Unless your Web site is stuck in the 1990s, increasing traffic can be accomplished only by increasing content. Long gone are the days when a little usability research could produce a better design that significantly boosts page views. No whiz-bang tool will be your salvation. Content is once again king.

Increasing traffic while also cutting the reporting staff of the newspaper is an impossibility, unless the Web site is able to replace the lost content on its own.

I strongly oppose eliminating reporting positions from the newsroom because it hurts the Web site, which is supposed to lead media revenues into the future. Still, most news organizations have demonstrated little understanding of that reality. Short-sighted cuts are venturing even into Web departments. At LATimes.com, they’re transferring power to the newsroom and laying off Web staff in the name of eliminating redundancy. At best, this is a status-quo strategy, not one for growth.

Given the “situation on the ground,” it’s the job of Web leaders to deliver their strongest arguments yet for new resources that create the following:

1) User-generated content. Because our audiences are already sizable, media Web sites have a strong advantage over new entrants to the UGC market. Web leaders must explain to higher-ups that without hiring more reporters, the Web site cannot grow unless it “hires” the public to create content. This doesn’t mean asking the public to report stories. If that’s where your mind goes when I say “user-generated content,” then your understanding of UGC is shallow and doesn’t reflect the vast possibilities for using an audience’s expertise to your advantage.

2) Database reporting. Gannet had a lot of traffic-generating success just by posting random databases of information to its news Web sites. So I’m surprised more sites haven’t tried a similar tact. Get a list of arrests, list of foreclosures, list of lists. A wealth of low-hanging fruit is available from local governments and agencies. Even if the information is already posted by the government, it will likely develop traffic by exposing the information to a larger audience. I don’t recommend simply posting databases and waiting for traffic. Sure, it’ll work. But imagine the potential for traffic if these databases were put into context with some level of associated, evergreen reporting and explanation.

These two areas are your best bets for generating the most traffic with the fewest resources. In short, they’re your best bet for replacing traffic lost by shrinking reporting staffs.