In Part One of our Website Traffic Blueprint article series overview, we explained that the key to creating an automated 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 site. An expertly configured WordPress website or blog is a 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 full 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 search engine optimization, external site notification and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress web site, all you have to do to drive more traffic is publish great content on a regular basis!)
Once your WordPress site has been fully set up and expertly configured, all you need to do then to automatically drive web traffic is publish content on a regular basis.
As outlined in Part One of this article series, the components of the automated online traffic system are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we look at the “Setup” phase of the traffic automation process. We will 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 Traffic System – Setup
If You Have No Web Presence Yet
If you haven’t got a website yet, it’s quite simple … get WordPress!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and easy-to-use content management system on the planet. 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 see just how popular WordPress has become with businesses around the world, see this article: WordPress Statistics
After choosing to build your site with WordPress, the next step is to decide which WordPress platform you will build your web presence on.
This is important as there are two types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
WordPress Self-Hosted Or WordPress Hosted?
(WordPress – Self-Hosted vs Hosted)
WordPress offers users a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
The “self-hosted” option means you can download the full-featured WordPress software at no cost 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, a number of limitations on what you can and can’t do with your site when WordPress.com hosts it at no cost.
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 platform. The benefits of choosing the “self-hosted” option (WordPress.org) far outweigh those of hosting a free site 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 You can overcome the limitations of the free hosting platform 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 Site
If you already own an existing site, first, check if the web site has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: How To Check If Your Web Site Is A WordPress Web Site
If your blog runs on 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 web site was not built with WordPress, then you will need to make some choices.
Take a look at the flowchart below. It will help you choose how to set up WordPress on your domain …
(Use this simple diagram to help you decide where to set up WordPress on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing website so that your main website is powered by WordPress, or
- Keep your existing website and add a WordPress-driven blog. This blog will then be expertly configured and used to drive traffic to your main website.
If you choose to keep your existing web site and add a WordPress-powered blog, make sure to use the self-hosted version of WordPress, which requires your own domain name and webhosting, but allows you to fully configure your site’s settings and customize the design and style of your existing site using a closely-matching theme for WordPress.
To use WordPress for your main website, install the software in the “root” folder of your domain name (e.g. http://mydomainname.com).
If you already have a 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 anything 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 site
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 keep reading, click on the link below:
This article is part of a comprehensive series of tutorials aimed at helping you learn how to grow your business online and drive traffic automatically with a WordPress-driven website or blog and proven marketing methods that are easy and quick to implement.
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"I am beyond impressed with what you have put together. I can tell that you put a ton of hard work into building what you have. You have the absolute best content on WordPress I have ever seen!" - Robert T. Jillie
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