In Part 1 of our Website Traffic Blueprint article series overview, we explained that the key to turning your site into an automated traffic generation machine is to use an “expertly configured” WordPress website.
As we also explained, an expertly configured WordPress web site is not the same thing as a professionally-configured WordPress website or blog. An expertly configured WordPress site is a website that is not only powered by the WordPress CMS, but has also been expertly set up and configured (either by yourself or professionally) to take advantage of the enormous power, ease-of-use and built-in functionality of WordPress and how it can be integrated with other sites, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, content syndication and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress site, all you have to do is add content regularly to automatically generate traffic!)
Once your WordPress site has been expertly configured and fully set up, all you need to do then to automatically start driving traffic is add great content on a regular basis.
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 blueprint. We will 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 Web Traffic Automation Blueprint – Setup Phase
If You Have No Website
If you don’t have a web presence yet, then it’s really quite simple … build a WordPress website!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and easy-to-use content management system available. We provide loads of 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 has become, see this article: WordPress: Usage And Popularity
After choosing to build your web presence with WordPress, the next step is to choose which WordPress platform you will run your web presence on.
This step is very important as there are two types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
WordPress Hosted Or WordPress Self-Hosted?
(Hosted vs Self-Hosted WordPress Site)
WordPress offers a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
The “self-hosted” option allows you to download the full-featured WordPress software at no cost from WordPress.org and host a WordPress site or blog under your own domain name.
In the “hosted option”, WordPress hosts your blog 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 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 own domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Have An Existing Web Site
If you already have an existing site, check if your website has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: Tell-Tale Signs It’s A WordPress Blog And WP-Checking Tools
If your 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 powered by WordPress, you will need to make some decisions.
Take a look at the simple diagram below …
(Use the above diagram to decide how to set up WordPress on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing website with a WordPress website, or
- Keep your existing site 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-driven 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 of your existing web site using a closely-matching theme for WordPress.
To use WordPress for your main website, install the software in the “root” folder of your domain (e.g. www.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 the subdirectory 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 site
Once you have set up your WordPress site, the next step is to configure its internal settings. This step is covered 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 tutorial is part of an article series aimed at helping you learn how to grow your business online cost-effectively and drive traffic sustainably using a WordPress website or blog and proven marketing strategies that are easy and quick to implement.
Subscribe To Our Site And Get Notified When New WordPress Tutorials Get Published!
***
"I have used the tutorials to teach all of my clients and it has probably never been so easy for everyone to learn WordPress ... Now I don't need to buy all these very expensive video courses that often don't deliver what they promise." - Stefan Wendt, Internet Marketing Success Group
***