In Part One of our Web Traffic Blueprint article series overview, we explained that the key to turning your website into an automated web 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 website or blog. An expertly configured WordPress site is a website or blog that is not only driven by 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, features and built-in functionality of WordPress and the way it can be integrated with various services, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, content syndication and reporting.
(With an expertly configured WordPress website or blog, all you have to do to automatically drive more web traffic is publish great content on a regular basis!)
Once your WordPress site has been fully set up and expertly configured, all you need to do is publish great content regularly to automatically bring more web traffic organically.
As outlined in Part One of this article series, the components of the automated web traffic machine are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we look at the “Setup” phase of the traffic automation process. You will learn 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 System – Setup
If You Don’t Have A Website Yet
If you haven’t got a web presence yet, it’s 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 many 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 Statistics
After choosing to build your site with WordPress, the next step is to choose which WordPress platform you will run your web presence on.
This is important as there are two types of WordPress platforms available …
Hosted Or Self-Hosted WordPress Site?
(WordPress.org vs WordPress.com)
WordPress offers users a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
WordPress.org lets you download the full-featured WordPress application for free and host a WordPress site or blog using your own domain name. This is the “self-hosted” WordPress option.
With the “hosted option”, WordPress hosts your site for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, some limitations to 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 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 domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Have An Existing Website
If you already have an existing web site, first check to see if it has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: Tell-Tale Signs It’s A WordPress Blog And WordPress-Checking Tools
If your existing web site runs on 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 runs on something other than the WordPress CMS platform, then you have some decisions to make.
Take a look at the diagram below …
(Use the above diagram to help you choose where to set up WordPress on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing site so that your main website is built using WordPress, or
- Keep your existing web site and add a WordPress blog. Your WordPress blog will then be expertly configured and used to drive traffic to your main web site.
If you choose to keep your existing website 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 site’s settings and customize the design of your existing website using a closely-matching theme.
To use WordPress for your main site, install the platform in the “root” directory of your domain (e.g. mydomainname.com).
If you already 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 subfolder 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 WordPress Traffic Blueprint series.
This is the end of Section 2
To read more, click on the link below:
This article is part of a comprehensive article series designed to help you learn how to grow your business online using a WordPress-driven website or blog and proven marketing methods that are easy and quick to implement.
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