Traffic is the most essential element for a successful internet company. Besides ensuring that you are selling a terrific product and you have your other business needs taken care of, it all gets down to generating traffic.

If your site is up and running and you're not getting the traffic you think you should get, it is time to revamp your traffic generating strategy. You need to stay one step ahead of the competitors. You should have been fixing your traffic flow yesterday.

Timing is everything. But when generating traffic, you need to be ahead of everyone else. Don't think of today and tomorrow as when you'll begin, but yesterday. Here are seven surefire methods to increase your traffic starting yesterday. Give them a try.

1) Make the investment for good search engine

advertising. It will be worth your while. Yahoo's Overture and Google's Adwords both provide lucrative advertising plans that are popular and effective. This does cost some financial outlay, but Overture and Adwords are sure paths to successfully increasing your traffic. It is easy to see for yourself that search engine advertising works. You see more and more companies advertising on results pages. If it didn't work, they wouldn't use it. You'll find it is worth every penny.

2) Trade or exchange links with similar sites. By exchanging links, you can both benefit from the efforts made by you and the owner of the reciprocal site. Each site benefits by getting some traffic from the other site. By trading more links, you can get more traffic than you might expect.

3) Viral marketing is a good tool. Viral marketing is a tool that allows you to spread the word about your company and products with little to no cost. Attach your company's name or link to a funny video or interesting article and let it spread. People will continue to send the entertainment to their friends and family, and some will be bound to check out your link.

4) Use the right keywords and phrases to fit your site content. Search engines work by looking for keywords. The pages that fit those keywords show up on their results pages. By having the right keywords in your pages, you'll have a higher ranking than if you didn't worry about including the right words. You can write your own content for your site or hire people to do it for you.

5) Articles will lead traffic to your site. Submit articles to any of several article sites on your subject of expertise. Include a link to your site in your bio, and you'll generate traffic from the people who have read your article. Be sure to include a brief description of your products and services.

6) Be active in forums and online communities By taking part in these online communities and forums, you can capture a target market and display your credibility and expertise. With a good foundation laid, people will trust you and be quick to buy your products and services. Traffic will increase by helping people feel they know you.

7) Free newsletters will create a list of prospects that are eager to buy. People interested in your niche will sign up for a free newsletter. If they like the newsletter, they will refer it to their friends and family. Soon your list will grow. This list will turn into customers while they continue to increase your traffic by recommending your newsletter and site.