If you have a website, you need traffic.

Website traffic is defined as real people actually visiting your website. You might spend thousands of dollars setting up the prettiest, easy-to-navigate site you can imagine, but with no visitors, you will not make money with that website. It would be similar to building a Macy’s -fully stocked and staffed- in the middle of a Nebraska cornfield.

There are numerous methods for getting traffic to your site. If you are in a hurry, the two methods I explain below should get your special attention.

The first method you should consider is borrowing traffic. If at first you’re unsure if this method will work for you, please carefully consider it because it can be a very powerful means for getting new leads. The basic idea is for another website owner to suggest that his or her readers look at your offer. Generally, you will need to pay a commission or referral fee to encourage this action on the part of the website owner.

This method works for at least two reasons. First, someone else has gone to the trouble of identifying people interested in a particular topic, saving you the time and expense of locating the same. Second, you are “borrowing” the credibility of the person who refers people to you. Think about this for a minute. When making a buying decision, whether for a film, restaurant, or clothing store, do you rely more upon traditional advertising or do you prefer to get recommendations from friends and trusted acquaintances? The answer for most is the latter.

Borrowing traffic usually will not cost you out of pocket cash, although normally you should be prepared to pay out of your proceeds.

The second basic fast-traffic method is to pay for advertising. You have many options available for paid advertising, and I’m going to recommend pay-per-click advertising. Google Adwords is the easiest venue to start with this method, although Yahoo and MSN have similar programs. With pay-per-click advertising, you are able to target specific keywords that people are searching for, and you can start in a matter of minutes.

Pay-per-click advertising is effective for many reasons. One reason is that you can match exactly what people are searching for. Additionally, pay-per-click advertising can be tracked. As an example, Google can identify which keywords generated the most “clicks” and using their conversion tracker, you can also determine which specific keywords led to a sales conversion.

This method does mean you will pay before making sales, although Google probably won’t charge your credit card until the end of the month. As a caution, in the beginning you will want to monitor your Adwords account often to make sure you are not spending more than you intended.

I had discussed just two techniques for website traffic generation. Other articles will give you even more options.