An affiliate marketer must learn how to continually generate traffic. Having a website with a great design and solid content is very important. But, without traffic being generated to the site, successful results will be minimal or nonexistent.

Creating a flow of traffic to your website or sales page requires know-how and perseverance. While getting started may seem a bit overwhelming, especially with so many other marketers vying for their share of attention, it is definitely possible to establish a place for sales in your target market.

Most successful affiliates agree that generating traffic can often be a challenge. However, they also say that when the following seven strategies are consistently applied, the odds of increased traffic flow is significantly improved.

Here are 7 Traffic Strategies for Affiliate Marketers:

1. Use the Search Engines to Your Advantage

Gain maximum benefit from the search engines by appearing as one of the initial results listed on the first page. This places you ahead of other websites offering similar products or services and more readily visible to the searcher. Read on for ways to accomplish this goal.

2. Use Popularity Linking to Help Drive Traffic

To accomplish high search engine results your website must be attracting significant traffic. One key method toward achieving this is through the use of links by connecting with other relevant websites. This activity will help to boost your status with the search engines.

Generate popularity links by finding other websites that are similar to yours, but do not directly compete with your offerings. Then strike an arrangement to have reciprocal links within content or in advertisements. Here is a place to use some ingenuity. Offer an incentive for the other party to participate. In other words, what is in it for them? This process can be a win-win situation.

3. Write Articles Offering Valuable Content

Writing Articles with quality content targeted to your audience is a great way to generate traffic. An article with valuable content can help to promote your website, create a buzz to attract new readers, and increase the number of popularity links to your website.

The resource or signature box at the end of the article provides the opportunity for your brief self-promotion, including a link that leads back to your sales page.

Submit your articles to Article Directories, other websites or blogs and publications. You can also use the articles in ezines/newsletters with links back to your site.

4. Establish a Joint Venture Marketing Arrangement

Another effective way to promote your product or service is through Joint Venture (JV) marketing. This method establishes a marketing relationship between two people to help each other generate traffic and make sales.

For example, website owners may agree to simply promote one anothers products or services, or do this in exchange for a slice of the commissions. JV partners can swap ads and links to their sites. There is really no limit to the possibilities of joint venture arrangements. But, the bottom line is that both parties benefit by reaching a wider audience and in building their customer lists more quickly.

5. Join an Affiliate Program to Promote Your Product

If you have your own product, consider associating with an established affiliate program as a merchant. Affiliates will earn commissions by marketing your product. With other marketers actively promoting your product, this can help to generate significant traffic. A product can be established through variety of ways. Such as, private label content, product development ventures, creative up-sells, and much more.

6. Create a List of Subscribers with an Autoresponder

Whatever method you are using to market a product or service, be sure to capture the name and/or email address of the prospect or customer to an autoresponder program. Building a subscriber list is essential for any online marketer. Having a customer list is the backbone for promoting backend sales, which is where most of the income is ultimately generated.

7. Know Your Target Market and Aim to Them

You must clearly know who your potential customers are and the most effective way to market to them. Surprisingly, this extremely important step is often not addressed or is poorly handled.

Take the time to research exactly who your target market is and the best ways to communicate with that niche. How do you treat the prospect who reaches your site? Is the site presentation geared to your particular market customer. For example, is the copy relevant, is the design enticing, and is the prospect led through an appropriate sales funnel?

An affiliate marketer needs to employ a variety of effective strategies to generate traffic. By diversifying in the use of multiple approaches for gaining traffic, you not only increase the potential for maximum results, but also protect yourself when a traffic source falls short of expectations. Practice these seven traffic strategies and always be on the lookout for additional ways to reach your target market.

Author's Bio: 

David Schaefer is a success coach and writes on the topics of personal development and Internet marketing. He offers a FREE REPORT on how to take advantage of a Ready-Made Internet Marketing Plan. Also, visit his blog at Discover Million Dollar Desire Blog.