Online dating can be a minefield of choice: Tiger photo or no tiger photo, group shot with friends or solo selfie?
Fear not doting daters as a team of love scientists (read: marketing gurus) have completed a large scale study to give you a few tips on what will up your desirability.
The study found that using certain words on your dating profile could double the amount of communication you receive.
The words that affect your desirability care different for men and women although both sexes are said to respond well to the label ‘perceptive’.
The data itself may not be that ‘perceptive’ as it only frames the study in a heterosexual context.
It would seem as though women are most attracted to men who described themselves as ‘physically fit’ while men are most keen on women who say they’re ‘ambitious’.
The study was released by dating juggernaut eHarmony and lists which terms were used in order of positive response.
Top 10 words used by men.
- Physically fit (+96%)
- Perceptive (+51%)
- Spontaneous (+45%)
- Outgoing (+44%)
- Optimistic (+39%)
- Intelligent (+35%)
- Passionate (+32%)
- Affectionate (+29%)
- Articulate (+24%)
- Ambitious (+23%)
Top 10 words used by women.
- Ambitious (+48%)
- Perceptive (+46%)
- Sweet (+33%)
- Hard working (+32%)
- Thoughtful (+28%)
- Physically fit (+21%)
- Creative (+19%)
- Rationale (+19%)
- Spontaneous (+19%)
- Energetic (+18%)
The results come two years after a similar study was released in 2014 that offered a table of slightly different results.
Two years ago the most attractive term a woman could use to describe herself was 'sweet'.
The most attractive term for men remained "physically fit" but in an unusual twist, the term "ambitious" that was ranked at second in 2014 has dropped to 10th today.
Sometimes those famous last words are memorable for all the wrong reasons... Post continues after video.
There were also a variety of 'new entries' to the top ten word lists for male and female daters.
New entries to the 'top 10' for male profiles were 'articulate' and 'intelligent' while women saw 'rational', 'creative', 'energetic' and 'perceptive' appearing for the first time.
EHarmony spokesperson Jemima Wade spoke to the Daily Mail in 2014 to explain how the results revealed only a small portion of a couples' overall compatibility.
"While the research shows certain words serve to grab fellow daters’ attention, at eHarmony we know that daters are looking for quality dates every time. And that takes more than just a few words; it’s about finding someone with the same values, who instantly gets you," Wade said.
The study drew its research from more than 12,000 dating profiles to follow changes in what people look for in a potential partner.
But remember: Just because somebody describes themselves as 'physically fit' and 'ambitious' doesn't mean they are.