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 site is not the same thing as a professionally-configured WordPress website or blog. An expertly configured WordPress web site is a website that is not only built using WordPress, 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 how it integrates with other sites, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, external site notification and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress web site, all you have to do is publish content regularly to automatically bring more traffic!)
Once you have your WordPress site expertly configured and fully set up, all you then need to do is publish great content on a regular basis to automatically start driving traffic organically.
As outlined in Part 1 of this article series, the components of this automated traffic system are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we discuss the “Setup” phase of this process. We will help you understand the best way to get started if you don’t have a website yet, or if you already have an existing site that may or may not have been built using WordPress.
WordPress Web Traffic Blueprint – Setup Phase
If You Don’t Have A Website
If you don’t have a website yet, then it’s really 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 is, see this article: WordPress: Usage And Market Share
After choosing to build your website with WordPress, the next step is to choose which type of 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 …
WordPress.org vs WordPress.com
(WordPress – Self-Hosted vs Hosted)
WordPress offers website owners a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
WordPress.org allows you to download the full-featured WordPress software at no cost and self-host a WordPress site or blog under your own domain name. This is the “self-hosted” WordPress option.
With the “hosted option”, WordPress will host your blog for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, some limitations on what you can and can’t do with your site 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 version. The benefits of choosing the “self-hosted” option (WordPress.org) far outweigh those of hosting a free blog 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 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 web site, check if the website has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: The Easy Way To Tell If Your Blog Was Built Using WordPress
If your web site 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 site is not a WP web site, then you will need to make some decisions.
Take a look at the flowchart below. It will help you decide how to set up WordPress on your domain …
(Use the above diagram to help you choose where to set up WordPress on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing site with a WordPress website, or
- Keep your existing site and add a WordPress blog. Your WordPress blog will then be used to drive traffic to your main website.
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 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 an appropriate theme.
To use WordPress for your main site, install the platform in the “root” folder of your domain name (e.g. 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 a site that you don’t want to delete or replace with a WordPress site, the other option you have is 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 its internal settings. This step is addressed in the next article in the 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 designed to help you learn how to grow your business and drive traffic organically using a WordPress-driven website or blog and proven web marketing strategies.
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