In Part 1 of our WordPress Web Traffic Blueprint article series, we explained that the key to turning a website into 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 website or blog. An expertly configured WordPress web site is a website 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 tremendous power, features and functionality of WordPress and the way it can be integrated with other services, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, third-party site syndication and reporting.
(With an expertly configured WordPress web site, all you have to do to start driving web traffic is publish content regularly!)
Once you have your WordPress site fully set up and expertly configured, all you then need to do is add great content on a regular basis to automatically generate web traffic.
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 discuss the “Setup” phase of the blueprint. 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 Web Traffic Automation System – Setup Phase
If You Don’t Have A Web Presence
If you don’t have a website yet, then it’s really quite simple … get a WordPress site!
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 about the benefits and advantages of using WordPress to grow your business online.
For example, to see just how popular WordPress is around the world, see this article: WordPress: Statistics And Market Share
After choosing to build your web presence with WordPress, the next step is to choose which WordPress platform you will run your web presence on.
This is important because there are two types of WordPress platforms available …
Hosted Or Self-Hosted WordPress Site?
(WordPress Hosted vs WordPress Self-Hosted)
WordPress offers a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
WordPress.org lets you download the full-featured WordPress software for free and self-host a WordPress site or blog using your own domain name. This is the “self-hosted” WordPress option.
In 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 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 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 Web Site
If you already own an existing website, first check to see if the website has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: The Easy Way To Tell If Your Web Site Was Built Using WP Software
If your blog runs on WordPress 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 site is not a WordPress website, then you have to make some choices.
Take a look at the flowchart below …
(Use this simple diagram to choose where to set up WordPress on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing website 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 your own domain name and web hosting, but allows you to fully configure your blog’s settings and customize the design of your existing site using an appropriate theme for WordPress.
To use WordPress for your main website, install the platform in the “root” folder of your domain (e.g. 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 the subdirectory whatever you want).
If you already 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 addressed in the next article in the series.
This is the end of Part 2
To read the rest of this article, click here:
This article is part of a comprehensive series of articles designed to help business owners learn how to grow their business and drive traffic organically using a WordPress-driven website and proven marketing strategies that are easy and quick to implement.
Would You Like To Get Notified When New Tutorials Get Published? Then Subscribe To This Site!
***
"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
***