In Part One of our Web Site Traffic Blueprint article series, we explained that the key to turning your site into an automated 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 website or blog is a website or 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 tremendous power, ease-of-use and functionality of WordPress and its integration with various sites, specifically in areas like SEO, content syndication and reporting.
(With an expertly configured WordPress site, all you have to do is add great content regularly to automatically drive traffic!)
Once you have your WordPress site expertly configured and fully set up, all you need to do to automatically generate more web traffic is add content regularly.
As outlined in Part One of this article series, the components of this automated online traffic system are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we look at the “Setup” phase of this process. The focus of this section is to help you understand the best way to start 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 Don’t Have A Web Presence
If you don’t have a website yet, it’s quite simple … build a WordPress site!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and easy-to-use content management system available. We provide loads of articles, tutorials, and tips 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 Statistics
After choosing to build your web presence with WordPress, the next step is to decide which WordPress platform you will use to build your web presence on.
This step is very important as there are two types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
WordPress.org Or WordPress.com?
(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.
In 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 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 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 have complete control over 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 start off with a WordPress site hosted on your domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Already Have An Existing Site
If you already own an existing website, first, check if it has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: How To Tell If A Site Is A WordPress Site
If your web site was built using the WordPress CMS platform, 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 website runs on something other than WordPress, then you have some decisions to make.
Take a look at the diagram below …
(Use the above diagram to choose how to set up WordPress on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing site with a WordPress-driven website, or
- Keep your existing web site and add a WordPress-powered blog. Your WordPress blog will then be expertly configured and used to drive traffic to your main website.
If you choose to keep your existing web site and add a WordPress blog, make sure to use the self-hosted version of WordPress, which requires a domain name and webhosting, but allows you to fully configure your blog’s settings and customize the design of your existing web site using a closely-matching theme.
To use WordPress as your main site, install the platform in the “root” directory of your domain name (e.g. 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 whatever you like).
If you already have a website that you don’t want to delete or replace with a WordPress site, you can choose 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 it. This step is addressed in the next article in the WordPress Traffic Blueprint series.
This is the end of Section Two
To read the rest of this article, click on the link below:
This tutorial is part of a comprehensive series of tutorials designed to help business owners learn how to grow their business online inexpensively and drive traffic organically with a WordPress-driven website or blog and proven marketing methods that are easy and quick to implement.
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"This is an awesome training series. I have a pretty good understanding of WordPress already, but this is helping me to move somewhere from intermediate to advanced user!" - Kim Lednum
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