Make My Laptop Faster?

I happen to be a computer newbie, I don't know much about them.
I have a laptop I use everyday to check my email and browse the web, it's working very slow for some reason. How can I make it run faster?
I was thinking about installing a game but it works so slow that it won't even run, I need to make it work fast. Do i need to add more memory? Sorry if I just said something dumb.

My laptop used to run slow too, after I made some changes it works much faster.
Some tips to make your laptop run faster:

1. Run a disk defragmenter. What this does is compresses all of your files and streamlines them. This will speed up the amount of time it takes to access programs and process information. You should do this once a month.

2. Cut down on startup programs. It seems like every time you install new software it wants to launch at startup. This adds up after a while and will eat up a lot of valuable RAM which can cause general sluggishness. Access MSConfig by clicking Start > Run and typing "msconfig" without quotes. Then you can manually remove some of these unnecessary programs.

3. Clean up the Windows registry. This is perhaps the most important step you can take to make the laptop faster. The registry becomes filled with errors and this causes a major slow down in startup, shut down, and overall laptop speed.

I recommend you download an application called ccleaner. It will do this stuff for you.

My laptop runs much faster and cooler now, after I went inside and cleaned the cooling fans and the fan blades carefully with a Q-Tip, compressed air and a vacuum cleaner. The trick is to not damage the cooling fans, so some dexterity is involved. Don't let the fans spin while blowing or sucking the debris out. But if your fan blades are encrusted with gook, this it the solution.