• by Gavin O'Malley , February 9, 2006

Match.com is expanding its franchise on Monday with a new site for singles who are willing to pay a premium for expert dating guidance. The new property, Chemistry.com--coupled with marketing efforts like the recent addition of advice from self-help guru Dr. Phil McGraw--signal an aggressive effort to seize market share from eHarmony and Yahoo Personals, said analysts.

The creation of Chemistry followed extensive market research last year by Match to identify potential markets for growth, according to company spokeswoman Kristin Kelly.

"The main thing that differentiated the different groups we identified--not age or where they lived--was their preferred approach to dating," said Kelly. "Match people are much more independent and comfortable on their own, while Chemistry people believe in the power of scientific assessments, and they want us to do the work for them."

The Chemistry service--which runs $49.99 per month compared to $29.99 for a month of Match.com--involves an in-depth personality assessment created by the biological anthropologist Helen Fisher. Chemistry.com also employs some unique methods like encouraging potential mates to meet early on to avoid wasting time, and the use of member feedback after first meetings to refine member's searches.

Yahoo's premium Personals Premier service is priced at $39.95 per month, while eHarmony goes for $49.95 per month.

Match.com does not plan on advertising the launch of Chemistry until the second or third quarter of this year, Kelly said, relying initially on word-of-mouth and strong media coverage. Indeed, Kelly said The New York Times' Sunday Style section will run a cover story on Chemistry.com this weekend. Additionally, existing Match.com subscribers will soon receive an offer to test Chemistry for free.

Match.com--a publicly held company--reported a 33 percent increase in revenues from the third quarter of 2004 to the third quarter of 2005, and 1.2 million paying subscribers as of October 2005.

What's more, Match appears to be thriving despite a decidedly mediocre online dating industry. The rate at which consumers are subscribing to dating services online is flat, according to a new Jupiter Research report--"Online Dating in 2006," which surveyed over 2,000 consumers online. The report also found that revenue growth is being driven by higher monthly rates rather than increased membership. (Match.com did not raise its rates in 2005, according to Kelly.)

"I'm extremely impressed with the research Match did--identifying opportunities in the market--and their plans to take market share from eHarmony," said Jupiter Analyst David Card. "I think they've [Match.com] gotten their act back together."

There is certainly potential for growth: There are 33 million U.S. adult singles online and open to pursuing a relationship, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and only five percent of consumers online currently pay for an online dating service--less than 6 percent last year, according to Jupiter.

Said Kelly of Match.com's broader strategy: "We're growing into a multi-branded company with different properties for the different groups of singles out there."

Jupiter previously projected that the online relationship industry would reach revenues of $526 million for 2005.

Match.com commissioned Clear Horizons Research to conduct a market segmentation study in March of last year. Approximately 20 percent of respondent fell into the Match.com segment, while approximately 17 percent fell into the Chemistry.com segment, according to Kelly.