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 website or blog is not the same as a professionally-configured WordPress website. An expertly configured WordPress site 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 advantage of the tremendous power, ease-of-use and built-in functionality of WordPress and the way it can be integrated with various services, specifically in areas like SEO, content syndication and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress website, all you have to do to automatically start driving traffic is publish content on a regular basis!)
Once you have your WordPress site expertly configured and fully set up, all you then need to do to drive more traffic is publish great content regularly.
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 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 web presence 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 Website
If you don’t have a website yet, then it’s really quite simple … get WordPress!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and the easiest to use content management system on the planet. We provide loads of articles, tutorials, and tips 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 web content management system, see this article: Surprising Statistics About WordPress Usage
After making the choice to build your web presence with WordPress, the next step is to choose which WordPress platform you will build your web presence on.
This step is important as there are 2 types of WordPress platforms available …
WordPress – Hosted vs Self-Hosted
(WordPress – Self-Hosted Or Hosted?)
WordPress offers website owners a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
WordPress.org allows you to download the full-featured WordPress CMS application at no cost and host a WordPress site or blog under your own domain name. This is the “self-hosted” WordPress option.
With the “hosted option”, WordPress hosts your blog for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, a number of limitations on what you can and can’t do with your site when WordPress.com hosts it for free.
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 have full control over 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 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 have an existing web site, check 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 Website Runs On WordPress
If your existing website is powered by 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 site is not a WP site, you have some choices to make.
Take a look at the flowchart below. It will help you decide where to set up a WordPress web site on your domain …
(Use this simple flowchart to help you choose how to set up a WordPress web site on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing site so that your main website is powered by WordPress, or
- Keep your existing website and add a WordPress blog. Your WordPress blog will then be expertly configured and used to drive traffic to your main web site.
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 your own domain name and web hosting, but allows you to fully configure your blog’s settings and customize the design of your existing website using a suitable theme for WordPress.
To use WordPress as your main site, install the software in the “root” directory of your domain (e.g. www.mydomainname.com).
If you already have an existing website, then you will want to install WordPress in a subfolder of your domain, e.g. www.mydomainname.com/blog (you can name the subdirectory anything you like).
If you already 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 site
Once you have set up your WordPress site, the next step is to configure its internal settings. This step is covered in the next article in the WordPress Traffic Blueprint series.
This is the end of Section Two
To keep reading this article, click on the link below:
This tutorial is part of a comprehensive series of articles designed to help you learn how to grow your business online using a WordPress-powered website and proven marketing methods that are easy and quick to implement.
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"I have used the tutorials to teach all of my clients and it has probably never been so easy for everyone to learn WordPress ... Now I don't need to buy all these very expensive video courses that often don't deliver what they promise." - Stefan Wendt, Internet Marketing Success Group
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