An unknown website is as good as a non-existent one.
You would not expend great efforts to build a site that nobody wants to visit, or nobody gets to visit because they don't know it exists.
And if you are marketing a product or service through that site, your business' bank account balance must still be the same as the day you opened it.
Aside from getting your site listed in popular search engines so it will appear in their results and gain visitors for your webpage, you can also try the way of lead generation to get traffic to your site.
You can avail of either a lead generation service for a fee or you could also get free leads from websites offering such a service.
However, getting leads is just the beginning of a long process to get someone to buy your product or service.
Using the leads you get, you must build a relationship with those unknown names in that list of leads.
Since basically you want them to trust and believe what you are saying through your site, you need to present your case as clearly and direct to the point as possible.
Get them to respond by offering something valuable they can't refuse.
And what is it that they cannot refuse? Something that is free! People respond positively if they know something is in it for them, especially if they can get it for free.
Just make sure that what you are offering is fit for your target customers or at least, it should be something that anyone can use.
You may want them to experience your product or service even before they buy so you could send them a product sample or a CD where they can watch a demo of your product or service in action.
Your aim here is to convince your prospects that they need or want what you have.