No matter how well designed or interesting your site is, it is a waste of time if no one sees it.

In the initial stages of your business, getting traffic is not easy with the steep competition of thousands of web sites all trying to get their message out there. There is hope, though, according to successful marketers. The following seven methods, applied consistently, can mean a great increase in the quality and quantity of traffic to a site:

1.) Utilize Search Engines

Use search engines to your advantage. You need to have your web site appear near the top of the results, ahead of other websites offering similar content to gain the maximum benefit from a search engine. How is this accomplished? See 2.

2.) Popularity Linking

Your site must already be attracting a considerable amount of traffic to achieve high search engine results. One method for accomplishing this is by connecting to other relevant sites via links. These "popularity links" help drive traffic, and if targeted to the correct search queries they can boost your search engine ranking.

Link popularity always starts with finding web sites that are similar but do not compete with your own. You would contact the website owner and request a link to your site. You would, at the same time, offer a reciprocal link which would advertise their website on one of your pages.

3.) Writing Articles

Writing your own rich content articles on topics targeted to your audience helps promote your web site by increasing the number of popularity links coming to your site (see 2) as well as attracting interested readers. Your articles can be placed on other sites, in ezines, or even in newsletters. Always be sure to ad a source box with a link going back to your site.

4.) Joint Venture Marketing

Joint venture marketing, a marketing relationship in which two individuals cooperate to help promote each other, is also an effective way to promote a product or service. Joint venture agreements can also include swapping ads and exchanging links. Both parties benefit as they reach a wider customer base fairly quickly.

5.) Joining Affiliate Programs

By joining an affiliate program as a merchant, you can get others to market your site. You will need your own product to start your own program, but this can be accomplished through the use of private label content or product development ventures. Even a small-scale affiliate program can help direct significant traffic to your site.

6.) Creating A List Of Subscribers

A subscriber list is a valuable asset for any marketer. Using an autoresponder or a personalized newsletter to promote your site will help you to build a repeat visitor base, providing direct marketing opportunities for now and in the future.

7.) Understand Your Market

Different niches need to be promoted in different ways. Use the techniques described up until this point to reach people who will be interested. You need to figure out who your target market is and how will you treat them once they get to your site? This will affect everything on your site including your ad copy and even the colors you use.

Use as many strategies as possible to generate targeted traffic. Relying on search engines is obviously important but there are numerous other ways to generate traffic. Combining these methods will maximize the traffic you get.