In Part One of our WordPress Web Traffic Blueprint article series overview, 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 website or blog is different than a professionally-configured WordPress website or blog. An ”expertly configured” WordPress site is a blog that is not only powered 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, ease-of-use and functionality of WordPress and how it integrates with various services, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, 3rd-party site syndication and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress website or blog, all you have to do is publish content regularly to automatically generate traffic!)
Once your WordPress site has been fully set up and expertly configured, all you then need to do is publish great content regularly to bring more web traffic organically.
As outlined in Part 1 of this article series, the components of the automated website traffic system are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we look at the “Setup” phase of the blueprint. The focus of this section is to 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 System – Setup
If You Haven’t Got A Web Presence
If you don’t have a website yet, it’s quite simple … get a WordPress site!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and easy-to-use content management system available. 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, see this article: WordPress Statistics
After making the choice to build your website with WordPress, the next step is to choose which type of WordPress platform you will build your web presence on.
This is important as there are two types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
WordPress Hosted Or WordPress Self-Hosted?
(WordPress Self-Hosted Or WordPress Hosted?)
WordPress offers users a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
The “self-hosted” option lets you download the full-featured WordPress application for free from WordPress.org and host a WordPress site or blog using your own domain name.
With the “hosted option”, WordPress will host your site 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 web presence and you want to set up the traffic system described here, then choose the “self-hosted” WordPress platform. The benefits of choosing the “self-hosted” option (WordPress.org) far outweigh those of hosting a free site 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 site, first, check if your web site has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: How To Check If Your Website Was Built With WordPress
If your web site runs on WP software, 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 blog runs on something other than WordPress, you have some choices to make.
Take a look at the flowchart below …
(Use this simple diagram to decide where to set up WordPress on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing web site with a WordPress website, or
- Keep your existing web site and add a WordPress blog. Your WordPress blog will then be used to drive traffic to your main website.
If you choose to keep your existing website and add a WordPress-driven 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 site’s settings and customize the design of your existing web site using a closely-matching WP theme.
To use WordPress as your main site, install the platform in the “root” folder of your domain (i.e. http://mydomainname.com).
If you already 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 your subfolder anything you want).
If you have an existing 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 blog
Once you have set up your WordPress site, the next step is to configure it. This step is covered in the next article in the series.
This is the end of Section Two
To read more, click on the link below:
This tutorial is part of a comprehensive series of tutorials aimed at helping website owners learn how to grow their business online and drive traffic sustainably using a WordPress website or blog and proven marketing strategies that are easy and quick to implement.
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