Generating a steady stream of website traffic takes hard work and dedication. Rarely does it happen overnight! But if you're looking to set up a profitable business it's worth the time. To help you get started, here are some excellent tips on generating traffic...

- Generate traffic quickly by offering high commissions to partners. A great way to get the attention of people with large lists and busy sites is to offer them a substantial commission (75%+). You can bet this type of offer will be hard for them to turn down! Although you won’t make much on the initial sale, you’ll generate a lot of traffic and build up a list that you can sell to again and again.

- Use Google Web Alerts and Google News Alerts. The Google Web Alerts system allows you to monitor Google for any mention of specific words or URLs. Once a day you receive an email that summarizes all web pages that recently added the information you’re monitoring. Similarly Google News Alerts monitors the media. Use these in your business to monitor both your own site and your competitors’. It will show you when an affiliate adds a URL to their site, where articles are being published and even forum posts. This is a great way to learn more about where your competitors are getting their traffic from. Signup for Google Alerts at http://www.google.com/alerts

- Run a contest. People love the prospect of winning something – that’s why a contest for the right target audience can be a great traffic generator. Form a JV with several other webmasters and together offer the prizes. The key is to choose the prize(s) to attract people from your target audience. If you make the grand prize a new laptop you’ll get entries from everyone who would like to win a new laptop (which is basically every computer user in the world!). Get more targeted traffic by choosing something that your target audience is interested in but wouldn’t mean much to other people. To start promoting your contest do a search in Google for “Contest Directories” and you’ll find lots of places to list your contest for free.

- Offer a multi-tier affiliate program. Offering an affiliate program is an excellent way to generate targeted traffic. If you get good quality affiliates they’ll spread the word about your products and services farther and faster then you could ever do on your own. Make your affiliate program even more effective by offering two or three tiers of compensation. This will motivate your affiliates to make sales while at the same time recruiting new affiliates under them. A good affiliate program can provide an exponential growth in traffic!

- Set up an eBay account and make your username your URL. Although eBay doesn’t allow URLs as usernames, you can get around this rule by include a “*” at either end. For example “*www.mysmallbizcoach.com*” (without the quotes). You can then create an “About Me” page that includes a link to your site and information on the products and services you sell. Auction off copies of your own products or other items related to your industry and people will begin noticing you and visiting your site.
Get started with these traffic generation techniques today and you'll soon have a steady stream of visitors to your website.

Article Source: http://www.webmastertips.us/story

Jay Corbett aka "The Web Traffic Guru" manages Website Success University a dynamic eschool dedicated to helping people succeed online.