WordPress Traffic Automation Blueprint – Part 5 (Optimization)

Welcome to Part Five of our Website Traffic Blueprint article series, where we show you how to automate traffic to your website using the WordPress CMS platform.

So far, here is what we have covered in this series:

In Part One, we provide an overview of the traffic automation process, and explain why using an expertly configured WordPress site is the key to generating automated traffic …

(With an expertly configured WordPress website or blog, all you have to do to automatically start generating traffic is post content on a consistent basis!)

In Part 2, we focus on critical setup decisions. We help you understand the best way to start if you don’t have a web presence yet, how to set things up if you already have a website, and what to do if your website has been built with WordPress.

(In Part two we show you where to set up a WordPress web site on your domain)

In Part Three, we look at the configuration phase of this system. We configured webhosting settings, internal settings, and external settings that can affect your website’s ability to generate traffic automatically …

(In Part Three you learn how to configure hosting settings, internal settings, and external settings that affect your site’s ability to generate traffic automatically)

In Part 4, you learned how to set up various plugins that can bring visitors automatically to your website.

(Publish content one-time and automate your content distribution to all other marketing channels!)

In this section of the WordPress web traffic automation blueprint series, we look at ways to optimize traffic generation using a number of tools and strategies.

WordPress Web Traffic Blueprint – Traffic Optimization Systems

In addition to getting your WordPress site expertly configured, the key to generating successfully on a consistent basis is having a clear business vision, careful digital planning, and excellent systems and process in place.

(Automated traffic is the product of having a clear business vision, sound planning, and great systems)

Let’s review briefly the systems that will help you grow and manage your traffic.

These include:

• Marketing Systems – How you create traffic for your business.
• Technical Systems – The systems used to keep your web presence up and running for receiving new traffic.
• Business Systems – The systems used to manage and respond to traffic.

(Use systems to grow, automate, optimize, and manage your web traffic)

Let’s review the importance of the above systems briefly:

Marketing Systems

Your marketing systems consist of the processes and methods used to create new traffic for your business. You can test your online marketing systems by asking questions such as:

• What is your content marketing strategy?
• What resources and portion of your marketing budget will you assign to these channels?
• Who will create and optimize your content, sales funnels, and run your marketing campaigns?
• How will you test and measure the ROI of your marketing campaigns?

During the setup and configuration phase, you would have installed an analytics program (e.g. Google Analytics). If you’re just starting out, you may want to consider investing in some paid advertising to help generate some results. If you’re tracking your marketing campaigns correctly, this should yield some actionable data, such as the keyword phrases people are searching online to find your site, which you can use to create content targeted specifically to your audience’s needs.

Technical Systems

Your technical systems keep your web presence operating efficiently for receiving traffic. There’s no point sending traffic to your website if your site is constantly down or your web pages are taking a very long time to load.

Your technical systems include handling technical areas like webhosting, website maintenance and support, installing and updating new applications (e.g. plugins), integration, customization, troubleshooting, etc.

Your technical systems can be tested by asking questions such as:

• Who will look after my webhosting?
• Who is looking after my website and keeping my site maintained and up-to-date?
• Who will fix errors, troubleshoot problems, provide technical support and advice, etc. if issues arise?

Many potential problems can be minimized if your website planning and setup and configuration phases have been done correctly. Like all technology, however, you can expect problems. Your technical systems need to be able to handle these.

Business Systems

You need good operational systems and processes in place to help you manage and respond to new traffic. These include:

• Communication systems
• Resources management – human, financial
• Handling leads and sales inquiries
• Order fulfillment
• Customer service/training
• etc.

If you plan to outsource areas of your digital marketing and technical maintenance, then you will need to put good systems in place for managing all outsourcing processes.

WordPress Web Traffic Automation System – Optimizing Traffic Generation

If your business objectives are clear and your systems and processes are in place, all you need to focus on is implementing your “traffic loop”.

Let’s go through an example of how to implement, optimize, and automate a traffic loop. Take a look at the flowchart below …

(Implementing an effective traffic loop)

Increase Reach & Visibility Online

Step 1 of the process is to increase visibility for your business and website.

Useful Tips

• Your expertly configured WordPress site allows you to automatically distribute your content to places like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. The easiest way to increase your reach and visibility online, therefore, is to simply publish more content through your expertly configured WordPress site.
• As mentioned earlier, investing in some paid advertising (e.g. pay-per-click ads) can help generate some initial data, which you can use to create content better targeted to your audience.
• Repurpose your content to leverage the power, appeal, and reach of different media formats.
• Continue learning about ways to bring more visitors using methods like Facebook advertising, PPC advertising, joint ventures, etc.

Tools, Plugins, & Methods

See previous sections of this tutorial series for a number of excellent tools, plugins, and strategies we’ve already covered to help you reach more members of your target audience.

Also, see other posts on this site to learn more about plugins that let you easily add the following to your WordPress website:

• Share your comments and posts online with others,
• Run contests, offer downloads or discounts for shares/likes,
• Add user generated content, feeds, etc.
• Publish and distribute content online in other media formats (e.g. videos, PDF guides, audio, etc.)

Build Authority & Credibility

Getting more content published is a great first step, but to make this more effective, your content also needs to be building authority and credibility with users.

Publishing authoritative content improves your chances of getting more views from social sharing and hence more traffic.

Useful Tips & Ideas

• Create and publish content that adds value to your audience and that showcases your expertise. This includes content that educates and informs readers, training content, case studies, adding testimonials, etc.
• Consider publishing instructional PDF guides or special reports that can be sold or distributed online.

Tools, Plugins, & Strategies

We have created an entire email series designed to help you come up with limitless content for your web site:

Also, if you haven’t already, contact us to learn more about plugins that let you easily add the following to your website or blog:

• Legal Pages
• Testimonials
• Customer Support (e.g. Helpdesk, Live Chat, etc.)
• Ratings
• User Reviews
• Badges/Certificates Of Recognition

Grow Influence And Engagement

As your business grows, you may want to consider developing “traffic on tap.” You can do this by building a list or starting a group.

With “Traffic On Demand,” your traffic comes from customers or subscribers – people who already know you and trust you. Your influence and credibility can be used to generate traffic with a single post or email broadcast.

Traffic Tips

• Encourage visitors to leave comments and start discussions on your site.
• Add an autoresponder newsletter and encourage people to subscribe.
• Add a free, paid, or ‘freemium’ membership site.
• Create or join an online group on LinkedIn/Facebook.

Tools & Strategies

Many solutions and plugins are available that can help increase your online influence and improve engagement. For example:

• Autoresponders/Email Newsletters (e.g. Aweber, MailChimp, etc.)
• Contact Forms, Live Chat
• Forums & Social Communities (e.g. bbPress, BuddyPress)
• Polls & Surveys
• Webinars (e.g. Webinar JEO)
• Comment sharing
• Add media, image galleries, etc.

Identify Problems And Provide Solutions To These

By taking advantage of incoming traffic to find out what problems your visitors are trying to solve, you can have an endless funnel of ideas for new services, products, and solutions, all of which provide new opportunities to generate additional web traffic.

Useful Tips & Ideas

• Consider creating a free or paid e-learning program.
• Publish a “how-to” e-book that can be sold or distributed online.
• Consider adding an e-commerce store to your business.

Tools, Plugins, & Strategies

If you plan to provide services, products, and solutions online (as opposed to just providing information), then some of the more useful plugins you may want to consider adding to your website or blog include:

• Membership Sites (e.g. Wishlist Member, S2 Member, etc.)
• Learning Management Systems (e.g. Courseware)
• Event Registrations (e.g. EventEspresso)

Analyze Data & Feedback

The final step of the process is to collect and analyze data. Gathering and interpreting data from existing traffic gives you the opportunity to discover new traffic opportunities.

Hopefully, by now you already have installed an analytics program like Google Analytics on your website. Make sure you also learn how to interpret the data.

WordPress Traffic Blueprint – Summary

Once you implement the above strategies, all you have to do is rinse and repeat, fine-tuning and refining your methods as you go to grow your traffic and improve your results.

In summary:

• Begin with an expertly configured WordPress site backed by good marketing, technical and business systems,
• Implement a content marketing strategy (with some paid advertising to drive traffic and generate useful data) to increase your reach and visibility online,
• Add plugins, list-building strategies, and other methods if needed to help build authority, trust, and credibility, and also to increase engagement with visitors,
• Promote any new solutions, products or services using your existing channels and strategies to generate additional streams of traffic,
• Analyse your data and your results, automate your processes wherever possible, and begin the cycle again.

Hopefully, this article has given you a blueprint that will help you automate and optimize the process of driving traffic to your web site and get better results online.

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