Is there a major dating site that advertises more than eHarmony.com? Based on my TV viewing habits I doubt it. Launched in 2000, eHarmony, which has arguably become the No. 1 dating site on the internet, offers to its members a different take on online dating.

Instead of browsing for matches based on a variety of member-controlled variables and options, once you’ve registered - they are currently offering a free sign-up – eHarmony automatically finds matches for you based on their much touted compatibility profile matching system based on “29 dimensions”.

And it is this capability matching that is the hallmark of eHarmony and its architect Dr. Neil Clark Warren who has turned finding online relationships into a science. And the numbers seem support Dr. Warren’s methods.

eHarmony now boasts over 20 million online members, and according to a Harris Poll over 230 couples marry every day thanks to their site! That’s impressive.

Having tried eHarmony it really does offer a different slant on online dating and searching for singles. First the initial sign-up process can be long. Expect a good hour just to complete the psychological profile the system compiles to find compatible matches in the database.

For me, my inbox started filling up a short while later with members looking to start communication, and almost everyday thereafter I received a couple matches a day.

eHarmony will email you whenever its system finds a compatible match or if someone wants to start communication, then it’s up to you to decide if you want to pursue communication or ignore it or turn it down.

If you decide to pursue a member or take them up on their communication request, eHarmony will lead you both through the getting-to-know-you process. Instead of emailing or directly contacting other members, you go through a series of about five/six eHarmony-guided exchanges within the site, culminating with freeform communication via email.

As you give and receive more and more information, you can decide at anytime whether to keep going or to simply stop communication.

I used eHarmony for four months and made it to the email stage about six times with my matches. With two of them we never took it any further and another I never heard back from. Of the three email address I did get, I managed to speak on the phone to one match and it turned out to be a good 2-hour phone call. We were actually pretty well matched but distances and a few other things prevented anything further and more concrete. Otherwise who knows, there was some potential there.

In all, it was a worthwhile experience and I do think that you can find that special someone based on their system.

If you are looking for gay and lesbian dating, eHarmony is not the place. Apparently the computer system hasn’t found an algorithm to successfully match people in those niches, but maybe that will change in the future.

What I like about eHarmony is how comfortably it leads you through the early stages of communication. They do a good job of making it easy to get to know your matches with little pressure. And once you sign up there’s no logging on to search through pages of profiles because eHarmony does that for you and then lets you know directly each time a new match has been found. So it does save you time in that regard.

What I could do without is the lengthy sign-up process as I earlier mentioned, though I’ve read they have shortened it. The system is also somewhat restrictive in who you want and don’t want to be matched to. Remember, the computer bases matches on your information, so it can be faulty in assessing your needs. And it does cost more than other dating sites for a full membership, but discounts, coupons and special promotional codes can be found and i do think the matches are of higher quality.

But overall eHarmony is worth a test drive and right now you get free sign up with free review of your matches.