In Part One of our Web Traffic Blueprint article series, we explained that the key to creating an automated web 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 web site. An ”expertly configured” WordPress web 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 full advantage of the enormous power, features and functionality of WordPress and how it can be integrated with various services, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, 3rd-party site notification and reporting.
(With an expertly configured WordPress blog, all you have to do to drive traffic is publish content regularly!)
Once your WordPress site has been fully set up and expertly configured, all you then need to do is publish content regularly to automatically generate web traffic.
As outlined in Part 1 of this article series, the components of this automated traffic blueprint 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 System – Setup
If You Haven’t Got A Web Presence
If you don’t have a web presence yet, it’s quite simple … build a site with WordPress!
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 around the world, see this article: Statistics And Market Share About WordPress
After choosing to build your site with WordPress, the next step is to decide which WordPress platform you will run your web presence on.
This step is important as there are two types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
WordPress.org Or WordPress.com?
(WordPress Hosted vs WordPress Self-Hosted)
WordPress offers a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
With the “self-hosted” option you can download the full-featured WordPress CMS application at no cost from WordPress.org and host a WordPress site or blog using your own domain name.
With the “hosted option”, WordPress will host 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 plan to build a professional web presence and you want to set up the traffic system described here, then you should 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 You can overcome the limitations of the free hosting options 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 Have An Existing Web Site
If you already have an existing site, first check to see if your web site has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: The Easy Way To Tell If Your Blog Was Built Using The WordPress CMS Platform
If your web 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 website was built using something other than WordPress, then you have some choices to make.
Take a look at the diagram below. It will help you choose where to set up WordPress 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 used to drive traffic to your main web site.
If you choose to keep your existing site and add a WordPress 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 look and feel of your existing web site using a suitable theme for WordPress.
To use WordPress for your main site, install the platform in the “root” directory of your domain (i.e. http://www.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 subfolder whatever you want).
If you have a site 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 it. This step is covered in the next article in the series.
This is the end of Section Two
To continue reading this article, click here:
This article is part of a comprehensive series of articles designed to help small business owners learn how to grow their business online cost-effectively using a WordPress-driven website and proven web marketing methods.
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"These tutorials have so much information and are easy to understand. If you use WordPress or plan to in the future these will help you with everything you need to know." - Valisa (Mesa, Arizona)
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