Recently I’ve had friends start new websites on photography, The Office, college volleyball, business books, and Jack Bauer from 24. Sometimes the question comes up, “How can I get more traffic?”. A recent post from Seth Godin has good advice:

Getting traffic is a little like getting a date. You can probably manipulate the system for a little while (I had a roommate in college who was great at it) but self-reinvention is a markedly better long-term strategy. (How can I get more traffic?)

The point is to build something that people want or like. The better you do that, the more likely people will tell their friends about it and your traffic will increase. You will have earned your traffic. I think all 5 of the above sites are building something people will want.

Once you’re building something that people want, get the word out. Leave good comments on relevant blogs (not spam), tell people about it when the subject comes up in person, and think of creative ways of attracting visitors. They will tell others.

Brian Stucki is always thinking of new ways to creatively market his websites, including our Mac freeware site. For instance, he thought to create a video that highlights all the freeware we’ve reviewed. I wrote a PHP script to create the slides, then he animated it and put it to music. We contacted a popular Mac video site about running our video and they were glad to do it. That brought us tons of traffic and it didn’t cost us a dime. We’ve also had success by posting on digg. I’m hoping Brian will do a write-up on all the ways he’s thought of to market a website.

There are lots of creative ways to “earn” traffic without being spammy or gimmicky, but the basis is building something that people want.