There are several ways to generate traffic for a website. These days social networking is seen as a major instrument for online entrepreneurs to ensure optimum traffic generation.

Social networking websites are those that allow individuals or entities, sharing a common interest, the opportunity to stay connected and meet other people with similar interest. It is a process that involves networking, interacting, building friends and relationships and obviously promoting anything online. Social networking sites can be classified as blogs, bookmarking sites, communities, etc.

The majority of the social networking sites are public. It means that they allow anyone to join. Organizations, including business companies, also have access to private social networking applications, known as Enterprise Relationship Management. These companies install such applications on their own servers and allow employees to share their networks of contacts and relationships to outside people and companies.

Social networking offers you some fantastic means of generating a considerable amount of traffic to your website.

- Blogs: Posting comments on various blog sites is a sure way to generate traffic provided you give the link at the end of your comment. There are blogs on almost every imaginable topic, from business and marketing to archaeology and movies. Select a blog site suitable to your topic, submit a relevant article with the best content. Write a great authoritative article and submit it to the top article directories. Remember, the way out to securing traffic this way is in your "about the author" box. Don't forget to link back to your site and choose good anchor tags.

- Forums: Many forums permit signature links. This ensures that you not only get a back link with your signature but also gain myriad exposure as your signature shows up every time you make a post in the forum.

- Social Bookmarking: Social bookmarking sites have the ability to direct hundreds or thousands of targeted visitors to your site within a very short time. Numerous people bookmark their favorite pages. Other users in the network then refer those pages to more users. Therefore the number of links grows and brings in more traffic.

- Blog Directories: Regularly visit blogs that you like, or those having similar topics as of yours, by subscribing to them through a feed reader. Check ?your favorites' no less than once a week, and post comments on any interesting new posts you find there. You can find active, popular blogs on just about any topic in some of the major blog directories.

- Videos & Pictures: Make use of videos and pictures to attract traffic from the social networking sites. Offer links back to your site from those pages. Update your postings in social networking sites from time to time with fresh videos and pictures.