In Part 1 of our WordPress Web Traffic Blueprint article series overview, we explained that the key to turning your site into 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 web site. An expertly configured WordPress web site is a website or 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, ease-of-use and built-in functionality of WordPress and its integration with other services, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, third-party site notification and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress website, all you have to do is add content regularly to automatically bring web traffic!)
Once your WordPress site has been fully set up and expertly configured, all you need to do to generate more traffic is publish great content regularly.
As outlined in Part 1 of this article series, the components of the automated web traffic system are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we discuss the “Setup” phase of the automation process. The focus of this section is to 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 System – Setup
If You Don’t Have A Web Presence Yet
If you don’t have a website yet, then it’s really quite simple … build a WordPress website!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and the easiest to use content management system available. We provide loads of 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 has become as a content publishing platform, see this article: Statistics And Market Share About WordPress
After choosing to build your web presence 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 two types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
WordPress.org Or WordPress.com?
(WordPress Hosted Or WordPress Self-Hosted?)
WordPress offers users a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
With the “self-hosted” option you can download the full-featured WordPress application at no cost from WordPress.org and host a WordPress site or blog under your own domain name.
With the “hosted option”, WordPress will host your blog for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, some limitations to what you can and can’t do with your site when WordPress.com hosts it at no cost.
If you plan to build a professional business presence online 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 site at WordPress.com. You get to 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 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 have an existing web site, check to see if the site 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 WordPress
If your blog runs on 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 website was built using something other than WordPress, then you have to make some decisions.
Take a look at the simple diagram below. It will help you decide where to set up a WordPress website or blog on your domain …
(Use the above diagram to decide how to set up a WordPress website on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing website so that your main website is powered by WordPress, or
- Keep your existing site and add a WordPress-powered blog. Your WordPress blog will then be expertly configured and used to drive traffic to your main 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 webhosting, but allows you to fully configure your site’s settings and customize the design and style of your existing website using an appropriate WordPress theme.
To use WordPress as your main website, install the platform in the “root” folder of your domain name (i.e. www.mydomainname.com).
If you already 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 your subdirectory anything you like).
If you already have an existing site 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 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 Part Two
To read more, click here:
This article is part of a comprehensive series of tutorials designed to help you learn how to grow your business online cost-effectively and drive traffic automatically using a WordPress-driven website and proven online marketing strategies.
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