In Part 1 of our Web Traffic Blueprint article series overview, 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 not the same thing as a professionally-configured WordPress web site. An ”expertly configured” WordPress website is a website that is not only powered 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, features and functionality of WordPress and its integration with various services, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, content syndication and reporting.
(With an expertly configured WordPress site, all you have to do to generate more web traffic is publish content regularly!)
Once your WordPress site has been expertly configured and fully set up, all you need to do is add content on a regular basis to automatically bring traffic organically.
As outlined in Part 1 of this article series, the components of this automated website traffic blueprint are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we discuss the “Setup” phase of the blueprint. The focus of this section is to 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 System – Setup Phase
If You Haven’t Got A Website Yet
If you haven’t got a website yet, then it’s really quite simple … get WordPress!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and the easiest to use content management system available. 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 around the world, see this article: WordPress: How Popular Is It? Statistics About WordPress Usage
After choosing to build your site with WordPress, the next step is to decide which WordPress platform you will run 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 Hosted vs WordPress Self-Hosted)
WordPress offers website owners a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
WordPress.org allows you to download the full-featured WordPress CMS application for free and host a WordPress site or blog under your own domain name. This is the “self-hosted” WordPress option.
With the “hosted option”, WordPress hosts your blog for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, some limitations to what you can and can’t do with your site when WordPress.com hosts it for free.
If you are planning 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 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 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 domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Have An Existing Web Site
If you already own an existing web site, check first if your site 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 blog runs on 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 web site runs on something other than WordPress, you have some choices to make.
Take a look at the simple flowchart below …
(Use this simple diagram to help you choose where to set up a WordPress site on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing website with a WordPress-driven site, or
- Keep your existing site and add a WordPress-powered blog. This 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-driven 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 and style of your existing site using a suitable WordPress theme.
To use WordPress as your main site, install the software in the “root” folder of your domain (i.e. mydomainname.com).
If you already 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 subdirectory whatever you like).
If you have an existing website 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 it. This step is covered in the next article in the series.
This is the end of Part Two
To read the rest of this article, click on the link below:
This article is part of a comprehensive series of tutorials designed to help business owners learn how to grow their business online inexpensively and drive traffic organically with a WordPress website and proven online marketing strategies.
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