In Part One of our Website Traffic Blueprint article series, 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 site is different than a professionally-configured WordPress web site. An ”expertly configured” WordPress website or blog is a blog that is not only driven by WordPress, 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 its integration with other sites, specifically in areas like SEO, external site syndication and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress site, all you have to do to automatically start driving web traffic is publish content on a regular basis!)
Once your WordPress site has been expertly configured and fully set up, all you need to do then to automatically generate web traffic is add great content regularly.
As outlined in Part 1 of this article series, the components of this automated traffic blueprint are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we discuss the “Setup” phase of the blueprint. 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 System – Setup
If You Don’t Have A Web Presence Yet
If you haven’t got a web presence yet, it’s quite simple … get a WordPress site!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and easy-to-use content management system available. We provide loads of 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 has become as a web content management system, see this article: WordPress: Facts And Statistics
After making the choice to build your website with WordPress, the next step is to decide which type of WordPress platform you will run your web presence on.
This step is important as there are 2 types of WordPress platforms available …
Self-Hosted vs Hosted WordPress
(Hosted vs Self-Hosted WordPress)
WordPress offers website owners a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
WordPress.org lets you download the full-featured WordPress software at no cost and self-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 to what you can and can’t do with your blog when WordPress.com hosts it for free.
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 platform. 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 the free hosting limitations can be overcome by upgrading to a paid option, but then why not start off by hosting a WordPress site on your own domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Already Have An Existing Web Site
If you already have an existing site, first 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 Blog Runs On WP Software
If your web site is a WordPress web site, 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 website runs on something other than WP software, then you will need to make some decisions.
Take a look at the flowchart below …
(Use this simple flowchart to decide where to set up WordPress 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 web site and add a WordPress-powered blog. This blog will then be expertly configured and used to drive traffic to your main site.
If you choose to keep your existing site 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 look and feel of your existing web site using an appropriate WP theme.
To use WordPress as your main site, install it in the “root” folder of your domain name (i.e. www.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 your subdirectory anything you like).
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 blog
Once you have set up your WordPress site, the next step is to configure it. This step is addressed 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 a comprehensive series of tutorials aimed at helping business owners learn how to grow their business online and drive traffic sustainably using a WordPress-driven website and proven web marketing strategies.
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"These tutorials have so much information and are easy to understand. If you use WordPress or plan to in the future these will help you with everything you need to know." - Valisa (Mesa, Arizona)
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