In Part One of our Web Site Traffic Blueprint article series, we explained that the key to turning your site into 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. An expertly configured WordPress blog is a blog that is not only built using WordPress, but has also been expertly set up and configured (either by yourself or professionally) to take full advantage of the tremendous power, ease-of-use and functionality of WordPress and the way it integrates with various services, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, content syndication and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress blog, all you have to do is add content on a regular basis to automatically bring web traffic!)
Once your WordPress site has been fully set up and expertly configured, all you then need to do is publish great content regularly to automatically generate more traffic.
As outlined in Part One of this article series, the components of the automated web traffic blueprint 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 start 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 Traffic System – Setup
If You Don’t Have A Web Presence Yet
If you don’t have a website yet, then it’s really 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 many articles, tutorials, and tips about the benefits and advantages of using WordPress to grow your business online.
For example, to learn just how popular WordPress has become as a platform for building a web presence, see this article: Some Impressive Facts And Figures About WordPress
After making the choice to build your web presence with WordPress, the next step is to decide which type of WordPress platform you will run your web presence on.
This step is very important because there are two types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
WordPress – Hosted Or Self-Hosted?
(WordPress – Hosted Or Self-Hosted?)
WordPress offers users a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
WordPress.org lets you download the full-featured WordPress application at no cost and host a WordPress site or blog under your own domain name. This is the “self-hosted” WordPress option.
In the “hosted option”, WordPress hosts your blog for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, a number of limitations on what you can and can’t do with your blog 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 platform. The benefits of choosing the “self-hosted” option (WordPress.org) far outweigh those of hosting a free blog at WordPress.com. You get to 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 by hosting a WordPress site on your domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Already Have An Existing Web Site
If you already have an existing site, first check to see if the site has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: The Easy Way To Tell If Your Web Site Was Built Using WordPress Software
If your website was built with 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 existing website is not a WP web site, then you have to make some decisions.
Take a look at the simple flowchart below. It will help you choose where to set up WordPress on your domain …
(Use this simple diagram to help you decide where 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 website and add a WordPress-driven 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 webhosting, but allows you to fully configure your blog’s settings and customize the design of your existing web site using a closely-matching theme.
To use WordPress for your main site, install the software in the “root” folder 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 your subdirectory anything you like).
If you have an existing website 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 its internal settings. This step is addressed in the next article in the series.
This is the end of Section Two
To read the rest of this article, click here:
This tutorial is part of a comprehensive series of tutorials designed to help business owners learn how to grow their business online inexpensively and drive traffic automatically with a WordPress-powered website and proven online marketing strategies.
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