Since it is an information-based website, I would go hard on content and social media. Given that there is a lot of information to be shared in your niche, here's what I'd do.
1) I would pull out every ridiculously long tail keyword I can find with 10-50 exact match searches on adwords. Since it is an information website, I'd focus on "how to", "why do" etc... Pick one topic for each day and throw a piece of content on it. Make sure your on page SEO is at its best and share the content on your social medias.
@t0mmy talked about this just recently. This doesn't have to be award winning content, it rather needs to be straight to the point, answering the long term query. Bullet points are great for such content.
2) Content Syndication Networks or Content Distribution Networks (call em what you like) - if I was to spend money on an info-website, I'd do it there.
Here you can check out some websites similar to Outbrain.
Here you can find a good comparison study on Taboola, Outbrain and nRelate. However, do not waste your money on these networks if your content is represented by the 5 dollar, 500 words value. You don't need to revolutionize your niche, but you need engaging and well written content to maximize your roi from these networks.
3) Create infographs and share them on the above mentioned networks and your social media accounts.
This is a great example of a creative infograph, just look at the amount of shares at the bottom.
4) I'd learn to
use the hashtag properly. This learning is free, so your budget won't suffer.
But that's just me. I'd spend my money on the creative side, rather than the technical side (buying links) and pray that one of my pieces gets re-tweeted by Lady Gaga through one of my #hashtags
