Tag: Drive More Visitors To WordPress Site

Welcome to Part Five of our WordPress Website Traffic Blueprint article series, where we show you how to grow your business online automatically using the WordPress CMS.

So far, here is what we have covered in this series:

In Part 1 of this series, we provided an overview of the traffic automation process, and explained why using an expertly configured WordPress site is the key to automating traffic to your website …

(With an expertly configured WordPress website, all you have to do to automatically generate more web traffic is publish web content regularly!)

In Part Two, we discussed the setup phase of the automation process. We helped you understand the best way to get started if you don’t have a web presence yet, how to set everything up if you already have a site, and what to do if your website was built with WordPress.

(In Part two we show you how to set up WordPress on your domain)

In Part 3, we focus on important configuration decisions. We configured all the settings that can affect your site’s traffic-getting ability …

(In Part 3 you learn how to configure hosting settings, internal settings, and external settings that can affect your site’s ability to generate traffic automatically)

In Part 4, we explained how to set up various WordPress plugins that can help bring new traffic automatically to your website or blog.

(Publish once and automate your content distribution to all other services!)

In this article, we discuss ways to optimize traffic generation using a number of tools and methods.

WordPress Web Traffic System – Systems

In addition to getting your WordPress website expertly configured, the key to generating quality traffic on a consistent basis is having a clearly-defined business vision, great digital planning, and good systems and process in place.

(Consistent traffic is the result of a business vision, planning, and great systems)

Let’s briefly review the systems that will help you grow and manage your traffic.

These include:

• Marketing Systems – How you create new traffic for your website.
• Technical Systems – The systems and processes used to keep your online presence operating efficiently for receiving traffic.
• Business Systems – How you manage and respond to new traffic.

(Systems help you grow and manage your web traffic)

Let’s briefly review how important these systems are for optimizing traffic:

Marketing Systems

Your marketing systems consist of the processes and strategies used to drive traffic to your business. Your online marketing systems can be tested by asking questions such as:

• What channels will you use to drive new traffic (e.g. blogging, video marketing, etc)?
• What resources and portion of your budget will you apportion to these marketing channels?
• Who will create and optimize your content, sales funnels, and run your marketing campaigns?
• How will you track conversions and measure the cost-effectiveness of your marketing campaigns?

During the setup and configuration phase, you should have installed an analytics program (e.g. Google Analytics). If you’re just starting out, you may want to consider investing in some paid advertising to help generate some initial data, such as the keyword phrases people are searching online to find your site, which you can use to create content better targeted to your audience’s needs.

Technical Systems

Your technical systems and processes ensure that your digital presence remains operating efficiently for receiving traffic. There’s no point driving traffic to your website if your site is constantly down or your web pages take a long time to load.

Your systems need to be able to adequately handle areas like webhosting, site maintenance and support, installing, configuring, and updating new applications (e.g. plugins), integration, customization, troubleshooting, etc.

You can test your technical systems by questions such as:

• Who looks after my server?
• Who will look after my website and keep my site maintained and up-to-date?
• Who will fix errors, troubleshoot problems, provide technical support and advice, etc. should things go wrong?

Many potential issues can be minimized if your website planning and setup and configuration phases have been completed correctly. Like all technology, however, you should expect problems. You will need the right technical systems in place to handle these.

Business Systems

Your business systems help you manage the influx of traffic. This includes:

• Communication systems
• Managing human and financial resources
• Handling sales inquiries
• Order fulfillment
• Customer training/service
• etc.

If you intend to outsource your digital marketing and technical support, then make sure you have excellent systems in place for managing all outsourcing.

WordPress Web Traffic Automation System – Traffic Optimization

If your business objectives are clear and your systems and processes are in place, all you need to focus on is how to develop and optimize a “traffic loop”.

Let’s walk through an example of implementing, optimizing, and automating a traffic loop. Take a look at the processes illustrated below …

(Implement, automate, and optimize your traffic loop)

Increase Reach And Visibility Online

The first step of the process is to get your business exposed to as many potential users as your resources allow.

Tips

• An expertly configured WordPress site will allow you to automatically publish your content on sites like Facebook, Twitter, GooglePlus, etc. The easiest way to increase your reach and visibility online, therefore, is to simply publish more content.
• As mentioned earlier, investing in some paid advertising (e.g. pay-per-click ads) can help you generate some initial data, which you can use to create web content targeted specifically to your audience’s needs.
• Repurpose your content to leverage different media formats.
• Continue learning about ways to attract more visitors using methods like SEO, PPC advertising, forum signatures, etc.

Tools, Plugins, & Strategies

See earlier sections of this tutorial series for a number of excellent tools, plugins, and methods we’ve already covered to help you reach more potential users.

Also, if you haven’t already, contact us to learn more about plugins that let you easily add the following to your WordPress website:

• Share your comments and posts online with others,
• Run contests, offer discounts/downloads for likes/shares,
• Add user generated content, feeds, etc.
• Publish and distribute content online in other media formats (e.g. videos, PDF guides, slides, etc.)

Build Authority & Credibility

Getting more content published is great, but to make this more effective, your content also needs to be building authority and credibility with visitors.

Publishing authoritative content not only helps to establish your credibility, it also improves your chances of getting more views from social sharing and hence more traffic.

Useful Tips

• Create and publish content that adds value to potential users and that showcases your expertise. This includes content that informs and educates readers, training content, user reviews, adding testimonials, etc.
• Consider publishing educational guides or special reports that you can sell or distribute online.

Tools & Methods

If you need topics for posting content on your site, then subscribe to our email training series on content marketing here:

Also, look for plugins that allow you to easily add the following to your site:

• Legal Pages
• Testimonials
• Customer Support (e.g. Helpdesk, Live Chat, etc.)
• Ratings
• User Reviews
• Badges/Certificates Of Trust

Grow Influence & Engagement

As your business grows, you may want to consider developing “traffic on tap.” You can do this by growing a list or starting an online forum, membership site, or even your own social network.

With “Traffic On Demand,” most of your traffic comes from customers or subscribers – people who already know you and trust you. Your influence and credibility can be used to generate traffic with every post you publish, forum post you add, or email you send out.

Useful Tips

• Encourage visitors to leave comments and start discussions on your site.
• Add an email newsletter and encourage people to subscribe.
• Add a free, paid, or ‘freemium’ membership site, online forum, or social community.
• Create or join a Facebook/LinkedIn Group.

Tools, Plugins, & Methods

There are many solutions and plugins that are easy to implement and can help increase your online influence and improve user engagement. For example:

• Autoresponders/Email Newsletters (e.g. Aweber, MailChimp, etc.)
• Contact Forms, Live Chat
• Forums and Discussion Groups (e.g. bbPress, BuddyPress)
• Polls and Surveys
• Webinars (e.g. Webinar JEO)
• Comment sharing
• Add media, image galleries, etc.

Identify Needs & Provide Solutions To These

By taking advantage of incoming traffic to find out what users need, you should have no problem coming up with ideas for new products and services, all of which can provide you with new opportunities to generate additional traffic.

Tips

• Consider creating an e-learning course.
• Consider publishing expert reports that can be sold or distributed online.
• Consider adding e-commerce to your business.

Tools, Plugins, & Strategies

If you plan to provide services, products, and solutions online (as opposed to just providing information), ask us about plugins that let you easily add the following to your website or blog:

• Membership Sites (e.g. Wishlist Member, S2 Member, etc.)
• Learning Management Systems (e.g. Courseware)
• Event Registrations (e.g. EventEspresso)

Analyze Data & Feedback

The final step of the process is the collection and analysis of data. Learning to gather and interpret data from existing traffic allows you to discover new traffic opportunities.

You should already have installed an analytics tool like Google Analytics on your site. Make sure you can also understand the data.

WordPress Web Traffic Automation Blueprint – Summary

All you have to do once you implement the above strategies is rinse and repeat, fine-tuning and refining your methods as you go to grow your traffic and improve your results.

In summary:

• Start with an expertly configured WordPress site backed by solid marketing, technical and business systems,
• Implement a content marketing strategy (with some paid advertising to drive initial traffic and generate useful data) to increase your reach and visibility online,
• Add plugins, list-building strategies, and other methods if required to help build authority, trust, and credibility, and also to improve engagement with users,
• Promote any new solutions, products or services using your existing channels and strategies to generate additional streams of traffic,
• Analyse your data and your results, automate your processes wherever possible, and begin the cycle again.

Hopefully, this article has given you a blueprint that will help you automate and optimize the process of driving traffic to your WordPress web site and build a better business online.

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