In Part 1 of our Website Traffic Blueprint article series, 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 web site is different than a professionally-configured WordPress site. An expertly configured WordPress website or blog is a blog 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 advantage of the enormous power, ease-of-use and built-in functionality of WordPress and its integration with other sites, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, content syndication and reporting.
(With an expertly configured WordPress web site, all you have to do is add content regularly to generate traffic!)
Once your WordPress site has been fully set up and expertly configured, all you need to do is add content on a regular basis to automatically generate web traffic organically.
As outlined in Part One of this article series, the components of this automated website traffic system are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we look at the “Setup” phase of the blueprint. 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 Phase
If You Haven’t Got A Website Yet
If you haven’t got a web presence yet, it’s quite simple … build a web presence with WordPress!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and easy-to-use content management system available. We provide loads of articles, tutorials, and tips on this site 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 content publishing platform, see this article: WordPress: Statistics And Market Share
After making the choice to build your site with WordPress, the next step is to decide which type of WordPress platform you will run your web presence on.
This is important because there are two types of WordPress platforms available …
WordPress – Hosted Or Self-Hosted?
(WordPress – Hosted vs Self-Hosted)
WordPress offers a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
The “self-hosted” option means you can download the full-featured WordPress application for free from WordPress.org and host a WordPress site or blog under your own domain name.
In the “hosted option”, WordPress will host 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 WordPress.com hosts it at no cost.
If you are planning to build a professional web presence 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 the free hosting limitations can be overcome 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 Already Have An Existing Website
If you already own an existing website, check if your web site has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: How To Check If A Site Is A WP Site
If your existing blog was built using 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 web site runs on something other than WordPress software, you have some choices to make.
Take a look at the diagram below …
(Use the above flowchart to decide where to set up WordPress on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing website with a WordPress site, or
- Keep your existing site and add a WordPress blog. This blog will then be expertly configured and used to drive traffic to your main site.
If you choose to keep your existing site 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 blog’s settings and customize the design and style of your existing website using a closely-matching theme for WordPress.
To use WordPress for your main website, install the software in the “root” directory of your domain (e.g. http://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, 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 addressed in the next article in the series.
This is the end of Part Two
To read more, click here:
- Web Traffic Blueprint Part 3 – How To Create An Automated Web Traffic-Getting Machine With WordPress
This article is part of an article series designed to help you learn how to grow your business with a WordPress-driven website and proven web marketing strategies.
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"This is AMAZING! I had learnt about how to use WordPress previously, but this covers absolutely everything and more!! Incredible value! Thank you!" - Monique, Warrior Forum
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