Andrew Chen

Alex, I'm not sure about the other dating sites, but I can tell you for sure that the AFF ads, and profiles are not fake. They are real members who live in your area. It actually freaked me out when I saw a woman in a San Carlos grocery store who I saw in an AFF ad...

Apparently these ads are no longer being shown: Facebook themselves thought they were deceptive and asked the company(ies) showing them to take them down. Very clever 'social engineering' though.

These are the classic "love match" ads run by several of the mobile subscription services - probably New Motion, Dada or someone else like that. Very scammy but very effective.

The Facebook ads are clever, but the advertisements should be banned. They cheapen web advertising, Facebook itself, and are stooping to levels Google has avoided. In addition, with the the constantly changing Fb interface and confusing app spam, users can't be blamed for clicking on these ads and being confused (and feeling betrayed by Fb). I clicked on them several times thinking it was related to an app I had installed.

Google these days is getting close to the sewer as well by allowing single word text advertising that appears to be intrasite links. My guess is the accidental click rate on those is enormous and Google would take a big hit if they got rid of them. Incidentally, I'm of the opinion that much of Google's revenue is from accidental clicks in general. I click on ads 3-4 times a day accidentally, and almost never on purpose.

Regarding the AFF ads, I've looked into the online dating market somewhat and found that it is fast losing its credibility because of this kind of behavior.

They are clever, but they are all fake. That is - they are not even actual users, not fake as in deceptive profiles (also a rampant problem on AFF.) This is false advertising and the parent company (which happens to be Penthouse) should be chased by the FTC.

Funny you mention the AFF geo-targeted ads... The CR on those are INSANE - I know having worked there.

This is nasty stuff. The ad text and styling is one thing, but the majority of these types of ads end up leading to ringtone / mobile phone related CPA "offers". Application developers have even told me that they are getting complaints from their users regarding the $10 monthly charge on their phone bill because of these types of ads. Wonder how long this will last...