In Part 1 of our Website Traffic Blueprint article series, we explained that the key to turning a website 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 as a professionally-configured WordPress website. An expertly configured WordPress site is a web site that is not only driven by WordPress, but has also been expertly set up and configured (either by yourself or professionally) to take advantage of the tremendous power, ease-of-use and built-in functionality of WordPress and its integration with other sites, specifically in areas like SEO, 3rd-party site notification and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress blog, all you have to do to generate more traffic is add great content on a regular basis!)
Once you have your WordPress site fully set up and expertly configured, all you need to do then to automatically drive more traffic is add content regularly.
As outlined in Part 1 of this article series, the components of this automated online traffic system are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we discuss the “Setup” phase of this 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 Traffic Automation Blueprint – Setup Phase
If You Don’t Have A Web Presence
If you don’t have 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 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 is around the world, see this article: Some Surprising Statistics About WordPress Usage
After making the choice to build your site with WordPress, the next step is to decide which WordPress platform you will use to build your web presence on.
This is important as there are 2 types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
Self-Hosted Or Hosted WordPress?
(Hosted Or Self-Hosted WordPress?)
WordPress provides users with a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
WordPress.org lets you download the full-featured WordPress software at no cost and host a WordPress site or blog using your own domain name. This is the “self-hosted” WordPress option.
In the “hosted option”, WordPress will host your site for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, some limitations on what you can and can’t do with your blog when it is hosted for free at WordPress.com.
If you are planning to build a professional business presence online 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 full control over 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 start off by hosting a WordPress site on your domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Have An Existing Website
If you already have an existing web site, check if your website 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 website 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 existing web site was not built with WordPress, then you have to make some choices.
Take a look at the simple flowchart below …
(Use the above diagram to decide where to set up WordPress on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing site with a WordPress site, or
- Keep your existing website and add a WordPress-driven blog. Your WordPress blog will then be used to drive traffic to your main website.
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 a domain name and web hosting, but allows you to fully configure your site’s settings and customize the design and style of your existing site using an appropriate theme.
To use WordPress for your main website, install the platform in the “root” directory of your domain (i.e. 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 want).
If you already have a 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 its internal settings. This step is addressed in the next article in the WordPress Traffic Blueprint series.
This is the end of Part 2
To read the rest of this article, click on the link below:
This article is part of a comprehensive series of tutorials aimed at helping you learn how to grow your business and drive traffic organically using a WordPress-powered website and proven web marketing methods.
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