In Part One of our Website 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 website or blog is not the same thing as a professionally-configured WordPress web site. An expertly configured WordPress website or blog is a site that is not only built with 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, features and built-in functionality of WordPress and its integration with other sites, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, content syndication and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress blog, all you have to do to automatically generate more web traffic is add content regularly!)
Once your WordPress site has been fully set up and expertly configured, all you need to do to generate more traffic is add great content regularly.
As outlined in Part 1 of this article series, the components of this automated web traffic machine are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we look at 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 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
If you haven’t got a web presence yet, it’s quite simple … build a WordPress site!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and the easiest to use content management system on the planet. 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 learn just how popular WordPress is, see this article: WordPress Statistics
After making the choice to build your site with WordPress, the next step is to choose which type of WordPress platform you will use to run your web presence on.
This step is important because there are 2 types of WordPress platforms available …
Self-Hosted Or Hosted WordPress?
(Hosted vs Self-Hosted WordPress Site)
WordPress offers website owners a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
With the “self-hosted” option you can download the full-featured WordPress CMS application at no cost from WordPress.org and host a WordPress site or blog under your own domain name.
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 blog when it is hosted for free at WordPress.com.
If you plan to build a professional web presence 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 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 just start off with a WordPress site hosted on your domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Have An Existing Web Site
If you already own an existing website, check to see if the 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 WordPress-Checking Tools
If your existing web site runs on the WordPress CMS platform, 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 is not a WordPress site, then you have some choices to make.
Take a look at the simple diagram below …
(Use this simple flowchart to choose how to set up a WordPress site on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing website so that your main website is built with WordPress, or
- Keep your existing 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 website and add a WordPress-powered 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 an appropriate theme.
To use WordPress as your main site, install the software in the “root” directory of your domain name (e.g. http://www.mydomainname.com).
If you 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 the subdirectory anything you like).
If you already have a 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 Part Two
To keep reading, click on the link below:
This article is part of an article series aimed at helping site owners learn how to grow their business using a WordPress-driven website and proven online marketing strategies.
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