Search Engine Optimization: Search engine optimization, otherwise known as SEO for short, is one of the hottest topics in website development today. Not in the know? Here's a quick rundown. According to Wikipedia, it’s “the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via “natural” or un-paid search results as opposed to Search Engine Marketing (SEM).” It's like tidying up your website and filling out all of the appropriate forms so that search engine crawlers will get the most context from your site and reward you with a higher page rank.

Search Engine Marketing: On the flip side, Search Engine Marketing, or SEM, is the promotion of websites through paid advertisement placement on search engine results pages. You know, those little advertisements that show up on the right hand side of your search results. You pay for displaying those ads on relevant search queries, and you also pay for every time someone clicks through. SEM is also a very complex yet powerful tool to drive high-quality traffic to your website from search engines, but you have to reach into your own pockets to pay for your campaign. One very useful suggestion: Before you venture out on your own into the world of SEM, consult a specialist in this field. You’re spending your hard earned money here, so be sure to be smart about it.

Blogs and Online Content: Weblogs, or “blogs” aren’t just for logging your daily musings – they’ve been known as an asset for increasing traffic for a number of reasons. One: Having great, fresh content on your website’s blog, whether it be new product announcements, site upgrades, breaking news, or hilarious anecdotes, is valuable to your reader and will be a vehicle that will bring in repeat visits from existing users as well as fresh new faces. Two: Publishing content on the web that is rich with pertinent keywords is great for search engine optimization. Three: Through the comments section, blogs are a great starting point to developing an online community based around your product or website.

Social Media: Social media sites, like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Digg, are all of the rage for businesses right now, and for good reason. Developing a strong social media strategy can result in a healthy amount of supplemental traffic that you may have been missing out on and also help you develop a more intimate relationship with your customers and readers.

A Facebook Fan Page is a great place to build your online community and can also be a good source of traffic when you post links to fresh content or product pages on your site. Twitter is a source of traffic you shouldn't overlook if used strategically.

Email Marketing: Reaching out to your customers or readers via email can be very effective, but it can also backfire if not used properly. Email marketing campaigns are cost effective, easy to create and manage, and also can drive traffic from disengaged users and boost sales.