In Part 1 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 is different than a professionally-configured WordPress site. An ”expertly configured” WordPress web site is a web site that is not only built using 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 various sites, specifically in areas like SEO, 3rd-party site notification and reporting.
(With an expertly configured WordPress web site, all you have to do to automatically drive traffic is publish great content on a regular basis!)
Once you have your WordPress site expertly configured and fully set up, all you then need to do to generate traffic is add content on a regular basis.
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 Traffic Automation System – Setup
If You Don’t Have A Website
If you don’t have a web presence yet, then it’s really quite simple … build your site with WordPress!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and easy-to-use content management system available. We provide many articles, tutorials, and tips on this site about the benefits and advantages of using WordPress to grow your business online.
For example, to learn just how popular WordPress has become as a web content management system, see this article: Statistics About WordPress Usage
After making the choice to build your site with WordPress, the next step is to choose which type of WordPress platform you will run your web presence on.
This step is important as there are two types of WordPress platforms available …
Hosted vs Self-Hosted WordPress
(WordPress.org Or WordPress.com?)
WordPress offers a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
With the “self-hosted” option you can download the full-featured WordPress software 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 blog for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, some limitations to what you can and can’t do with your blog 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 blog at WordPress.com. You get to have complete 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 just start off with a WordPress site hosted on your own domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Have An Existing Site
If you already have an existing web site, check to see if your web 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 website 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 web site was built using something other than WordPress software, then you have some choices to make.
Take a look at the simple diagram below. It will help you decide how to set up a WordPress website or blog on your domain …
(Use this simple diagram to help you choose how to set up WordPress 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 site and add a WordPress blog. This blog will then be 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 a domain name and web hosting, but allows you to fully configure your site’s settings and customize the look and feel of your existing web site using an appropriate theme for WordPress.
To use WordPress as your main site, install it in the “root” folder of your domain (i.e. www.mydomainname.com).
If you 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 your subfolder anything you want).
If you 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 blog
Once you have set up your WordPress site, the next step is to configure it. This step is explained in the next article in the WordPress Traffic Blueprint series.
This is the end of Section 2
To read the rest of this article, click here:
This tutorial is part of an tutorial series designed to help you learn how to grow your business online cost-effectively with a WordPress-driven website or blog and proven web marketing strategies.
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