In Part One of our Web Traffic Blueprint article series, we explained that the key to creating an automated traffic generation machine is to use an “expertly configured” WordPress website.
As we also explained, an expertly configured WordPress website or blog is not the same as a professionally-configured WordPress website or blog. An ”expertly configured” WordPress website or blog is a website or blog that is not only driven by the WordPress CMS, but has also been expertly set up and configured (either by yourself or professionally) to take full advantage of the enormous power, features and functionality of WordPress and how it can be integrated with various services, specifically in areas like SEO, content syndication and reporting.
(With an expertly configured WordPress web site, all you have to do to bring web traffic is publish great content regularly!)
Once you have your WordPress site expertly configured and fully set up, all you need to do then to automatically generate web traffic is add content on a regular basis.
As outlined in Part One of this article series, the components of the automated website traffic system are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we discuss the “Setup” phase of the blueprint. The focus of this section is to help you understand the best way to get started if you don’t have a website yet, or if you already have an existing site that may or may not have been built using WordPress.
WordPress Traffic System – Setup Phase
If You Have No Web Presence Yet
If you haven’t got a web presence yet, it’s quite simple … build a WordPress website!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and the easiest to use content management system on the planet. We provide loads of articles, tips, and tutorials on this site about the benefits and advantages of using WordPress to grow your business online.
For example, to learn just how popular WordPress is around the world, see this article: WordPress: Statistics And Popularity
After choosing to build your website with WordPress, the next step is to decide which type of WordPress platform you will build your web presence on.
This is important as there are 2 types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
Self-Hosted Or Hosted WordPress Site?
(WordPress Self-Hosted vs WordPress Hosted)
WordPress offers website owners a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
WordPress.org lets you download the full-featured WordPress software at no cost and host a WordPress site or blog using your own domain name. This is the “self-hosted” WordPress option.
With the “hosted option”, WordPress will host your blog for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, a number of limitations to what you can and can’t do with your blog 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 the free hosting limitations can be overcome by upgrading to a paid option, but then why not just start off with a WordPress site hosted on your domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Have An Existing Web Site
If you already have an existing web site, first, check if it has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: How To Check If A Site Is A WordPress Site
If your existing web site is a WordPress website, 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 blog runs on something other than WP software, you will need to make some decisions.
Take a look at the flowchart below. It will help you choose where to set up a WordPress website on your domain …
(Use this simple diagram to help you decide where to set up WordPress on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing web site with a WordPress-driven site, or
- Keep your existing web site and add a WordPress blog. Your WordPress blog will then be used to drive traffic to your main web site.
If you choose to keep your existing website and add a WordPress-powered blog, make sure to use the self-hosted version of WordPress, which requires your own domain name and web hosting, but allows you to fully configure your blog’s settings and customize the look and feel of your existing web site using a closely-matching theme for WordPress.
To use WordPress as your main site, install the software in the “root” directory of your domain (i.e. http://www.mydomainname.com).
If you have a website, then you will want to install WordPress in a subdirectory of your domain, e.g. www.mydomainname.com/blog (you can name your subdirectory anything you want).
If you already have a site 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 site
Once you have set up your WordPress site, the next step is to configure its internal settings. This step is addressed in the next article in the WordPress Traffic Blueprint series.
This is the end of Section 2
To keep reading about this topic, click here:
This tutorial is part of a comprehensive tutorial series aimed at helping you learn how to grow your business online inexpensively with a WordPress-driven website or blog and proven marketing strategies that are easy and quick to implement.
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"I am beyond impressed with what you have put together. I can tell that you put a ton of hard work into building what you have. You have the absolute best content on WordPress I have ever seen!" - Robert T. Jillie
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