Assuming you have started a new business that has a web site, or maybe your business switched to a new website.  Perhaps this is the first website for  your business.  A website is useless if there is no traffic.  Here are some ideas on how to get some traffic to your site.

Announce Your Presence

Write a simple press release and send it out to any news organization you can think of.  Not all of them will use your release.  Maybe only a few will.  Even if only one of them publishes your press release will result in some traffic.  Remember to send them to relevant bloggers too.  Some will check out your site.  They may talke about it in their blog.

Use Paid Campaigns

Consider using paid keywords or placing ads on other sites.  Sometimes this is necessary to kick things off.  The key to this is to determine if it is worth the advertising.  This makes most sense if you are looking to convert the traffic into sales.  If you are not getting income directly from the traffic, then this might not be the way to go.

Register On Web Directories

Register your site on web directories.  This

Search Engines

Getting found by search engines takes time.  There are many resources dedicated to this topic in great detail.  I won't go into detail here.  But I can give you some of the concepts.  The search engines try to give the searcher what they are looking for.  Search engines look at the content on a site to determine what the site is about.  One approach to use is to create a set of pages that are pure content.  These could be stories, tips or any sort of writing that is relevant to your site.  These must be on the same domain as your main site.  If your site is www.mylittlewidgets.com, you can have your content on tips.mylittlewidgets.com.

You do not have to write the content yourself.  There are tons of sources on the webs for any sort of content.

Social Networks

Use social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to spread the word.  Ask your friends to share your link.  You cannot overdo this.  But a request here won't go unnoticed by your friends.

Email

Send an email notice to everyone you know letting them know about your site.  Ask them to take a look at it.  Ask for their feedback..  Be prepared to do something with that feedback if you get it.  In the email, ask them to share the site with others.  Some will do it.

Use Videos

Videos should be used much more than you think.  People search for things on YouTube all the time.  You can make a simple video talking about your product or service.  Share any expert knowledge you may have on the subject.  On the video, you would put a link to the site.

Conclusion

I realize these are simple high level tips.  However, they are effective.  Some of them take time.  Don't expect overnight success.

Good luck.