a real photo, play up the positives about yourself and by all means use a good profile photo or have a good one taken. Also don't be negative or nobody will ever want to contact you. In short, make the experience of online dating and your profile fun and inviting and try to be creative with what you put into it. Let your personality shine.

#3: Use safe online dating practices

It's easy to get carried away and give out too much information out about yourself to every single person who contacts you through an online dating website. Make no mistake, it's good to put as much information as possible into your online profile but you have to use some precautions when allowing others access to that information in order to protect yourself.

Choose a dating site that has clear safety measures and practices outlined right on their home page. Also double check to make sure that they mask your true identity on your profile to singles that are searching through them. You should also only use a site that promises not to share your information with third party marketers. A good site will only allow others to view your information with your express permission.

Other considerations

There are a few other general tips and guidelines to follow when finding a date online:

1) Be polite and respectful of others - Politely decline requests that you don't feel are good matches for you. Remember that it might be you on the other end of that email or chat at some point, so you should treat other s the same way that you want to be treated.

2) Communicate clearly and effectively - In your emails, chats, or IMs, speak from the heart but don't be too scary, creepy, or desperate sounding. If you're genuine people will pick up on that.

3) Be truthful - This was mentioned before but cannot be stressed enough. No relationship that is worthwhile ever started out with lies or mis-truths.

4) Find people who are most like you - Read the profiles and put some thought into your searches to find someone that you are really matched with, not someone you want to be matched with that doesn't really share your same interests, goals, dreams, and lifestyle.

5) Avoid married people - Despite the best efforts of some sites, there are still some unscrupulous people out there, so watch yourself.

Most of all, give the people you meet online a chance and also give online dating services a fair chance to find you a match. It may take some time, but isn't it worth a little bit of time and effort to find your one true soul mate?