One of the most burning questions that website owners ask themselves is this: How do I get targeted traffic fast and preferably free? Well, there are many ways to achieve it and I will show you a bunch of proven site promotion strategies here. These should help you to secure a good position with search engines and have traffic for free. Three months ago I set up a niche site for women. As I already had a number of websites behind me, previous experiences came handy in the promotion strategy. And in 6 weeks the site managed to get listed in the top 30 of Google's rankings.
Let me show you how I did it and how can you, too!

You will need to apply three types of site promotion strategies:
I. Search Engine Optimization strategies
II. Viral Marketing strategies
III Additional site promotion strategies

I. Search Engine Optimization strategies
1. Search engine optimization of your webpage:
This is the first thing you should do. At the stage of creating your pages have the rules of SEO in your mind, it will save you time and work later.
2.Site submission:
Submit your website to as many search engines and link directories as possible. The most valuable directories are the ones that focus on the subject of your site. For example, if your site covers the topic of real estate, then find directories specializing in real estate listings.
3. Make people link to your site
Use any given opportunity to make people link to your site. The most common way is to exchange links with link partners whose site has a high PageRank.

II. Viral Marketing strategies
1. Article submission:
Write articles or hire someone to do the job and send them to free article directories. Learn how to write the kind of articles that make people curious. Use catchy titles. Send some additional articles into categories where there is a high demand and low supply.
2. Press releases:
Write press releases, publish them on your site and allow other webmasters to publish it. You can also distribute your press releases to news sites.
3. Create freebies:
Create a free ebook, free report, free script or a free software and let people download it from your site. Allow other webmasters to distribute your freebies on their websites or use them as incentives, provided they keep your links untouched in your info product.
4. Tell-a-friend script:
Ask people to send your pages to their friends by using a Tell-a-friend script.
5. Write product reviews, testimonials:
When you purchase a product or a service and you are satisfied with it, don't hold back your enthusiasm. Write a praising review of the product and ask the vendor to publish it on his site with your name and your website's address. Amazon.com is also a great place for writing online reviews.

III. Additional Site Promotion strategies
1. Blogs:
Start a niche blog or a personal blog and network with other bloggers. Use RSS feeds for your blogs to promote them and to gain returning visitors.
2. Message Boards:
Post comments on message boards and forums. Establish yourself as an expert of the subject of your website. This way you will create credibility.
3. Comments, messages:
Leave messages in guest books or comments on other people's blogs.
4. Sig file:
Use a signature file in your emails. Put a link of your website into the autosignature part and use it in your outgoing mails and autoresponders.
5. Offline promotion:
Put the link of your website on your business card. Distribute flyers in your local community, use them at bulletin boards.
6. Start a free email course
Start a mini course and send out articles or advice through emails. This can help you to boost your opt-in list's size.
7. Start a free ezine:
If you already publish articles on your site, why not turning it into a free ezine? Submit your ezine to ezine directories to get more visitors.
8. Start an affiliate program:
If you sell a product, the best way to promote it is to have affiliates who will lend ad space on their websites for free and even help you sell your stuff. You can create your own affiliate program or join an affiliate network.

These were just a few of possible site promotion strategies that will help you get traffic, and eventually get your website into the top of search engine rankings. Of course the time frame differs, depending on how competitive the subject of your website is. If you use PPC advertising, it can shorten the process. But if you are on a tight budget and can afford only free methods, you will still succeed. Just make a plan for your site promotion activities and stick to it. The results will come!