In Part One of our Web Site 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 different than a professionally-configured WordPress site. An expertly configured WordPress blog is a website 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 full advantage of the enormous power, ease-of-use and built-in functionality of WordPress and its integration with various services, specifically in areas like SEO, 3rd-party site syndication and reporting.
(With an expertly configured WordPress website or blog, all you have to do to automatically bring traffic is publish great content on a regular basis!)
Once your WordPress site has been expertly configured and fully set up, all you then need to do to automatically generate more traffic is publish content regularly.
As outlined in Part 1 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 traffic automation process. The focus of this section is to help you understand 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 System – Setup Phase
If You Don’t Have A Website Yet
If you haven’t got a website yet, then it’s really quite simple … get a WordPress site!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and the easiest to use content management system available. We provide many articles, tips, and tutorials 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 platform for building a web presence, see this article: Some Facts And Figures About WordPress Usage
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 is important as there are two types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
WordPress.org vs WordPress.com
(WordPress Self-Hosted Or WordPress Hosted?)
WordPress offers website owners a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
The “self-hosted” option allows you to download the full-featured WordPress application at no cost from WordPress.org and host a WordPress site or blog using your own domain name.
With the “hosted option”, WordPress hosts your blog for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, a number of limitations to 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 business presence online and you want to set up the traffic system described here, then choose the “self-hosted” WordPress platform. 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 by hosting a WordPress site on your domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Already Have An Existing Web Site
If you already have an existing web site, 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 WordPress CMS Platform
If your existing blog runs on the WP CMS platform, 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 runs on something other than WordPress, then you have some decisions to make.
Take a look at the flowchart below. It will help you choose where to set up a WordPress website on your domain …
(Use this simple diagram to help you choose how to set up a WordPress web site on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing web site so that your main website is powered by WordPress, or
- Keep your existing website and add a WordPress-driven blog. Your WordPress 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 your own domain name and webhosting, but allows you to fully configure your blog’s settings and customize the design and style of your existing site using a suitable theme for WordPress.
To use WordPress for your main website, install the software in the “root” folder of your domain (i.e. mydomainname.com).
If you 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 your subdirectory anything you want).
If you have a site 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 explained in the next article in the series.
This is the end of Section 2
To keep reading, click on the link below:
This tutorial is part of a comprehensive series of tutorials aimed at helping business owners learn how to grow their business using a WordPress-powered website or blog and proven marketing methods that are easy and quick to implement.
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