In Part One of our WordPress Web Site Traffic Blueprint article series, 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 different than a professionally-configured WordPress website. An expertly configured WordPress blog is a site 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 tremendous power, features and built-in functionality of WordPress and the way it can be integrated with various sites, specifically in areas like SEO, external site syndication and reporting.
(With an expertly configured WordPress site, all you have to do to automatically bring more web traffic is publish content on a regular basis!)
Once your WordPress site has been fully set up and expertly configured, all you then need to do is publish content regularly to generate web traffic.
As outlined in Part One of this article series, the components of this automated online traffic blueprint are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we discuss the “Setup” phase of the automation process. You will learn 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
If You Don’t Have A Website Yet
If you don’t have a website yet, it’s quite simple … get a WordPress site!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and the easiest to use content management system on the planet. 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 has become, see this article: Some Surprising Statistics About WordPress
After choosing to build your website with WordPress, the next step is to decide which type of WordPress platform you will use to build your web presence on.
This step is important as there are 2 types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
Self-Hosted Or Hosted WordPress Site?
(WordPress – Self-Hosted Or Hosted?)
WordPress offers a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
WordPress.org lets you download the full-featured WordPress application for free and self-host a WordPress site or blog under your own domain name. This is the “self-hosted” WordPress option.
In the “hosted option”, WordPress hosts 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 plan to build a professional web presence and you want to set up the traffic system described here, then choose the “self-hosted” WordPress version. The benefits of choosing the “self-hosted” option (WordPress.org) far outweigh those of hosting a free site at WordPress.com. You can fully customize 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 just 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 site, first, check if the website has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: Tell-Tale Signs It’s A WordPress Web Site And WP-Checking Tools
If your 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 website is not a WordPress website, then you have some choices to make.
Take a look at the simple diagram below …
(Use this simple flowchart to choose where to set up a WordPress website or blog on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing site with a WordPress-powered site, or
- Keep your existing website and add a WordPress blog. This blog will then be used to drive traffic to your main web site.
If you choose to keep your existing website and add a WordPress blog, make sure to use the self-hosted version of WordPress, which requires a domain name and webhosting, but allows you to fully configure your blog’s settings and customize the design and style of your existing web site using a closely-matching WP theme.
To use WordPress as your main site, install the platform in the “root” directory 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 whatever you like).
If you already 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 site
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 WordPress Traffic Blueprint series.
This is the end of Section 2
To read the rest of this article, click here:
This tutorial is part of a comprehensive tutorial series aimed at helping you learn how to grow your business online inexpensively using a WordPress website and proven marketing methods that are easy to implement.
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