Anyone actually getting leads from dating display ads?

[John Cena]

I’ve been running ads for dating offers for a while now, and honestly, I used to wonder if impressions even mattered. You see the numbers go up, the dashboard looks busy, but leads? Not so much. That’s what pushed me to dig deeper into how Dating Display Ads actually work instead of just hoping traffic would magically convert.

My main pain point was this: lots of views, barely any sign-ups. It felt like people were looking but not acting. At first, I blamed the traffic quality. Then I blamed the creatives. Then the landing page. Turns out, it was a mix of small things I wasn’t paying attention to.

What I noticed after some trial and error is that dating traffic behaves differently. People scroll fast and decide fast. When my ads were too generic or looked like obvious ads, users just ignored them. When I tried simpler visuals and more direct copy that matched what users expected on dating-related sites, engagement slowly improved. Nothing dramatic overnight, but enough to notice a pattern.

Another thing that surprised me was placement. Some placements brought cheap impressions but zero intent. Others had fewer impressions but better clicks and actual leads. I stopped chasing volume and started watching how users moved after clicking. If they bounced right away, I knew something was off.

What helped the most was thinking like a regular user instead of an advertiser. Would I click this ad? Would I trust this page? Is the message clear in three seconds? Once I started asking those questions, impressions started turning into something more useful.

I’m not saying dating display ads are easy or perfect. They still need testing and patience. But if you treat impressions as feedback instead of just numbers, you can slowly guide them toward leads. Curious if others here had the same experience or totally different results.