In Part One of our Web Traffic Blueprint article series overview, we explained that the key to turning a website 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 different than a professionally-configured WordPress site. An ”expertly configured” WordPress website is a website or blog that is not only built using 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 the way it integrates with other services, specifically in areas like SEO, external site syndication and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress website, all you have to do to automatically bring web traffic is add content regularly!)
Once you have your WordPress site fully set up and expertly configured, all you need to do then is publish content on a regular basis to automatically generate traffic organically.
As outlined in Part 1 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 this 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 Traffic System – Setup Phase
If You Don’t Have A Web Presence
If you don’t have a web presence yet, then it’s really quite simple … get WordPress!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and easy-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 is, see this article: WordPress: Usage And Popularity
After choosing to build your website with WordPress, the next step is to choose which type of WordPress platform you will use to build your web presence on.
This step is very important as there are 2 types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
Self-Hosted vs Hosted WordPress
(WordPress.org vs WordPress.com)
WordPress offers users a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
The “self-hosted” option lets you download the full-featured WordPress software for free 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 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 you should choose the “self-hosted” WordPress version. 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 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 own domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Have An Existing Web Site
If you already own an existing website, check if your website has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: Tell-Tale Signs It’s A WordPress Blog And WP-Checking Tools
If your web site 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 web site is not a WordPress website, you have some decisions to make.
Take a look at the flowchart below. It will help you decide where to set up a WordPress web site on your domain …
(Use the above flowchart to choose how to set up WordPress on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing site with a WordPress site, or
- Keep your existing website and add a WordPress blog. Your WordPress blog will then be used to drive traffic to your main site.
If you choose to keep your existing web site and add a WordPress-driven blog, make sure to use the self-hosted version of WordPress, which requires a domain name and web hosting, but allows you to fully configure your blog’s settings and customize the look and feel of your existing web site using an appropriate theme.
To use WordPress as your main website, install it in the “root” directory of your domain name (i.e. 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 have a site 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 series.
This is the end of Section Two
To read the rest of this article, click on the link below:
This tutorial is part of a comprehensive series of articles designed to help small business owners learn how to grow their business online and drive traffic automatically with a WordPress-driven website or blog and proven web marketing methods.
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