In Part One of our WordPress 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 different than a professionally-configured WordPress website. An expertly configured WordPress 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 tremendous 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 reporting.
(With an expertly configured WordPress website, all you have to do to automatically bring more traffic is add great content regularly!)
Once you have your WordPress site fully set up and expertly configured, all you then need to do is publish great content on a regular basis to bring more traffic organically.
As outlined in Part 1 of this article series, the components of this automated traffic system are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we look at the “Setup” phase of the traffic 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 Web Traffic Automation Blueprint – Setup
If You Don’t Have A Website Yet
If you don’t have a website yet, it’s quite simple … build a WordPress site!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and easy-to-use content management system on the planet. We provide many articles, tutorials, and tips on this site 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: Some Surprising Statistics About WordPress Usage
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 is important as there are 2 types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
WordPress Hosted Or WordPress Self-Hosted?
(WordPress Hosted Or WordPress Self-Hosted?)
WordPress offers a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
The “self-hosted” option allows you to download the full-featured WordPress application for free from WordPress.org and host a WordPress site or blog using your own domain name.
With the “hosted option”, WordPress hosts your blog for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, a number of limitations to what you can and can’t do with your blog when WordPress.com hosts it at no cost.
If you are planning to build a professional web presence 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 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 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 Site
If you already have an existing website, check if it has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: Tell-Tale Signs It’s A WordPress Site And WP-Checking Tools
If your existing web site was built using WP software, 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 existing web site was built using something other than WordPress, you will need to make some decisions.
Take a look at the simple flowchart below …
(Use this simple flowchart to help you decide how to set up a WordPress website or blog on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing web site so that your main website is built with WordPress, or
- Keep your existing website and add a WordPress-powered blog. This blog will then be expertly configured and used to drive traffic to your main site.
If you choose to keep your existing site and add a WordPress 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 design and style of your existing site using a suitable theme.
To use WordPress for your main website, install the software in the “root” folder of your domain name (i.e. www.mydomainname.com).
If you already 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 your subfolder whatever you like).
If you already have an existing 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 site
Once you have set up your WordPress site, the next step is to configure its internal settings. This step is covered in the next article in the WordPress Traffic Blueprint series.
This is the end of Part 2
To keep reading, click on the link below:
This tutorial is part of a comprehensive tutorial series designed to help you learn how to grow your business online cost-effectively and drive traffic organically with a WordPress website and proven online marketing strategies.
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