In Part 1 of our Web Traffic Blueprint article series, 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 web site is different than a professionally-configured WordPress website or blog. An expertly configured WordPress website or blog is a web site 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 advantage of the tremendous power, ease-of-use and built-in functionality of WordPress and its integration with other sites, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, content syndication and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress web site, all you have to do is add content on a regular basis to generate traffic!)
Once your WordPress site has been expertly configured and fully set up, all you need to do to automatically generate more web traffic is add content on a regular basis.
As outlined in Part 1 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 the automation process. You will learn 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 System – Setup Phase
If You Don’t Have A Website Yet
If you haven’t got a web presence yet, then it’s really quite simple … build a website with 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 is, see this article: How Popular Is WordPress? Some Surprising Facts And Figures About WordPress Usage
After choosing to build your site with WordPress, the next step is to choose which WordPress platform you will use to build your web presence on.
This is important because there are 2 types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
Self-Hosted vs Hosted WordPress
(Hosted vs Self-Hosted WordPress Site)
WordPress offers users a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
With the “self-hosted” option you can download the full-featured WordPress application for free from WordPress.org and host a WordPress site or blog under your own domain name.
With 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 blog when WordPress.com hosts it at no cost.
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 the free hosting limitations can be overcome by upgrading to a paid option, but then why not just start off with a WordPress site hosted on your own domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Already Have An Existing Website
If you already own an existing website, first, check if the website has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: How To Tell If Your Site Is A WP Site
If your existing blog runs on 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 website was built using something other than WordPress, 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 the above diagram to help you decide how to set up WordPress on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing web site with a WordPress-powered website, or
- Keep your existing site and add a WordPress blog. Your WordPress blog will then be used to drive traffic to your main web 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 web hosting, but allows you to fully configure your blog’s settings and customize the design of your existing web site using an appropriate theme for WordPress.
To use WordPress as your main website, install it in the “root” folder of your domain name (e.g. http://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 want).
If you already have a 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 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 series.
This is the end of Part 2
To read more, click here:
This article is part of an article series designed to help you learn how to grow your business online cost-effectively with a WordPress-powered website and proven online marketing methods.
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"I have used the tutorials to teach all of my clients and it has probably never been so easy for everyone to learn WordPress ... Now I don't need to buy all these very expensive video courses that often don't deliver what they promise." - Stefan Wendt, Internet Marketing Success Group
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