In Part One of our WordPress Web Site Traffic Blueprint article series, 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 website or blog is different than a professionally-configured WordPress web site. An expertly configured WordPress blog is a website 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 tremendous power, features and functionality of WordPress and the way it integrates with various services, specifically in areas like SEO, external site notification and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress blog, all you have to do is add great content regularly to automatically bring web traffic!)
Once your WordPress site has been fully set up and expertly configured, all you need to do to automatically generate more web traffic is publish content on a regular basis.
As outlined in Part One of this article series, the components of the automated online traffic machine are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we discuss the “Setup” phase of the blueprint. The focus of this section is to help you understand the best way to start 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 Web Traffic Automation System – Setup Phase
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 WordPress site!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and easy-to-use content management system available. We provide many articles, tutorials, and tips on this site about the benefits and advantages of using WordPress to grow your business online.
For example, to learn just how popular WordPress is as a web content publishing platform, see this article: WordPress: Useful Facts And Statistics
After choosing to build your web presence with WordPress, the next step is to decide which type of WordPress platform you will build your web presence on.
This step is very important because there are 2 types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
WordPress Self-Hosted vs WordPress Hosted
(WordPress Hosted vs WordPress Self-Hosted)
WordPress offers a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
WordPress.org allows you to download the full-featured WordPress CMS application for free and self-host a WordPress site or blog under your own domain name. This is the “self-hosted” WordPress option.
In the “hosted option”, WordPress will host your blog for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, some limitations on what you can and can’t do with your site when WordPress.com hosts it at no cost.
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 version. 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 full 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 options 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 Have An Existing Site
If you already own an existing site, first check to see if it has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: How To Tell If A Site Was Built Using WordPress
If your existing blog 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 existing website was built using something other than the WordPress CMS platform, then you will need to make some choices.
Take a look at the flowchart below. It will help you decide where to set up a WordPress site on your domain …
(Use this simple flowchart to help you choose where to set up WordPress on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing site with a WordPress-driven site, or
- Keep your existing website and add a WordPress blog. Your WordPress 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 site’s settings and customize the design of your existing web site using an appropriate theme.
To use WordPress for your main site, install it in the “root” folder of your domain (i.e. mydomainname.com).
If you 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 whatever you want).
If you already 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 site
Once you have set up your WordPress site, the next step is to configure it. This step is addressed in the next article in the WordPress Traffic Blueprint series.
This is the end of Part Two
To read more, click on the link below:
This tutorial is part of an tutorial series designed to help website owners learn how to grow their business online cost-effectively using a WordPress-driven website or blog and proven marketing strategies that are easy and quick to implement.
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"I have used the tutorials to teach all of my clients and it has probably never been so easy for everyone to learn WordPress ... Now I don't need to buy all these very expensive video courses that often don't deliver what they promise." - Stefan Wendt, Internet Marketing Success Group
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