Every Web site and online business needs one thing in order to be successful. That one thing is TRAFFIC. Without it you can not sell or market yourself or your products.

You need good quality unique content, a well designed Web site, effective SEO of your Web site and most of all you need traffic. So how do you go about generating traffic to your site?

It is extremely important to be aware of what your competitors are up to and to remain one step ahead of them. Keep an eye on all new developments within your industry and on the Web. This will allow you to make use of all the available opportunities.

Here are the 5 without fail traffic generation methods:

1. Make use of Pay-Per-Click advertising

The two best options are Google’s Adwords and Yahoo’s Overture. Most if not all of the successful companies make use of Pay-Per-Click advertising as part of their marketing strategy. This strategy can be expensive but it is worth it if you manage it correctly.

It is very important to conduct proper research and with Google you have access to a variety of tools that will help you to determine the best keywords, niche markets and that allow you to track the effectiveness of your campaign.

2. Join online communities and forums

By joining online communities or forums relating to your market, you have the ability to share your expertise and to improve your credibility. This will create trust in your product or site and increase the amount of traffic to your site.

3. Join the Social Media Revolution

Social Media has become a massive industry and should be used as a marketing tool. Set-up profile pages on Twitter and Facebook to market yourself and your site or product. Bookmark your site on bookmarking sites and post comments on blogs related to your market.

4. Link with respected Web sites with similar content

Reciprocal linking is beneficial when you link with a respected Web site that contains similar but not competing content. Always ensure that the Web site that you link to has a higher PageRank than your site to ensure the maximum benefit.

5. The power of Article Marketing

Writing and submitting SEO aligned articles to article directories is one of the most effective means of improving your search engine rankings and generating traffic. Your articles should contain original quality content and should not contain grammar or spelling mistakes.

Make use of your keywords in your articles and always link back to your site at least once from within the body of the article and at least once from the resource box.

When the above options are used in combination traffic to your site will increase. Always remember to make use of your keywords with all of these options in order to ensure search engine top placement.