In Part One of our Website Traffic Blueprint article series overview, we explained that the key to turning your website 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 different than a professionally-configured WordPress site. An ”expertly configured” WordPress website or blog is a website or blog that is not only powered by WordPress, but has also been expertly set up and configured (either by yourself or professionally) to take advantage of the tremendous power, features and built-in functionality of WordPress and its integration with other services, specifically in areas like SEO, 3rd-party site syndication and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress blog, all you have to do to automatically bring traffic is add great content on a regular basis!)
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 generate more traffic.
As outlined in Part One of this article series, the components of this automated online traffic machine 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 start 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 Web Traffic Automation System – Setup
If You Don’t Have A Website Yet
If you don’t have a web presence yet, it’s quite simple … get a WordPress site!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and the easiest 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, see this article: WordPress: Facts And Statistics
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 is important because there are two types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
WordPress.org Or WordPress.com?
(Self-Hosted vs Hosted WordPress Site)
WordPress offers both a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
WordPress.org allows you to download the full-featured WordPress CMS application for free and 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, 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 web presence and you want to set up the traffic system described here, then 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 options by upgrading to a paid option, but then why not start off with a WordPress site hosted on your own domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Have An Existing Website
If you already own an existing website, check to see if it has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: How To Tell If Your Website Was Built With WordPress
If your existing web site was built using 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 powered by WordPress, then you have some choices to make.
Take a look at the simple flowchart below. It will help you decide where to set up WordPress on your domain …
(Use this simple flowchart to decide 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 built with WordPress, or
- Keep your existing site and add a WordPress blog. This blog will then be expertly configured and used to drive traffic to your main site.
If you choose to keep your existing website and add a WordPress-driven 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 design of your existing site using a suitable theme for WordPress.
To use WordPress as your main site, install it in the “root” folder of your domain (i.e. http://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 your subdirectory whatever you want).
If you have a 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 site
Once you have set up your WordPress site, the next step is to configure it. This step is covered in the next article in the series.
This is the end of Part Two
To keep reading about this topic, click on the link below:
This tutorial is part of a comprehensive series of tutorials designed to help you learn how to grow your business online with a WordPress-powered website and proven web marketing methods.
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