The site that did this analysis is a straight-oriented site, but I have a feeling it’s not that much different for gays.

Similarly, OKCupid found that photos posted by your typical meathead are pretty successful among women as well. With an overall average just below 6 women met per 10 attempts, men who posted photos without their shirts on met almost 9 women—an average only bested by photos taken with an animal. The site warns, however, that the entertainment value of a half naked man only lasts for so long; as a guy gets older, he’s less likely to get a response out of women with such a picture.

[Source]

So it sounds like if you want to get the most traffic to your profile, you should post a shirtless picture of you with an animal. Your own animal would be best.

And if you feel like people never respond to your messages that you send out, you really shouldn’t. You have a better chance of getting a winning hand in blackjack than having someone respond.

According to OKCupid, the average chance that any message will lead to a back-and-forth discussion is at about 27 percent, but a photo of a person doing something interesting (say, playing an instrument, playing a sport, crafting something, etc.) is much higher at a hair over 40 percent. Second to that is posing with an animal (hey, people like animals, okay?) at about 37 percent, while a travel photo sits at just over 30 percent. The categories that are below average for conversations are cleavage shots, MySpace angles, having fun with friends, and most dooming of all, photos of the subject drinking.

[Source]

Related posts:

1. Twitter: Profile Peeve #39: People that contradict themselves in their own profile. So, you are really both 5’10 and 6’0???
2. How to Write an Online Profile for Gays
3. Twitter: Profile Peeve #38: Not having any photos yourself, then asking me to send more than the 5 I already have there.