Match.com may be the most popular dating website in the world, but how will you know who might be the right person for you if you don’t get out there and look for them? Fortunately, the service has several different to find who you’re looking for or who you might be compatible with, based on profile information or information that you specify. Best of all, they’re all really simple to use.
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To start searching, go to www.match.com and log in (if you haven’t already). Move your mouse cursor over Search in the menu across the top, and then select one of the options from the drop-down menu (Go Search, Mutual Match, Reverse Match, and Community Search). Don’t worry; we’ll explain what each of these different types of searches are, and you can easily switch between each of them once you get to the “Search” page.
Types of Match.com Searches
Go Search
This is the most general type of search on Match. It’s the one that gives you the most control over who you’re looking for, but it’s also the one that involves the most amount of work to use effectively. We’ll start with this one, since a lot of what you see here will show up in other types of searches. We’ve singled out a few important areas of the screen with red numbers; the corresponding captions below the screenshot will explain what they do.
1. Search Type – Click one of the tabs here to switch to a different type of search.
2. Sort By – Click the box here to open a drop-down menu that lets you pick a certain way to sort your search results, including:
– Who Match has already picked out for you as matches vs. who it hasn’t picked
– When they last logged in (or if they’re logged in now)
– How long they’ve been using the service
– Their age (from youngest to oldest)
– How many photos they have on their account
– Their user name (i.e. an alphabetical list)
– How far away from you they live
– How many traits you each have that the other wants
– How many traits you have that they want
3. Availability Filters – Click on these check boxes to include or exclude people from your search based on:
– If they are logged inright now
– If they are available for instant messaging
– If they have one or more photographs on their profile
4. Search Profile Matches – Short (thumbnail) versions of people’s profiles that have matched your search criteria show up here. You can see, among other things:
– Their user name
– Their profile photo (if they have one)
– Their age
– Their location
– The last time they logged in(or if they’re logged in now)
– Whether they’re new to Match
– Whether they have any more photos in their account
– How compatible you are (i.e. how many traits each of you has that the other wants)
Click on the person’s photo, user name, or number of additional photos to go to their profile. You can also click Quick View to view a condensed version of their profile, or click Save to add them to a list of your favorite matches.
5. Basic Search Criteria – Click Edit here to change your basic search criteria. You can change, among other things:
– Your gender and the gender of matches that you’re looking for (drop-down menu)
– The minimum age of matches that you’re looking for (drop-down menu)
– The maximum age of matches that you’re looking for (drop-down menu)
– If your matches have to have photos or be logged in now (check boxes)
– How far away potential matches can be from a certain location (click-and-type text boxes)
OR
– A specific country/region/city that matches can be in (mostly drop-down menus)
You can also click Save Search to save your criteria or results for future reference. Click in the text box in the pop-up window that appears and type in a name for your search. You can also click the check box underneath to have Match send you a list of matches based on who you found with this search. Then click the “Save Search” button.
6. Advanced Search Criteria – Click one of these categories to open up a list of subcategories. Click a subcategory, and then click the check boxes next to the options within that subcategory to add them to your search. Repeat for as many criteria as you want to add, and then click Apply.
For example, if you want to search for matches that only have blonde or red hair, click the Appearance category, then click on the Hair Color subcategory, and then click the check boxes next to “Auburn/Red” and “Blonde”. Then click Apply.
You can also click the Keyword category, click the text box that appears, and type in a word that you’re looking to see in someone’s profile. Then click Apply.
7. User Name Search – If you know the user name of a specific person that you like, but you can’t find them in any of your search lists, click the text box here and type in their user name. Then click Search, which will take you right to their profile.
Mutual Match
A mutual match search finds and sorts people for you based on how many traits they have that you’re looking for, and how many traits you have that they’re looking for. You can see how closely you match in each person’s profile thumbnail (as highlighted in the screenshot below). You can also click the “Sort By…” box highlighted in the screenshot below to sort the list based on:
How many traits you each have that the other wants
When they were last logged in
How long they’ve been using Match
Their age (from youngest to oldest)
How many photos they have on their account
Their user name (i.e. an alphabetical list)
How far away from you they live
See AlsoThinking About Using Match.com?How many traits you have that they want
Reverse Match
A reverse match search finds and sorts people for you based solely on how many traits you have that they’re looking for. You can click the “Sort By…” box highlighted in the screenshot below to sort the list based on:
How many traits you have that they want
When they were last logged in
How long they’ve been using Match
Their age (from youngest to oldest)
How many photos they have on their account
Their user name (i.e. an alphabetical list)
How far away from you they live
How many traits you each have that the other wants
Community Search
This is a unique type of search that pairs you with people based on different brands or organizations that you both like. Let’s have a look at how it works. See the numbered captions below the screenshot for an explanation of what we’ve pointed out with our red numbers.
1. Search Types – Click on one of these tabs to switch to a different type of search.
2. Sort – You can sort your results by:
– How many traits you each have that the other wants
– When they were last logged in
– How long they’ve been using Match
– Their age (from youngest to oldest)
– How many photos they have on their account
– Their user name (i.e. an alphabetical list)
3. Availability Filters – Click each of the check boxes here to include or exclude certain people based on:
– If they are logged into Match.com right now
– If they are available for instant messaging
– If they have one or more photographs on their profile
4. Search Profile Matches – Here you can see some brief information about the profiles that matched your search, including their main profile photo (if they have one), user name, age, and location, as well as the last time they logged in and how compatible you are with them. You can also see the brands and organizations that they are interested in along the bottom of their profile thumbnail.
Click on their user name or photo to open more detailed information about their profile, or click Save to add them to a list of your favorite matches.
5. Basic Search Criteria – Click Edit here to edit your basic search criteria. You can change:
– Your gender and the gender of matches that you’re looking for (drop-down menu)
– The minimum age of matches that you’re looking for (drop-down menu)
– The maximum age of matches that you’re looking for (drop-down menu)
– If your matches have to have photos or be logged in now (check boxes)
– How far away potential matches can be from a certain location (click-and-type text boxes)
6. Community Search Criteria – Click one of these categories to open up a list of brands or groups in that category. Click the group or brand that you want the matches you search to have interest in, and then click the check box next to the sub-option to add it to your search. Repeat for as many groups or brands as you want to add, and then click Apply.
For certain brands or groups, there will only be one sub-option to pick: the brand or group name. However, other brands or groups may contain several sub-brands or subgroups, so you can select as many or as few as you like. For example, if you select a sports league, you can pick the different teams in that league that you cheer for. Find a match that’s a fellow fan of your favorite teams!
Those are the different types of searches that you can perform!
