In Part One of our WordPress Web Site 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 web site is not the same as a professionally-configured WordPress site. An expertly configured WordPress site is a blog that is not only powered by the WordPress CMS, but has also been expertly set up and configured (either by yourself or professionally) to take full advantage of the enormous power, ease-of-use and functionality of WordPress and the way it can be integrated with various sites, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, 3rd-party site notification and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress web site, all you have to do to automatically start driving traffic is add great content regularly!)
Once you have your WordPress site expertly configured and fully set up, all you then need to do to automatically generate more web traffic is publish great content regularly.
As outlined in Part 1 of this article series, the components of this automated website traffic machine are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we look at the “Setup” phase of the traffic 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 Traffic System – Setup
If You Don’t Have A Website
If you haven’t got a web presence yet, then it’s really quite simple … build a WordPress website!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and easy-to-use content management system available. We provide many articles, tutorials, and tips 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 worldwide, see this article: How Popular Is WordPress? Facts And Figures About WordPress
After making the choice to build your site with WordPress, the next step is to decide which type of WordPress platform you will use to build your web presence on.
This step is very important because there are 2 types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
WordPress – Hosted vs Self-Hosted
(Hosted Or Self-Hosted WordPress?)
WordPress offers website owners a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
The “self-hosted” option lets you download the full-featured WordPress CMS application for free from WordPress.org and host a WordPress site or blog using 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 blog when WordPress.com hosts it at no cost.
If you are planning to build a professional business presence online and you want to set up the traffic system described here, then you should 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 domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Have An Existing Site
If you already have an existing site, first, check if it has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: The Easy Way To Tell If Your Web Site Was Built Using The WordPress CMS Platform
If your existing website 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 existing website was built using something other than the WP CMS platform, you have some decisions to make.
Take a look at the flowchart below …
(Use this simple diagram to help you decide how to set up a WordPress site on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing website with a WordPress site, or
- Keep your existing website and add a WordPress blog. This blog will then be expertly configured and used to drive traffic to your main website.
If you choose to keep your existing website and add a WordPress-driven blog, make sure to use the self-hosted version of WordPress, which requires your own domain name and web hosting, but allows you to fully configure your blog’s settings and customize the design and style of your existing website using a closely-matching theme.
To use WordPress as your main website, install it in the “root” directory of your domain (i.e. www.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 want).
If you already 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 its internal settings. This step is covered in the next article in the WordPress Traffic Blueprint series.
This is the end of Part 2
To read the rest of this article, click on the link below:
This tutorial is part of a comprehensive series of articles aimed at helping you learn how to grow your business online inexpensively using a WordPress-driven website and proven web marketing strategies.
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