Everyone wants to know how to get more targeted web traffic. It doesn’t matter how much content you write or how many sites you build. If you can’t get traffic, you’ll never make any money. Luckily, there are dozens of ways to get those eyeballs glued to your site. Here are some of the most effective traffic generation methods currently out there.

Pay Per Click Advertising (PPC)

If you want a guaranteed source of instant traffic, it doesn’t get any easier than PPC advertising. However, PPC is also the most expensive traffic source on this list and you’ll always have to pay for it. If you opt for PPC advertising, be sure to spend time learning how to generate keyword lists, pinpoint effective long tails and split test your campaigns to minimize wasted ad spend.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

If you want to know how to get more targeted web traffic, master SEO. Whereas PPC is a short term tactic that can cost as much as you make if you’re not careful, SEO is a long term strategy that translates to real profits over time. Search engine optimization consists primarily of getting quality back links from trusted sites through article marketing, link baiting, blogging, commenting on forums, and link swapping.

Pay Per View Advertising (PPV)

If you’ve ever installed shareware or freeware on your computer and read the terms of instalment, you know that there are all sorts of advertising tools going in with the program. These programs track your browsing habits, site visits and search preferences, then place ads in context on the sites you visit. As an advertiser, this allows you to pay for CPM ads that are highly targeted to your audience. Top networks include TrafficVance.com, MediaTraffic.com and LeadImpact.com.

Email Marketing

When it comes to learning how to get more targeted web traffic, email marketing is an old staple of the industry and a vital tool for any site owner. As a marketer, every site you own should have an email opt-in list attached to it. When you gather those email addresses, you can send valuable information along with promotions and links to your site to readers who are already primed to visit.

Joint Venture and Email Swap

Joint ventures come in many forms, but a popular method is to trade email lists with a fellow marketer. If you have 5,000 subscribers and they have 6,000, you could both trade emails to the other’s site, gaining an instant exposure to thousands of primed niche-watchers. Joint ventures can also involve giving away free products on someone else’s site in exchange for links or guest posting on their site for a link.

Affiliate Marketing

If you have created your own product, the easiest way to get links is to use affiliate marketing. Affiliates will generally be rather picky about what they market, however, so you need to be ready to entice them. For those seeking how to get more traffic through affiliates, offer free articles, newsletters and banners, bonuses for those that sell a lot of products and active 24/7 support for affiliates. The easier you make it for them to make money, the more money you’ll make.

Viral and Social Media Marketing

Of the many ways how to get more targeted web traffic, viral and social media are the most fun, but also the hardest to quantify. If you opt for this route, make sure to use a wide array of tools, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Digg, and more. Your goal here is to create value that will entice people to come looking for you. Free tips, articles, updates, news, and videos all do this, but don’t forget that those freebies must also be entertaining and informational.

As you can see there is no single secret in how to get more targeted web traffic. You need to utilize a wide array of tools that will all help develop a stream of visitors to your websites. Build yourself up as an expert in your field, research your target audience carefully, and get them to come to your site bit by bit. By combining them all, you can guarantee steady, never ending traffic that can’t help but lead to profits.