If you are in for the longterm, people seem to lean towards SEO. Pick up SEOBook which seems to be the best SEO helper out there.
You will need linktrades. You will read about that. It helps the search engines get the ‘feeling’ that you have relevant content.
Toplists… They have not helped me out, but I am sure someone out there feels differently.
Best bet:
1. Buy SEO Book.
2. Read the WHOLE THING
3. Put it away.
4. Use it’s methods in developing your site
5. Re-read book and apply everything again (to make sure nothing was missed)
6. Link with other sites (not all at once, but over a period of time)
7. Wait a while.
8. Read seochat.com
9. Read webmasterworld.com
read… read… read… apply… apply… apply… patience!