Content quality is the key of sucess i think. You know 98% of all traffic to a website comes from Search Engines such as Google. High ranks in Google’s result page for targeted keywords, usually brings in the very best quality traffic.
SEO through "parasite" like Reddit. Submit tons of content, have it ranked for longtail kws. Was using custom browsing tool to rank URL's of my Reddit, Hubpages, FB posts ... but after 2 years, part of my posts on parasites where penalized (possibly used many "recognized" proxies). Now I'm trying Pandabot to rank my Reddit ... posts without proxies, by using "private user network" autobrowsing with modified browser. www.monetizeforum.ml/pandabot/
Hey Graham, great question! For me I don't want to put my affiliate business in the hands of just SEO. Really have no control. I like to get traffic on demand. Preferably something I can scale once I find my ROI. Today there is so much traffic out there. I actually start off with free methods to see what text I can get to convert and then once I get that I move over to ppc and banner and let my money go to work. Of course there is a huge optimization process with that as well.
As far as quality is concerned, PPC traffic, especially through reputable vendors, is probably best...but can be costly.
People really get wrapped up with how to acquire traffic when their focus should be on traffic retention. What good is it to drive thousands of people to your site if you can't 1. keep them on the site and 2. get them to return. I would suggest taking a step back from marketing and take a step forward in creative content, mailing lists, and offering something of value that your current traffic is looking for. Look at it this way.... let's say you have a Mom and Pop General Store in a small town that spends thousands of dollars in advertising. Every weekend the store if FULL of potential customers. However, noone is buying anything or spending any more than 10 minutes inside. What does this tell you? It probably should tell you that 1. the layout of the store doesn't make sense and the customers can't find what they are looking for 2. the prices are too high and customers can't justify the expense 3. You are not carrying enough products that would interest your prospects and 4. Your store is not meeting the needs of your clientele. What should be your next move? If you are smart it should be to focus on YOUR store and NOT to spend another thousand or so dollars in advertising that leads nowhere. Focus on your web site. Focus on the value. Focus on satisfying your customers needs. Focus on retention. Then focus on marketing.
Considering that all is good related to the products, designs, and onsite optimization. Even then you need good traffic to sell something from your storefront. And, if all is ok, then more traffic means more sales. More so if the traffic is relevant and filtered. For that you need to rank good on Google organic searches and you can use paid Search engine advertising. Social media sites and search engines are the biggest sources of web traffic today for anyone unless you have a big brand name like (Amazon, eBay, etc. Even they have to show in Google SERPs for the related queries)
for new website - it is recommend to go with paid advertising for swift results where as social networks mostly helps in creating brand awareness.
For free traffic - Forum posting [have signature blow], blog posting, social media share, Paid- [banner ads, popunder ads, email marketing]
The Best traffic source is Organic because organic SEO more conversion then Paid marketing and other source.
Paying for traffic is the best source of traffic. There are many paid traffic sources out there but you need to make sure its good quality traffic..