Viral Blogging. Link Bait. Tagged. Dugg.

If you dont know what those words mean, dont worry. Theyre simply new terms for a timeless concept you likely already understand.

Publicity.

At their essence, these fancy digital terms are simply the new nomenclature for gaining attention. Getting press, as it was labeled in days now past, when intermediaries known collectively as the media decided who the public became aware of.

Online, the public now decides who gets publicity. What a concept, huh?

Its been said time and time again that links are the currency of the web. Without links, your odds of achieving significant online traffic (either from other websites or search engines) without big ad bucks are slim to none.

Its not enough anymore to just get people talking they need to be linking. Its more important these days that they spell your URL right, rather than your name.

It can be awfully lonely on the web when no one stops by.

If youre trying to do business online, lonely equals poor. Whether youre selling products, services or advertising, you need visitors who not only stop by, but return again and again. So its not enough anymore to just get people talking they need to be linking.

Heres four crucial elements to gaining web traffic today:

First of all, you need to be blogging. Search engines and other bloggers love the format, and its the key to attracting traffic. Youve got to join the conversation and have something valuable to say before anyone will bother acknowledging you.

Secondly, youll need to learn some good old-fashioned publicity strategies. The timeless things that have worked offline can also work great online.

Third, youll need to examine how publicity strategies have been specifically applied online. Be careful about violating the often complex rules of netiquette that govern what is acceptable online.

Finally, youve got to make sure your focus is on your readers, and not yourself. Publicity just for the sake of your own self-interest has a way of backfiring, and online it can get really ugly.