Looking for tips from "experienced" users

[dealzoid]

my site has been up for 2 months, tried many mods, skins, ads, affiliates

now I'm wondering what sites or businesses are essential to get to the next level, currently most of my content is rss feeds, 250 registered users, 900 twitter followers, with 1600 (avg) visits per day, 3600 was the best so far

so is it worth it to buy any of the "guaranteed" backlinks, how about vbseo, I'm also looking for the best price comparison script, and finally a logo designer

so all in all looking at around $2000, right now my site has been a test site to learn the coding, the marketing, and what to do and not to do, of course I'm still learning day by day

so if any body can help with some suggestions, it would be greatly appreciated, also wondering about using website link badges to improve traffic (those affiliate badges at the bottom)

now I'm sure that the answers are spread out over many threads, but just with the release of version 4.0, most advice drastically changes

so again help is appreciated, share the knowledge

oh I guess I should describe my site, a forum to discuss the best deals, coupons, but eventually also have a shopzilla style of merchant links with prices and descriptions, this is my first attempt at this

thanks