In Part One of our Web Site 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 site is different than a professionally-configured WordPress web site. An expertly configured WordPress website or blog is a blog that is not only driven by the WordPress CMS platform, 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 built-in functionality of WordPress and its integration with various services, specifically in areas like SEO, external site syndication and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress website, all you have to do to automatically drive more web traffic is add content regularly!)
Once you have your WordPress site fully set up and expertly configured, all you need to do then is add great content regularly to automatically generate more web traffic organically.
As outlined in Part 1 of this article series, the components of the automated web traffic blueprint are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we look at the “Setup” phase of this process. We will 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 Automation System – Setup
If You Don’t Have A Website Yet
If you don’t have a web presence yet, then it’s really 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 see just how popular WordPress has become as a platform for building a web presence, see this article: Facts And Figures About WordPress
After choosing to build your website with WordPress, the next step is to choose which WordPress platform you will build your web presence on.
This step is very important because there are two types of WordPress platforms available …
Self-Hosted Or Hosted WordPress?
(WordPress.org vs WordPress.com)
WordPress offers users a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
With the “self-hosted” option you can download the full-featured WordPress software at no cost from WordPress.org and host a WordPress site or blog under your own domain name.
In the “hosted option”, WordPress hosts your site 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 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 domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Already Have An Existing Website
If you already own an existing site, check to see if your site has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: The Easy Way To Tell If Your Web Site Runs On WordPress
If your existing web site was built using 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 existing website was built using something other than WordPress, you will need to make some decisions.
Take a look at the simple flowchart below …
(Use this simple flowchart to help you decide where to set up a WordPress site on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing web site so that your main website is built with WordPress, or
- Keep your existing web site and add a WordPress-powered blog. This blog will then be expertly configured and used to drive traffic to your main site.
If you choose to keep your existing 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 site’s settings and customize the design of your existing site using an appropriate WordPress theme.
To use WordPress for your main website, install the software in the “root” folder of your domain (i.e. www.mydomainname.com).
If you have a website, then you will want to install WordPress in a subfolder of your domain, e.g. www.mydomainname.com/blog (you can name the subfolder anything you like).
If you have an existing site 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 blog
Once you have set up your WordPress site, the next step is to configure its internal settings. This step is explained in the next article in the series.
This is the end of Part Two
To read the rest of this article, click here:
This article is part of a comprehensive article series designed to help you learn how to grow your business using a WordPress website and proven marketing strategies that are easy to implement.
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