There are two types of tools I sometime use to bring multitudes of people to my Web site--with little or no risk to my pocketbook: pay-per-click (PPC) search engines and affiliate programs.

PPC search engines are great, if you've done your homework and chosen the keywords people will use to find you in the search engines. Using them can easily attract visitors who are interested in what you have to offer, often for just a few pennies.

Affiliate programs is another great way to get tons of interested visitors to your site by having other people promoting your site for you. And the best part is you don't pay a dime unless the visitors referred by your affiliates buy your product. Once we take a closer look at these tools, I will show you a cool way to combine these two techniques.

Using PPC Search Engines

True to their name, pay-per-click search engines, cost a premium every time a visitor clicks on your link--anything from a few cents to a few dollars.

There are three advantages to bidding on keywords in the pay-per-clicks:

1. You get effective advertising, because you only pay when someone actually clicks through to your site.

2. Your listing will get posted quickly--anywhere from a few hours to a couple of days at the most--meaning you can start profiting from increased traffic and sales almost immediately.

3. In order to rank in the No. 1 position, all you have to do is outbid your competitors, which is usually only a matter of a few pennies per click.

Done right, pay-per-click advertising can be very profitable but if not, you can lose quite a lot of money. Here are a few tips to help ensure your campaigns are profitable: