If you are faced with stagnant, low traffic numbers, it can be easy to believe you will never figure out how to drive traffic to a site. In reality, you have to put in an initial legwork to see results. These tips and methods will ensure an increased traffic amount for your blog, articles, or personal websites.

Social networking is a must. Start with your friends and family. Email links to everyone in your email address book and ask them to forward it along to anyone who might be interested in your content. Next, utilize the social sites you already use. Post links to your MySpace page and put your homepage on your Twitter account.

Facebook is one of the most valuable traffic-driving sources out there. Post links on your wall, post links on friends’ walls, message all of your Facebook friends. Create a group or fan page for your site and invite all your friends. The key here is to promote, not harass. Send a link once, not eight times. Your friends will be much more likely to pay attention when you post reasonably.

Twitter can be another great marketing tool if you use it wisely. Use hash tags to get non-followers to check out your site. Look for users who may be interested in what you have to offer, but do not spam them. Engage them in conversations. They will pay attention to you and may check out your site in the process.

If you are on any forums or message boards related to your site, post links in your signature and create a new thread. Search for new related forums to join. Look for people with inquiries related to your content, when someone asks a question that your site can answer, direct them there. You will be solving their problem while directing traffic to your site.

Consider social bookmarking. Many users have had success with sites like Digg and StumbleUpon. The trick is to not blindly promote your own sites without posting other links as well. No one is going to pay attention to someone only interested in self-promoting. Link to other sites on your own website: the owners will see the kindness you have paid them and will likely return the favor someday.

To recap, if you are looking to learn how to drive traffic to a site, promote your links in areas related to your own content. Look to serve the interests of your readers, not your own. Above all else, promote responsibly–no one likes a spammer.