In Part One of our Web Site Traffic Blueprint article series overview, we explained that the key to turning a 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 not the same thing as a professionally-configured WordPress site. An ”expertly configured” WordPress blog is a web site that is not only powered by the WordPress CMS platform, 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 the way it integrates with various services, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, third-party site notification and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress web site, all you have to do is publish content on a regular basis to start driving traffic!)
Once your WordPress site has been fully set up and expertly configured, all you need to do then is publish content regularly to drive more web traffic.
As outlined in Part One of this article series, the components of this automated online traffic blueprint are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we discuss the “Setup” phase of this process. You will learn 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 Web Traffic Automation System – Setup
If You Don’t Have A Website Yet
If you haven’t got a web presence 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 many articles, tips, and tutorials about the benefits and advantages of using WordPress to grow your business online.
For example, to see just how popular WordPress is as a web content management system, see this article: Facts And Figures About WordPress Usage
After making the choice to build your website with WordPress, the next step is to decide which type of WordPress platform you will build your web presence on.
This step is important because there are 2 types of WordPress platforms available …
WordPress Self-Hosted Or WordPress Hosted?
(Hosted Or Self-Hosted WordPress Site?)
WordPress offers website owners a “self-hosted” and a “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 under your own domain name.
In the “hosted option”, WordPress will host 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 plan to build a professional business presence online and you want to set up the traffic system described here, then choose the “self-hosted” WordPress version. The benefits of choosing the “self-hosted” option (WordPress.org) far outweigh those of hosting a free blog at WordPress.com. You have complete control over 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 just start off with a WordPress site hosted on your domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Have An Existing Website
If you already own an existing website, check first if it has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: Tell-Tale Signs It’s A WordPress Site And WordPress-Checking Tools
If your web site was built using 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 blog runs on something other than WP software, you will need to make some choices.
Take a look at the diagram below …
(Use the above flowchart to decide where to set up a WordPress web site 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 website and add a WordPress-powered blog. This blog will then be expertly configured and used to drive traffic to your main web 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 blog’s settings and customize the look and feel of your existing site using an appropriate theme for WordPress.
To use WordPress as your main site, install it in the “root” directory of your domain name (i.e. 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 the subfolder whatever you like).
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 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 more, click on the link below:
This article is part of an article series designed to help business owners learn how to grow their business online inexpensively and drive traffic organically using a WordPress-driven website and proven marketing strategies that are easy to implement.
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