In Part One of our Web Traffic Blueprint article series overview, 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 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, ease-of-use and built-in functionality of WordPress and how it integrates with various 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 publish great content on a regular basis to automatically generate more traffic!)
Once your WordPress site has been fully set up and expertly configured, all you need to do is add great content regularly to automatically bring more web traffic.
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 discuss the “Setup” phase of the automation process. 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 System – Setup Phase
If You Haven’t Got A Website Yet
If you haven’t got a website yet, then it’s really quite simple … build your site 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 see just how popular WordPress is, see this article: WordPress: Some Facts And Figures
After making the choice to build your website with WordPress, the next step is to choose which WordPress platform you will run your web presence on.
This is important as there are two types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
WordPress Hosted vs WordPress Self-Hosted
(WordPress Hosted vs WordPress Self-Hosted)
WordPress provides users with a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
The “self-hosted” option allows you to download the full-featured WordPress CMS application at no cost from WordPress.org and host a WordPress site or blog using your own domain name.
In the “hosted option”, WordPress will host your blog 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 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 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 just start off with a WordPress site hosted on your own domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Have An Existing Website
If you already own an existing site, check first if your 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 Runs On WordPress Software
If your web site is a WordPress website, 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, then you will need to make some choices.
Take a look at the flowchart below …
(Use the above flowchart to help you choose how to set up a WordPress website or blog on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing site with a WordPress-powered site, or
- Keep your existing site and add a WordPress-powered blog. This blog will then be used to drive traffic to your main web site.
If you choose to keep your existing website and add a WordPress 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 site using a closely-matching WordPress 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 a website, then you will want to install WordPress in a subdirectory of your domain, e.g. www.mydomainname.com/blog (you can name the subfolder whatever you want).
If you already 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 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 WordPress Traffic Blueprint series.
This is the end of Part 2
To continue reading this article, click here:
This article is part of a comprehensive series of articles designed to help website owners learn how to grow their business online using a WordPress website and proven web marketing strategies.
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"These tutorials have so much information and are easy to understand. If you use WordPress or plan to in the future these will help you with everything you need to know." - Valisa (Mesa, Arizona)
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