In Part 1 of our Website Traffic Blueprint article series, we explained that the key to creating an automated web traffic generation machine is to use an “expertly configured” WordPress website.
As we also explained, an expertly configured WordPress web site is not the same as a professionally-configured WordPress web site. An ”expertly configured” WordPress web site is a web site that is not only built using the WordPress CMS, but has also been expertly set up and configured (either by yourself or professionally) to take full advantage of the tremendous power, features and functionality of WordPress and the way it integrates with various sites, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, content syndication and reporting.
(With an expertly configured WordPress site, all you have to do is publish content on a regular basis to automatically drive web traffic!)
Once your WordPress site has been expertly configured and fully set up, all you then need to do is add great content regularly to drive traffic organically.
As outlined in Part 1 of this article series, the components of the automated web traffic machine are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we discuss the “Setup” phase of the blueprint. We will help you understand the best way to start if you don’t have a web presence yet, or if you already have an existing site that may or may not have been built using WordPress.
WordPress Web Traffic Automation Blueprint – Setup
If You Have No Website Yet
If you don’t have a website yet, then it’s really quite simple … get a WordPress site!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and easy-to-use content management system available. We provide many articles, tips, and tutorials on this site about the benefits and advantages of using WordPress to grow your business online.
For example, to see just how popular WordPress has become around the world, see this article: WordPress Usage Statistics
After making the choice to build your website with WordPress, the next step is to decide which WordPress platform you will use to build your web presence on.
This is important as there are two types of WordPress platforms available …
Hosted vs Self-Hosted WordPress Site
(WordPress – Hosted vs Self-Hosted)
WordPress offers a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
WordPress.org lets you download the full-featured WordPress software at no cost and self-host a WordPress site or blog using your own domain name. This is the “self-hosted” WordPress option.
In the “hosted option”, WordPress will host your blog for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, some limitations on what you can and can’t do with your site when it is hosted for free at WordPress.com.
If you are planning to build a professional business presence online and you want to set up the traffic system described here, then you should choose the “self-hosted” WordPress version. The benefits of choosing the “self-hosted” option (WordPress.org) far outweigh those of hosting a free blog at WordPress.com. You can fully customize your web presence and avoid the limitations of the hosted option. Keep in mind that you can overcome the limitations of the free hosting platform by upgrading to a paid option, but then why not just start off with a WordPress site hosted on your own domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Already Have An Existing Website
If you already have an existing web site, check first if your website has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: The Easy Way To Tell If Your Web Site Was Built Using WP Software
If your existing website runs on WordPress, move to the next step, and make sure that your site’s internal settings have been properly configured. We cover this step in more detail in another tutorial.
If your existing website was built using something other than the WordPress CMS platform, you have some choices to make.
Take a look at the diagram below. It will help you choose where to set up a WordPress website or blog on your domain …
(Use this simple diagram to help you decide where to set up a WordPress website or blog on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing site with a WordPress site, or
- Keep your existing website and add a WordPress blog. This blog will then be expertly configured and used to drive traffic to your main web site.
If you choose to keep your existing site and add a WordPress-driven blog, make sure to use the self-hosted version of WordPress, which requires your own domain name and webhosting, but allows you to fully configure your site’s settings and customize the design of your existing website using an appropriate theme.
To use WordPress as your main website, install the software in the “root” folder of your domain (e.g. www.mydomainname.com).
If you have an existing website, then you will want to install WordPress in a subdirectory of your domain, e.g. www.mydomainname.com/blog (you can name the subfolder anything you want).
If you already have a website that you don’t want to delete or replace with a WordPress site, the other option you have is to set up your WordPress site or blog on an entirely different domain.
This way:
- mydomainname.com – goes to your existing website
- myotherdomain.com – goes to your WordPress blog
Once you have set up your WordPress site, the next step is to configure it. This step is explained in the next article in the WordPress Traffic Blueprint series.
This is the end of Part 2
To read the rest of this article, click on the link below:
This tutorial is part of an article series aimed at helping small business owners learn how to grow their business online using a WordPress-driven website and proven web marketing methods.
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