WordPress Traffic Automation Blueprint – Part 2 (Setup)

In Part 1 of our Web Traffic Blueprint article series overview, we explained that the key to creating an automated web 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 as a professionally-configured WordPress website. An expertly configured WordPress website or blog is a blog that is not only powered by the WordPress CMS, 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 various services, specifically in areas like SEO, external site notification and analytics.

(With an expertly configured WordPress website, all you have to do is publish content regularly to automatically bring traffic!)

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 drive traffic.

As outlined in Part One of this article series, the components of this automated online traffic machine are as follows:

• Setup
• Configure
• Automate
• Optimize

In this article, we discuss the “Setup” phase of the traffic automation process. 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 Traffic Automation Blueprint – Setup Phase

If You Haven’t Got A Website

If you don’t have a website yet, it’s quite simple … build a WordPress website!

WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and easy-to-use content management system on the planet. We provide loads of 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 has become as a web content management system, see this article: WordPress: Usage And Market Share

After making the choice to build your web presence with WordPress, the next step is to choose which WordPress platform you will use to run your web presence on.

This step is important as there are 2 types of WordPress platforms available …

WordPress – Self-Hosted vs Hosted

(Self-Hosted Or Hosted WordPress?)

WordPress offers users a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.

WordPress.org lets you download the full-featured WordPress application for free and host a WordPress site or blog using your own domain name. This is the “self-hosted” WordPress option.

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 plan 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 can fully customize 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 just start off with a WordPress site hosted on your own domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?

If You Already Have An Existing Website

If you already own an existing website, check if the website has been built using WordPress.

If you need help with this step, check this article: The Easy Way To Tell If Your Blog Was Built Using The WordPress CMS Platform

If your website is a WordPress site, 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 blog runs on something other than WordPress, you have to make some choices.

Take a look at the simple diagram below. It will help you choose how to set up a WordPress website on your domain …

(Use the above flowchart to help you choose where to set up a WordPress web site on your domain)

Basically, you have two choices:

1. Replace your existing web site with a WordPress-powered website, or
2. Keep your existing website and add a WordPress-powered blog. Your WordPress 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-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 site’s settings and customize the look and feel of your existing web site using an appropriate theme for WordPress.

To use WordPress for your main site, install the software in the “root” directory of your domain (i.e. www.mydomainname.com).

If you have an existing website, then you will want to install WordPress in a subfolder of your domain, e.g. www.mydomainname.com/blog (you can name your subfolder whatever you want).

If you already 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 its internal settings. This step is addressed in the next article in the series.

This is the end of Section 2

To read the rest of this article, click here:

• WordPress Website Traffic Blueprint Part 3 – How To Create A Traffic-Getting Machine With WordPress

This article is part of an article series aimed at helping you learn how to grow your business online inexpensively and drive traffic organically using a WordPress-driven website or blog and proven marketing strategies that are easy to implement.

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