If you're business is focused on a "niche" or a market segment with very specific characteristics, internet forums may be a good means by which to create traffic for your web site.
Internet forums are online discussion rooms that evolved out of the "newsgroups" and "list servers" that were used in early internet days. They are discussion rooms focused, generally, on a specific topic or field. Such forums exist on almost every imaginable topic or specialty that you can think of. (Take a quick look at big-boards.com or groups.google.com to get an idea of how expansive forums can be!)
If you bring useful information and content to a forum it is welcome, but most forums outright ban blatant advertising or self-serving posts. But most forums do not mind a legitimate and appropriate discussion that references products, services, or third party links. Many forums do allow a contributor to include a link or reference to their own site.
As a marketing tool, therefore, forums can be an excellent way to shape "word-of-mouth" interest in your site, service or product. To exploit this, you must be prepared to participate in the forum and take an active role in relevant discussions.
Be warned, however. Most forums publish rules for what posts and are acceptable to the forum members. If you violate these rules you risk eliciting the contempt of all its members. More than one would-be marketer has found themselves completely ostracized by a valuable internet community because they got too aggressive with a forum. So be sure to check out their rules, avoid blatant sell
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