Ask HN : How to get traffic to your new site
I have released several websites, and I've never been successful in generating traffic. I've bought ads, tried SEO tricks, blogged, nothing seems to work.
What methods and tricks have you guys used to get users to your site after launching? I've run into this problem with all kind of sites. I would imagine at least one of those sites would of had a good idea in them. More recently, I've made a stock trading website. Whenever, I talk to anyone who was/is a stock trader they love the site and think its a great idea. The problem is how do I get that group of people to the site to begin with. You seem focused on whether the site is a good idea. That doesn't matter. It only matters whether the site is useful. If it's useful, you can tell one person who will then start using it regularly and telling their friends. If it's not useful, make it useful. Why not just go ahead and link the sites you wish were more successful, then we can probably be more helpful. What kind of site is it? An obviously important aspect that you didn't mention is building a site that people will be interested in and care about... If nobody cares about what you made then all the ads, SEO tricks, and blogging in the world won't help you. there is no magic formula, you have to work hard to get each and every user, slowly building up your userbase. Eventually you'll build up a big enough userbase where word of mouth will drive more and more people to your site. you may want to try http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost_per_action