In Part One of our Website 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 or blog is different than a professionally-configured WordPress website. An expertly configured WordPress site is a blog that is not only driven by WordPress, but has also been expertly set up and configured (either by yourself or professionally) to take advantage of the enormous power, features and built-in functionality of WordPress and its integration with other sites, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, 3rd-party site notification and reporting.
(With an expertly configured WordPress web site, all you have to do to drive more traffic is add great content regularly!)
Once your WordPress site has been expertly configured and fully set up, all you then need to do is publish content on a regular basis to automatically bring traffic organically.
As outlined in Part 1 of this article series, the components of this automated traffic machine are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we discuss the “Setup” phase of the automation process. The focus of this section is to 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
If You Haven’t Got A Web Presence Yet
If you haven’t got a web presence yet, then it’s really quite simple … get WordPress!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and easy-to-use content management system available. We provide loads of articles, tutorials, and tips 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 web content management system, see this article: WordPress: Surprising Facts And Figures
After choosing to build your site with WordPress, the next step is to decide which WordPress platform you will use to run your web presence on.
This step is important because there are two types of WordPress platforms available …
WordPress – Self-Hosted vs Hosted
(WordPress Hosted Or WordPress Self-Hosted?)
WordPress offers website owners a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
WordPress.org lets you download the full-featured WordPress software for free and self-host a WordPress site or blog under your own domain name. This is the “self-hosted” WordPress option.
With the “hosted option”, WordPress hosts your blog for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, some limitations to what you can and can’t do with your site when WordPress.com hosts it at no cost.
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 platform. The benefits of choosing the “self-hosted” option (WordPress.org) far outweigh those of hosting a free blog at WordPress.com. You have complete 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 platform by upgrading to a paid option, but then why not start off with a WordPress site hosted on your domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Have An Existing Website
If you already have an existing web site, check to see if it has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: How To Tell If Your Website Is A WP Website
If your website 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 existing web site uses a platform technology other than WordPress, you have some decisions to make.
Take a look at the flowchart below. It will help you decide where to set up a WordPress site on your domain …
(Use the above diagram to choose where to set up WordPress on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing website so that your main website is built with WordPress, or
- Keep your existing web site and add a WordPress-powered blog. This blog will then be expertly configured and used to drive traffic to your main website.
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 of your existing site using a suitable theme.
To use WordPress for your main website, install it in the “root” directory of your domain name (i.e. www.mydomainname.com).
If you already 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 like).
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 it. This step is addressed in the next article in the series.
This is the end of Section 2
To keep reading, click here:
This tutorial is part of a comprehensive series of tutorials aimed at helping you learn how to grow your business with a WordPress website and proven online marketing methods.
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