Lots of men seem to be in denial about what makes those 20% of men more attractive. It's mostly that they put in some amount of effort. Most women are only giving likes to men who write interesting things in their profiles and have put effort into grooming themselves and presenting themselves well in their photographs - ie men who seem likely to reciprocate when a woman invests effort into a relationship.

Since likes are virtually limitless, it allows the possibility to deceive. Most women on these apps have experienced matching with someone and then realizing he hasn't even read her profile. Many men don't even seem ashamed of deceiving women like this. Women don't want to be used or cheated on, and so many men are signaling that they will do so by starting off with lying to multiple women that they are interested. So of course women know that most likes are actually lies, and so women are very carefully looking for signs that a man isn't playing the field. The men who succeed are those who have profiles that manage to convince women that they will only express interest when it is honest and genuine.