If you were to meet someone face to face and told them a pack of lies to get them into bed (many of us have to admit to doing this at some stage...), how long do you expect the relationship to last? Usually a few weeks from my experience! Of course sometimes this is the idea and who cares, but if you are looking for a meaningful long term romance, perhaps you should apply a little thought and be as open and honest as you would hope your prospective partner to be.

Here are some tips for you to incorporate when putting together your profile - it is after all, basically an advertisement for yourself:

- Definitely include a photograph - a recent one at that - face shot and body (clothed!) is generally the rule. The majority of searchers will exclude adverts without a photo, so it is essential.

- As above, profiles with photos are proven to be up to 10 times more effective in terms of "click thru". Try and come across as confident and strong in your shots.

- Make sure your profile stands out. Write a catchy title for your profile - something witty and intelligent, which sticks out from the rest. If you send something mundane and formulaic, how many responses do you think you will get from genuinely interesting people? Be original and have fun.

- Spend hours on compiling your profile - do not write too much otherwise you will come across as a poor communicator. By the same token, a few lines is not going to interest anyone sincere. Put in your interests, desires, hopes and dreams, both in terms of love and life. The last thing you want is finding the perfect match love wise, and then you find out their ambition is to live in japan for 5 years to teach English as a foreign language, when all you desire is the security of your family and friends!

- Read over your profile several times (even ask a friend for an extra eye), and make sure you give it the once over with a spell checker - poorly written and badly constructed sentences, together with spelling mistakes show lack of care, thought, and education.

- If you are finding that your profile is getting you nowhere, change it! Get friends and family (if you are not too embarrassed) to give it a once over to give constructive criticism.