Advertise! Ya can't get traffic from the popular websites unless you pay for ad space. The social networks like MySpace, Facebook are good but you have to constantly build and post and it takes years. Twitter is very good. Post some Twits with your web site link and build followers. As you build more and more followers more and more visitors will click into your link.
I like to backlink. Most of my links are on un popular websites and it takes a zillion links on other sites to get traffic up. Linkbuilding and Twitter are the best way to go to grow traffic.
Paid traffic is always bad. Paid traffic is people clicking into your site for "PAY". Surf for traffic is the same B.S. Other people click into your site if you click into theirs. Banner exchanges suck bad. You need to have a poplular web site already and have 2 or 3 guests click into their permanent banner on your site in order for your banner to be shown on one of their partisipating members "NO TRAFFIC" web sites. Biggest boner in advertising! Nobody surfs web directories. There's to many of them and they don't get buyer traffic. Either way you go you lose using these types of advertising venues. Best way to get traffic is to make friends and do private link exchanges, use advertising forums and Twitter. Blogs, social websites and forums are good but you will have to put alot of time into posting and making friends. You work the social websites.
Link Building.. Socialbookmarking Article Submission Advert Submission (If your site is commercial) Link Trade with PR related site
In my web site obtain good traffic that is by making articles and the latest news and the details should be unique article content