In Part One of our Web Site Traffic Blueprint article series overview, we explained that the key to turning your website into 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 site that is not only built using 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, ease-of-use and functionality of WordPress and how it integrates with other sites, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, content syndication and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress website, all you have to do is publish great content regularly to generate web traffic!)
Once you have your WordPress site fully set up and expertly configured, all you need to do then is add content regularly to drive web traffic.
As outlined in Part One of this article series, the components of this automated web traffic machine are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we discuss the “Setup” phase of the blueprint. We will help you understand the best way to get started if you don’t have a website 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 Haven’t Got A Website
If you haven’t got a website yet, it’s quite simple … build a WordPress website!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and the easiest 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 learn just how popular WordPress is around the world, see this article: How Popular Is WordPress? Statistics About WordPress Usage
After choosing to build your site with WordPress, the next step is to choose which WordPress platform you will build your web presence on.
This step is important as there are two types of WordPress platforms available …
WordPress – Self-Hosted vs Hosted
(Self-Hosted vs Hosted WordPress)
WordPress offers website owners a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
WordPress.org allows you to download the full-featured WordPress application for free and host a WordPress site or blog under your own domain name. This is the “self-hosted” WordPress option.
In the “hosted option”, WordPress will host your blog for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, a number of limitations on what you can and can’t do with your site when WordPress.com hosts it at no cost.
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 blog at WordPress.com. You get to 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 just start off by hosting a WordPress site on your domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Already Have An Existing Website
If you already have an existing website, first check to see if it 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 WordPress
If your 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 existing website was built using something other than the WordPress CMS platform, you have some decisions to make.
Take a look at the simple flowchart below …
(Use this simple diagram to help you decide how to set up WordPress on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing web site with a WordPress site, or
- Keep your existing website and add a WordPress-powered blog. This blog will then be used to drive traffic to your main web site.
If you choose to keep your existing site and add a WordPress-powered 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 design and style of your existing site using a suitable WP theme.
To use WordPress for your main site, install the platform in the “root” directory of your domain (e.g. http://www.mydomainname.com).
If you already have an existing website, then you will want to install WordPress in a subfolder of your domain, e.g. www.mydomainname.com/blog (you can name the subfolder anything you want).
If you have a 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 blog
Once you have set up your WordPress site, the next step is to configure its internal settings. This step is explained in the next article in the WordPress Traffic Blueprint series.
This is the end of Section 2
To keep reading, click on the link below:
This article is part of a comprehensive tutorial series designed to help you learn how to grow your business online cost-effectively and drive traffic automatically with a WordPress-powered website or blog and proven marketing strategies that are easy and quick to implement.
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