How Do Likes Work on Match.com?

When you tap the blue heart Like button on someone, Match lets her know you are interested, either in her Likes section or by putting you on her Discover page. If she Likes you back, a pop-up appears that lets you message her and start a conversation. That is the whole mechanism: a Like is a quiet signal of interest, and a Like returned is a match you can talk to.

The Like button is the blue heart. Tapping it tells the other person you are interested, and Match delivers that in one of two ways.

Either she is notified in her Likes section that someone is interested, or Match puts you on her Discover page, where she will come across you while she is browsing. Either way, your Like gives her a reason to look at you.

Nothing more happens until she acts. There is no message attached and no pressure on her. A Like is the lightest way to show interest on the app.

If she Likes you back, a pop-up appears that lets you message her and start a conversation.

Treat that pop-up as the start of something, not as the end of the job. Plenty of men get a match and then sit on it, waiting for a better moment or a better line. There is no better moment. The best time to write is right away, while the match is fresh.

On the free version this matters even more. Match lets matched members message each other directly, so a returned Like is your way into a conversation without paying for anything.

It helps to picture what happens on her side. Either a notice lands in her Likes section, or you turn up on her Discover page while she is browsing. At some point she looks at you and decides.

So your Like is only as good as what she sees when she does. Your first photo decides whether she stops at all, which is why it should be a recent, sharp picture of you on your own with your face easy to make out. After that, whatever you have written about yourself decides whether she taps the heart back.

On the free version, sending a Like is one of the actions that needs a photo on your profile. If the heart will not work for you, adding a photo is the first fix to try.

Match also has Super Likes. They come with the higher paid tiers: Platinum includes a weekly Super Like, and Diamond includes more of them each week, along with Priority Likes.

Do not treat them as your main tool. a dating coach has never been a fan. In the few times he tried them, he was not convinced they got him matched much more often. His bigger worry is what a Super Like says: that you singled her out as extra special before exchanging a word, which can make you look eager and leave you working harder once the conversation starts.

If your tier includes a few, there is no harm in spending them on women you are genuinely keen on. Just do not expect them to do the work that your photos and your messages do.

Likes feel free, so it is tempting to hand them out to everyone. That is a mistake coach warns about on most apps.

His reasoning is that apps pay attention to how choosy you are. Like everyone and you teach the app that you will take anyone, so it puts less effort into showing you the women you really want. Meanwhile you collect matches you have no real interest in writing to.

So Like with some thought. Aim high, but at women who fit the life you actually live and the kind of date you would actually plan.

From Silver upward, you can see who Likes you. That turns the whole system around.

Instead of Liking women and waiting to see who Likes you back, you can look at the women who have already Liked you and return the ones you want. Every one of those is a match the moment you tap the heart, and the conversation is yours to start.

If Likes are arriving regularly and you want to answer them directly, this is the feature worth testing. My advice for any paid feature is to try it for a month and keep it only if it clearly beats the free version.

A match only matters if it leads somewhere. Write to her the same day, keep your first message short, and make it about one real detail from her page rather than about her looks.

Then keep it moving. Keep the tone light, tell her a couple of true things about your week, and when she is obviously enjoying herself, suggest a drink. Once she agrees, swap numbers and settle on a day. Likes get you matches. The first few messages are what get you the date.