A massive stream of web traffic is one of the first dreams of any web designer. Without traffic you can't have the real benefit of a website. Therefore it is very important in all aspects to increase the traffic to your web site. This is time consuming and very hard process. Because you need high quality traffic, that means targeted traffic. Otherwise it is useless just increasing numbers of the hit counter. There are number of ways can be used to do this but it is up to you to decide what is the best ways for your web site.
(1). Writing articles & submitting them to article directories
For a long term and consistent traffic one of a best way is to write articles and submit them to good article directories with a link to your web site. This will guarantee not only targeted and long term traffic but also a high quality back link to your site which is very good in terms of Search engine optimization. Ezinearticles.com and Goarticles.com are two of best article directories to start.
(2). Forum signatures
Forums are invaluable resources for targeted traffic. You may select a forum with high traffic and which allows signatures for this purpose. Also it must be the same niche as your web site. By searching Google you will be able to find forums in your niche. Always post informative and valuable content to the forum and it will guarantee a very good traffic soon to your site.
(3). Social networking & Social bookmarking
Social networks can't be forgotten when talking about traffic. Create profiles in Facebook, Myspace and Twitter as the first step and then add your site's details. The more community you have the more traffic to your site. Also add bookmarking widget to your web site or blog posts.
(4). Videos
Create a video about anything you like (if possible related to your web site) and submit to video sharing sites with details of your site. You may include the website name and/or link side of the video. Youtube and Metacafe are some of them. You may wonder how many people watch videos from these sites daily.
(5). Directory and Search engine submission
There are number of directories on the internet which you may submit your site without any cost. You may use software for that to make things easier. Search engine submission is also very important.
(6). Comments & answers
There are sites called do-follow blogs which follow you back once you make a comment on their web site. Search and make a list of such web sites with high page rank and comment frequently. This way you could be able to have a back link also. Answer in Yahoo answers and similar web sites with a link to your web site. It is easy and very reliable way of traffic.
(7). Pay per click advertising
This is a very costly method. But if you are an e-marketer this is the best way to get the traffic and increase sales. Google and Yahoo are best for this purpose.
(8). EBooks
If you can write a tiny e book with information about your site this is very rewarding method for traffic. You may allow it to download at forums and web sites if you upload it to a file sharing site like Rapidshare or Hotfile. Lulu.com is a web site that allows you to create an e book, publish and sell easily.
(9). Traffic exchange & Banner exchange
Smartclicks.com is a banner exchange site which allows you to exchange your banner with theirs. Traffic exchange is also useful way for free traffic. You gather points/credits by clicking on their ads and you can use those credits to send traffic to your site.
(10). Toolbars
Toolbars are also very good sources of traffic. You can create a free toolbar for your site at Conduit.com and promote it on other places. They have number of attractive toolbars that can be created as you like.
(11). Free classified ads
Free classified ads in web sites like Usfreeads.com and Craiglist.com are good traffic sources to consider.
(12). SEO
If you looking for traffic you can't forget search engine optimization. It could be your best friend which generates traffic. So learn some basics of SEO and apply to your web site as soon as possible. This is a very long term task which needs your patience but it is very rewarding.
So these are some of major sources of traffic. There may be number of other ways to increase the traffic to your web site. So always experiment and find the best methods which may suit you.