In Part One of our Website Traffic Blueprint article series overview, we explained that the key to turning your site into 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 blog is a blog that is not only built using the WordPress CMS, but has also been expertly set up and configured (either by yourself or professionally) to take advantage of the enormous power, ease-of-use and functionality of WordPress and its integration with various sites, specifically in areas like SEO, external site notification and reporting.
(With an expertly configured WordPress 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 need to do then to automatically bring traffic is publish content regularly.
As outlined in Part 1 of this article series, the components of this automated web traffic blueprint are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we look at the “Setup” phase of the automation process. 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 Web Traffic System – Setup
If You Haven’t Got A Website
If you don’t have a website 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 on the planet. 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 learn just how popular WordPress has become, see this article: Statistics And Market Share Of WordPress
After choosing to build your website with WordPress, the next step is to choose which 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 …
Hosted vs Self-Hosted WordPress Site
(WordPress.org Or WordPress.com?)
WordPress offers users a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
WordPress.org lets you download the full-featured WordPress CMS application 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 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 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 blog at WordPress.com. You 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 start off by hosting a WordPress site on your own domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Already Have An Existing Web Site
If you already have an existing web site, first, check if the site has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: The Easy Way To Tell If Your Website Was Built Using WP Software
If your existing web site 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 web site was built using something other than WordPress, you will need to make some decisions.
Take a look at the simple flowchart below …
(Use this simple diagram to choose how to set up a WordPress web site on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing web site with a WordPress-driven site, or
- Keep your existing website and add a WordPress-powered blog. Your WordPress blog will then be used to drive traffic to your main 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 web hosting, but allows you to fully configure your site’s settings and customize the look and feel of your existing site using an appropriate WP theme.
To use WordPress as your main site, install the software in the “root” folder of your domain name (e.g. 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 like).
If you have a site 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 it. This step is addressed in the next article in the WordPress Traffic Blueprint series.
This is the end of Section 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 small business owners learn how to grow their business online and drive traffic organically using a WordPress-powered website or blog and proven marketing strategies that are easy and quick to implement.
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"This is an awesome training series. I have a pretty good understanding of WordPress already, but this is helping me to move somewhere from intermediate to advanced user!" - Kim Lednum
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