Targeted links are when other sites link to yours. Other releveant/related sites that is, as those links are most valuable rather than links from unrelated sites.
Article marketing is when you write and submit articles to directories, websites, forums etc which contain a link back to your own site. This is a fantastic way to get traffic and one of the easiest.
Sounds like you need to learn the very basics in which case the Newbies forum will be a good read for you
I suggest you do a google search for bum marketing method. It's a great explanation of article marketing and it is free. Several affiliate marketers (me included) made first sales following these methods. It's not the only way to drive traffic to your site, but I think it's great education.
Here are some other ways you could improve traffic to your sites, some oif which will also help in your site's SEO: (posted this months ago somewhere in this forum)
Directory Submissions - targeted links at high PR directories
Blog and Forum participation - to high PR and frequently crawled sites
Social Bookmarking
Press Releases
Classified Ads
Article Marketing - submit to high PR directories, could also serve as link baits
Link Exchange - with relevant and authority sites
Link Baits - for organic linking
Etc. etc.
How do I get more traffic?
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