In Part One of our Website Traffic Blueprint article series overview, we explained that the key to turning your website into an automated traffic generation machine is to use an “expertly configured” WordPress website.
As we also explained, an expertly configured WordPress website 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, features and functionality of WordPress and its integration with various sites, specifically in areas like SEO, third-party site syndication and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress website or blog, all you have to do to drive more 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 to start driving web traffic is add content on a regular basis.
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 discuss the “Setup” phase of the automation process. We will help you understand 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 Automation Blueprint – Setup Phase
If You Haven’t Got A Website Yet
If you haven’t got a web presence yet, then it’s really quite simple … build a WordPress site!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and easy-to-use content management system available. We provide loads of 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 as a platform for doing business online, see this article: Facts And Figures About WordPress Usage
After making the choice to build your website with WordPress, the next step is to choose which WordPress platform you will run your web presence on.
This step is important because there are 2 types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
WordPress – Self-Hosted vs Hosted
(WordPress Hosted vs WordPress Self-Hosted)
WordPress offers website owners a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
The “self-hosted” option means you can download the full-featured WordPress software at no cost from WordPress.org and host a WordPress site or blog under your own domain name.
With the “hosted option”, WordPress hosts your site for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, some 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 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 site 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 own domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Have An Existing Website
If you already have an existing site, check to see if the web site has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: How To Tell If A Site Is A WordPress Site
If your existing website was built using the WordPress 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 website runs on something other than WordPress, then you have to make some decisions.
Take a look at the diagram below. It will help you decide how to set up WordPress on your domain …
(Use the above diagram to help you decide where to set up WordPress on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing website with a WordPress website, or
- Keep your existing web site and add a WordPress blog. Your WordPress blog will then be expertly configured and used to drive traffic to your main web site.
If you choose to keep your existing site and add a WordPress blog, make sure to use the self-hosted version of WordPress, which requires your own domain name and webhosting, 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 for your main site, install the software in the “root” folder of your domain (e.g. http://mydomainname.com).
If you have an existing website, then you will want to install WordPress in a subdirectory of your domain, e.g. www.mydomainname.com/blog (you can name your subdirectory 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 blog
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 series.
This is the end of Section Two
To read more, click here:
This tutorial is part of an tutorial series aimed at helping you learn how to grow your business online inexpensively and drive traffic sustainably using a WordPress website and proven marketing strategies that are easy to implement.
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