In Part 1 of our Web Site Traffic Blueprint article series, 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 site is different than a professionally-configured WordPress website. An expertly configured WordPress website is a website that is not only driven by 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 various services, specifically in areas like SEO, 3rd-party site notification and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress website or blog, all you have to do to automatically drive web traffic is add content on a regular basis!)
Once your WordPress site has been fully set up and expertly configured, all you need to do is publish content on a regular basis to automatically drive web traffic organically.
As outlined in Part 1 of this article series, the components of the automated traffic machine are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we discuss the “Setup” phase of the blueprint. You will learn 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 Automation System – Setup
If You Don’t Have A Web Presence Yet
If you don’t have a web presence yet, then it’s really quite simple … get WordPress!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and the easiest 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 see just how popular WordPress has become as a platform for doing business online, see this article: Statistics And Market Share Of WordPress
After choosing to build your website with WordPress, the next step is to choose 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 available …
WordPress Self-Hosted Or WordPress Hosted?
(Hosted vs Self-Hosted WordPress)
WordPress offers a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
WordPress.org allows you to download the full-featured WordPress software 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, some limitations on what you can and can’t do with your blog when it is hosted for free at WordPress.com.
If you plan 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 site at WordPress.com. You can fully customize your web presence and avoid the limitations of the hosted option. Keep in mind that You can overcome the limitations of the free hosting platform by upgrading to a paid option, but then why not start off with a WordPress site hosted on your own domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Already Have An Existing Web Site
If you already own an existing website, check first if the site 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 WordPress-Checking Tools
If your existing web site is a WP site, 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 web site was built using something other than WordPress, you have some choices to make.
Take a look at the diagram below …
(Use the above flowchart to decide how to set up a WordPress website on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing web site so that your main website is built using WordPress, or
- Keep your existing site and add a WordPress-driven blog. This blog will then be used to drive traffic to your main site.
If you choose to keep your existing web site and add a WordPress-driven 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 of your existing website using a suitable WP theme.
To use WordPress as your main website, install it in the “root” folder of your domain name (e.g. http://mydomainname.com).
If you already have a website, then you will want to install WordPress in a subdirectory of your domain, e.g. www.mydomainname.com/blog (you can name the subdirectory whatever you want).
If you already have an existing 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 site
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 read the rest of this article, click on the link below:
This tutorial is part of a comprehensive series of tutorials aimed at helping site owners learn how to grow their business online inexpensively and drive traffic organically using a WordPress-powered website or blog and proven online marketing strategies.
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"This is AMAZING! I had learnt about how to use WordPress previously, but this covers absolutely everything and more!! Incredible value! Thank you!" - Monique, Warrior Forum
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