In Part One of our Web Site Traffic Blueprint article series overview, 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 as a professionally-configured WordPress website or blog. An expertly configured WordPress site is a web site 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 tremendous power, features and functionality of WordPress and how it can be integrated with other services, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, 3rd-party site notification and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress blog, all you have to do is publish great content on a regular basis to start driving web traffic!)
Once you have your WordPress site fully set up and expertly configured, all you need to do then is publish great content on a regular basis to automatically bring more traffic organically.
As outlined in Part 1 of this article series, the components of the automated traffic system are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we discuss the “Setup” phase of the automation process. We will help you understand the best way to get started if you don’t have a website yet, or if you already have an existing site that may or may not have been built using WordPress.
WordPress Traffic Automation Blueprint – Setup
If You Don’t Have A Web Presence Yet
If you don’t have a web presence yet, it’s quite simple … build a web presence with WordPress!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and the easiest to use content management system available. We provide loads of articles, tips, and tutorials on this site about the benefits and advantages of using WordPress to grow your business online.
For example, to see just how popular WordPress is as a web content management system, see this article: WordPress Usage Statistics
After making the choice to build your web presence with WordPress, the next step is to choose which WordPress platform you will build your web presence on.
This is important as there are two types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
WordPress – Self-Hosted Or Hosted?
(WordPress – Hosted Or Self-Hosted?)
WordPress offers both a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
WordPress.org allows you to download the full-featured WordPress application for free and self-host a WordPress site or blog using your own domain name. This is the “self-hosted” WordPress option.
In the “hosted option”, WordPress hosts your site 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 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 blog 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 just start off by hosting a WordPress site on your own domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Already Have An Existing Site
If you already own an existing site, first, check if it 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 WP Software
If your web site runs on WordPress software, 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 uses a platform technology other than WordPress, then you have some decisions to make.
Take a look at the simple diagram below …
(Use this simple diagram to decide where to set up a WordPress website or blog on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing site so that your main website is built with WordPress, or
- Keep your existing web site and add a WordPress-powered blog. Your WordPress blog will then be used to drive traffic to your main website.
If you choose to keep your existing web site and add a WordPress 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 site’s settings and customize the design and style of your existing web site using a suitable WordPress theme.
To use WordPress as your main website, install the software in the “root” directory of your domain (e.g. http://mydomainname.com).
If you already have an existing website, then you will want to install WordPress in a subdirectory of your domain, e.g. www.mydomainname.com/blog (you can name your subfolder whatever you want).
If you 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 blog
Once you have set up your WordPress site, the next step is to configure it. This step is explained in the next article in the series.
This is the end of Part 2
To read the rest of this article, click on the link below:
This article is part of a comprehensive series of tutorials aimed at helping site owners learn how to grow their business online inexpensively using a WordPress-driven website or blog and proven web marketing methods.
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