In Part 1 of our Web Traffic Blueprint article series overview, 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 website is not the same as a professionally-configured WordPress website or blog. An ”expertly configured” WordPress site is a blog that is not only driven by the WordPress CMS platform, but has also been expertly set up and configured (either by yourself or professionally) to take full advantage of the enormous power, features and built-in functionality of WordPress and its integration with various services, specifically in areas like SEO, external site syndication and reporting.
(With an expertly configured WordPress website, all you have to do to automatically start driving traffic is add great content regularly!)
Once your WordPress site has been expertly configured and fully set up, all you need to do then to generate more traffic is add great content regularly.
As outlined in Part One of this article series, the components of this automated online traffic machine are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we discuss the “Setup” phase of the traffic automation process. You will learn the best way to start 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 Automation System – Setup Phase
If You Don’t Have A Website
If you don’t have a web presence yet, it’s 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 many articles, tips, and tutorials on this site about the benefits and advantages of using WordPress to grow your business online.
For example, to see just how popular WordPress has become as a content publishing platform, see this article: How Popular Is WordPress? Useful Statistics About WordPress Usage
After choosing to build your web presence with WordPress, the next step is to choose which WordPress platform you will use to run your web presence on.
This step is very important because there are 2 types of WordPress platforms available …
WordPress – Hosted vs Self-Hosted
(WordPress Self-Hosted Or WordPress Hosted?)
WordPress offers users a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
The “self-hosted” option lets you download the full-featured WordPress CMS application for free from WordPress.org and host a WordPress site or blog using your own domain name.
With the “hosted option”, WordPress will host your site for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, a number of limitations on what you can and can’t do with your site when it is hosted for free at WordPress.com.
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 have full 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 with a WordPress site hosted on your domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Have An Existing Site
If you already own an existing website, check 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 Runs On The WP CMS Platform
If your web site is powered by 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 existing site is not a WordPress web site, you have some decisions to make.
Take a look at the simple flowchart below …
(Use the above flowchart to help you choose how to set up WordPress on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing site with a WordPress-driven site, or
- Keep your existing web site and add a WordPress blog. This blog will then be expertly configured and used to drive traffic to your main website.
If you choose to keep your existing website and add a WordPress-driven 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 look and feel of your existing web site using a closely-matching WordPress theme.
To use WordPress as your main website, install it in the “root” directory of your domain name (e.g. 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 subfolder anything you want).
If you 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 site
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 Section Two
To continue reading about this topic, click on the link below:
This tutorial is part of a comprehensive series of tutorials aimed at helping you learn how to grow your business online cost-effectively with a WordPress website or blog and proven online marketing strategies.
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