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 different than a professionally-configured WordPress website. An ”expertly configured” WordPress website or blog is a website or blog 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 enormous power, features and functionality of WordPress and its integration with various sites, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, external site syndication and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress site, all you have to do is publish content on a regular basis to bring more traffic!)
Once you have your WordPress site expertly configured and fully set up, all you need to do to drive more traffic is add great content on a regular basis.
As outlined in Part One of this article series, the components of this automated web traffic system 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 Traffic System – Setup Phase
If You Haven’t Got A Website Yet
If you haven’t got a website yet, it’s quite simple … get WordPress!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and the easiest 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 learn just how popular WordPress is as a web publishing platform, see this article: WordPress Statistics
After choosing to build your web presence with WordPress, the next step is to choose which type of 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 Hosted vs WordPress Self-Hosted
(WordPress Hosted Or WordPress Self-Hosted?)
WordPress offers a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
WordPress.org lets you 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 hosts 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 it is hosted for free at WordPress.com.
If you plan to build a professional web presence 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 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 just start off by hosting a WordPress site on your domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Have An Existing Website
If you already own an existing web site, check if it has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: How To Tell If A Website Is Powered By WordPress
If your blog was built using the WP CMS platform, 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 web site, you have some choices to make.
Take a look at the flowchart below. It will help you decide where to set up WordPress on your domain …
(Use this simple diagram to decide where 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 powered by WordPress, or
- Keep your existing website and add a WordPress-driven blog. Your WordPress blog will then be used to drive traffic to your main 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 webhosting, but allows you to fully configure your blog’s settings and customize the design and style of your existing site using a suitable theme.
To use WordPress for your main website, install the platform in the “root” directory of your domain (i.e. mydomainname.com).
If you 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 the subfolder whatever you want).
If you have an existing 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 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 WordPress Traffic Blueprint series.
This is the end of Part 2
To read more, click on the link below:
This article is part of a comprehensive series of tutorials aimed at helping site owners learn how to grow their business online inexpensively using a WordPress-driven website or blog and proven web marketing methods.
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"If you're new to WordPress, this can stand on its own as a training course and will stay with you as you progress from beginner to advanced and even guru status." - Bruce (Columbus, Ohio)
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