This post was originally posted on LA Weekly by the team at highreply

In today’s world, if you’re single, there’s a pretty big chance that you have tried your hands at online dating. In fact, research done on behalf of the Statistic Brain Research Institute states that out of the 54 million singles living in the United States, 49 million have tried it. Though, some people struggle to get the results that their peers have from these dating sites.

So, what’s the main difference between someone who has success with online dating and someone who does not?

Their online dating profile.

Your profile is a window into who you are and what you are looking for. It is the most essential element of online dating, yet is often underutilized or even ignored. If you’re one of the millions of singles looking for a partner online, it’s time to put your profile to work.

As a team of professionals in the online dating space for 20 years, we know a thing or two about what makes for an excellent online dating profile.

We focus on one thing – quality online dating experiences. To help members of our new dating site Highreply.com get off to a promising start, we compiled a list of tips to help you create a top-quality profile that gets you seen.

Here are 11 tips on how to improve your online dating profile.

1. Open with an Ice Breaker

The hardest part about contacting someone you are interested in is figuring out how to get the conversation started.

Break down this wall for potential matches with an icebreaker! A witty headline, question, or challenge is a great way to get engagement on your profile.

2. Get Inspiration From Other Profiles

If you need some inspiration on how to pull your profile together, scroll through a dating site and have a closer look at some of your favorite profiles.

Make note of what it is about the profile that caught your attention. Was it the photos or videos? The tone of voice? A funny icebreaker? If any of these things pull you in to learn more about someone, they will very likely work for you as well.

3. Include Multiple Photos

The more photos you have on your profile, the more engagement you will receive. To avoid any unwanted surprises on a date, use photos that give an accurate view of who you are, and be sure to include a full-length photo and headshot.

Try to keep away from overdoing it with selfies, and just say no to filters.

Displaying a minimum of five photos on your profile is a sure way to have your profile be seen.

4. Include Action Shots

Instead of sharing photos of you with a group of your friends, consider sharing “action” shots. “Action” or “Lifestyle” shots help to communicate your personality and interests. They can serve as a means to get a conversation going.

Shots of you cooking up your favorite dish, hiking, skydiving, or even playing a video game give visuals to your personality and something potential matches can react or relate to.

5. Avoid Group Photos

A lot of people find that the best photos they have of themselves include friends or family. However, this profile is all about you, and your photos should be too.

If you don’t have any current solo photos of yourself, call a friend and put on a mini-photoshoot to capture new shots for your profile. Or, if your budget allows for it, have your photos done by a professional photographer.

6. Keep it Positive

Some of us have had rough patches in our lives, and these include failed relationships.

Unfortunately, many people like to make note of these relationships and what they are not looking for in a new one. So much negativity will send people running for the hills.

A dating profile is a place to highlight your attributes, desires, and ambitions, not a place to air out dirty laundry or resentments.

If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say it at all. Highreply users are encouraged to communicate kindly with each other.

If you want a chance to have a meaningful connection with someone new, remember to keep it positive.

7. Be Honest About What You Are Looking For

When being told to be honest on your dating profile, many people immediately think that this is in reference to age, job, location, and the like of this sort of shared information.

Being honest about all of this should be a given, but one crucial bit of information that many are not honest about on their dating profiles is what they are looking for in a relationship.

Whether you are looking for casual flings, long-term commitment, marriage, and even possibly children, being honest about what you are looking for can help you (gasp) find what you are looking for.

In research done by the dating site PlentyofFish, they discovered that people who used the word “Love” in their profiles were most successful in finding committed relationships with other members. Even more compelling, men who used words like “heart,” “relationship,” and “romantic” in their descriptions received more engagement on their profiles.

Sharing exactly what you are looking for on your dating profile will help you to find more accurate matches, save you time, and even possible heartache.

8. Keep Your Profile Up to Date

Did you change careers over the past year? Pick up a new hobby that you’re passionate about? Get a puppy? Gain a few pounds or lose your hair?

If you answered yes to any of these, it’s time to update your dating profile!

We change with time, and as our dating profiles are a reflection of who we are, they should change too.

Be sure to periodically update your profile with any significant life changes or interests. New changes in your life can lead to a change in possible matches.

And if you have undergone any physical changes, be sure to update your photos. You would likely not appreciate it if a date looked very different from the photos they shared on their profile, and it’s safe to assume that they would feel similarly if you failed to update your own.

9. Check your grammar

Before sharing your profile for all to see, run it through spell check!

We’re not saying that you have to be a spelling bee champ to find love, but a profile full of misspelled words and grammatical errors can be a real turn-off.

10. Create a Descriptive Username

So, what’s in a name? According to research done for the book, Dataclysm: Love, Sex, Race, and Identity–What Our Online Lives Tell Us about Our Offline Selves, a whole lot.

The research showed that other than the profile picture, your username is the most powerful tool to bring in profile views. The research also shared that men seeking women were more drawn to usernames that contained words associated with physical attractiveness, like “cute” or “sexy,” and women seeking men were drawn to usernames with words associated with success, such as “driven” and “cultured.”

11. Ask A Friend For Feedback

A dating profile should be an accurate look at you in your current life. If you want to know if your profile gives an honest glimpse into who you are or if you need help summarizing yourself in a short description, ask a friend for help.

Sometimes those close to us are better at describing our personalities better than we can do for ourselves.

To sum it up, if you’re serious about finding a match, whether for a forever relationship or a for now relationship, don’t let your online dating profile go underutilized. Try using our tips from highreply dating staff’s years of experience. Be sure that your profile carries a positive tone and is regularly updated with current information and photos. Pull possible matches in with a great headline or icebreaker, and don’t be shy about sharing what you are looking for in a relationship.  A quality profile will help you receive more engagement on your profile and, in due time, a great match!