If you have a website, you have already done so much work just building it. But your task does not stop there. You are going to need traffic--tons of it. Without traffic, a website just sits there and the world is oblivious to its existence. I have set up a brief list of traffic building techniques that can help you score well with major search engines (i.e. Google and Yahoo). With these tips, you can finally increase your traffic.
Submit to the directories and receive quality incoming links
You will need a lot of quality incoming links to even stand a chance of being highly ranked on the major search engines. The way to do that is to list with free and paid directories. Don’t expect tons of traffic from these directories. What you should expect is higher positions for your important keywords on the major engines. The search engines take you more seriously when you have quality links pointing into your website.
A good place to start with your directory submissions is http://strongestlinks.com. This site lists great directories and provides information on them. You will want to submit to directories with a high page rank and passes the PR.
Link exchanges
Another way to get incoming links is to exchange links with other quality websites that have a similar theme to your site. Major engines, such as Google, will love this and reward you with higher rankings. Linkmarket and Value Exchange (free) are great places to start with link exchanges.
Keep adding quality content
Quality content is by far the most important element of search engine optimization. To stay on the search engine's friendlier side, just keep writing rich content with great keywords. Make sure there are no broken links within your pages before you submit… that hurts your chances of being listed.
High demand, low supply keywords
The keywords you use are very important; you simply can’t afford to guess on which ones will work best. Use tools like Wordtracker to help you decide which keywords to use. Do not look past this step; it is very important that you choose the right keywords.
Placing keywords in the title and in anchor links earns you extra points with the search engines.
Help and be helped with forum chat
Not only can you get good tips and advice from forums, you can always pay it forward and help others as well. Forums are another place where you can increase traffic to your website—all you have to do is leave your link at the end of each post. Remember though, most likely you are not able to blatantly advertise in forums. But you can leave a catchy signature (which should contain a link back to your site) that will lead to a click. The key to getting traffic by using this method is to write valuable posts.
Spending a little more money on PPC advertising
I know people may want to quickly read over this part, but you may have to spend a little bit more on pay-per-click advertising. There’s no need to go overboard with spending though. When you advertise, you should monitor your campaigns to see which methods work best for your particular business.
Starting a PPC campaign can be a great way to drive instant traffic to your site.
If you are not too familiar with Adwords I would like to quickly explain what it is all about. If you do any search using the Google search engine and then look towards the right of the screen, you should see ads under the “sponsored links” section. When you use Adwords, you are going to be creating ads to go in that same area for a given keyword; everytime someone sees your ad and clicks on it, you have to pay a certain amount (hence, you pay-per-click).
Article submission
Submitting your articles to directories is another great way to get traffic to your website. People will read your quality articles and check out your site. If it’s useful, word will get around quickly. Just remember to leave your information (i.e. about author box) at the end of your article; that way if someone reprints your article in full, your name and website URL are there.
When your article legally appears on someone else’s site, you can gain traffic if a visitor clicks your link after reading your article. Another bonus is that you have an incoming link from the website that is using your article.
Build relationships with newsletters
Having your own newsletter will gain repeat traffic. People who sign up already like you and they are willing to hear whatever you have to say. Don’t underestimate a quality newsletter.
Blogging a mile
It’s another way to write about what’s going on in your niche. While helping people out with useful information or simply venting, you gain even more exposure. If you want to use a blog successfully, try having a form that they can fill out for questions or feedback. Once again, you will receive repeat traffic. You can find out what real, everyday people want out of the niche or industry that you’re in.
Final thought...
Using any or all of these methods should raise your site traffic considerably.