In Part 1 of our Website Traffic Blueprint article series overview, 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 site is not the same as a professionally-configured WordPress website or blog. An expertly configured WordPress web site is a website or blog that is not only powered 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 can be integrated with other sites, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, content syndication and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress website, all you have to do to bring more web traffic is add content regularly!)
Once you have your WordPress site fully set up and expertly configured, all you then need to do is publish content regularly to automatically bring 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 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 web presence yet, or if you already have an existing site that may or may not have been built using WordPress.
WordPress Web Traffic Blueprint – Setup Phase
If You Haven’t Got A Website
If you don’t have a website yet, it’s quite simple … build a WordPress website!
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: Some Surprising Facts And Figures About WordPress
After making the choice to build your website with WordPress, the next step is to choose which WordPress platform you will use to run your web presence on.
This step is very important because there are 2 types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
Hosted vs Self-Hosted WordPress Site
(WordPress.org Or WordPress.com?)
WordPress offers users a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
WordPress.org allows you to download the full-featured WordPress software at no cost and 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 on 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 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 the free hosting limitations can be overcome by upgrading to a paid option, but then why not start off by hosting a WordPress site on your own domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Have An Existing Website
If you already own an existing site, first, check if your web site has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: Tell-Tale Signs It’s A WordPress Site And Free WP-Checking Tools
If your 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 site is not a WordPress web site, then you have to make some choices.
Take a look at the diagram below. It will help you choose where to set up WordPress on your domain …
(Use this simple diagram to help you decide how to set up WordPress on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing web site with a WordPress site, or
- Keep your existing web site and add a WordPress blog. This blog will then be expertly configured and 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 web hosting, but allows you to fully configure your site’s settings and customize the look and feel of your existing website using a closely-matching WordPress theme.
To use WordPress as your main website, install the platform in the “root” folder of your domain (e.g. 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 your subfolder anything you like).
If you have a website 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 covered in the next article in the series.
This is the end of Section 2
To read more, click on the link below:
This article is part of an tutorial series designed to help small business owners learn how to grow their business online cost-effectively and drive traffic automatically with a WordPress website or blog and proven web marketing methods.
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