If you visit Alexa.com you not only can check out a margin search engine (not Google, MSN or Yahoo), but if you notice the tabs you see one for traffic rankings.  You can then analyse sites for how they rank according to alexa and see something like this:

• Traffic Rank for cnn.com:  26 (5)
• Speed:  Slow (67% of sites are faster), Avg Load Time: 2.6 Seconds  (what's this?)
• Other sites that link to this site:  19,511
• Online Since:  22-Sep-1993

This is what you get for cnn.com, but for other sites that aren't coordinated (or registered with alexa) will have less comprehensive data. 

Play with it as the more you know these kinds of tools the more likely you will know where to look when you need something.

Also look into registering your site by filling in the information form on alexa.com.

Hosting a site isn't just about getting the site to work, it is also about ensuring you get the traffic you need to make whatever you are doing successful.