WordPress Traffic Automation Blueprint – Part 5 (Optimization)

Welcome to Part 5 of our WordPress Web Site Traffic Blueprint article series, where we explain how to drive new traffic automatically to your website using WordPress.

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

In Part 1, we provide an overview of the traffic automation process, and explain why using an expertly configured WordPress website or blog is the key to generating automated traffic …

(With an expertly configured WordPress web site, all you have to do to generate more traffic is add great content consistently!)

In Part Two, we discuss critical setup decisions. We explain the best way to start if you don’t have a website yet, how to set things up if you already have a site, and what to do if your existing website was built using WordPress.

(In Part 2 we show you how to set up WordPress on your domain)

In Part 3, we focused on configuring the system. We configured all the settings that can affect your website’s ability to generate traffic automatically …

(In Part 3 we show you how to configure all the settings (hosting, internal and external) that can affect your site’s ability to generate traffic automatically)

In Part Four, we showed you how to set up various plugins that can help get web traffic automatically to your website.

(Publish once to WordPress and automate the distribution of your content to all other marketing channels!)

In this article, we discuss ways to optimize your traffic with a number of different tools and methods.

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 well-defined business vision, careful digital planning, and excellent systems and process in place.

(Generating regular traffic is the result of a business vision, sound planning, and excellent systems)

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

These systems include:

• Marketing Systems – The processes and methods used to create traffic for your website.
• Technical Systems – The systems and processes used to ensure that your online presence remains up and running for receiving traffic.
• Business Systems – The systems used to manage and respond to new traffic.

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

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

Marketing Systems

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

• What channels will you use to drive traffic (e.g. blogging, facebook advertising, video marketing, etc)?
• What resources and portion of your budget will you assign to these channels?
• How will you create and optimize your content, sales funnels, and marketing campaigns?
• How will you test and measure the ROI of your marketing campaigns?

During the setup and configuration phase, you should 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 (e.g. Google AdWords) 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 web content better targeted to your audience.

Technical Systems

Your technical systems and processes ensure that your digital presence remains operating efficiently for receiving new traffic. There’s no point driving traffic to your site if your site is down or your pages take a very long time to load.

Your technical systems need to adequately handle technical areas like webhosting, website maintenance and support, installing, configuring, and updating new software (e.g. plugins), customization, integration, troubleshooting, etc.

You can test your technical systems by questions such as:

• Who looks after my server?
• Who will look after my website and keep my site maintained and up-to-date?
• Who will fix errors, troubleshoot problems, provide technical support and advice, etc. if any issues arise?

Many potential issues can be minimized if your website planning and setup and configuration phases have been completed correctly. As with all technology, however, new problems will arise. Your technical systems need to be able to handle these.

Business Systems

You need good operational systems in place to help you manage the influx of new traffic. These include:

• Communication systems
• Managing human and financial resources
• Handling leads and sales enquiries
• Order fulfillment
• Customer training/service
• etc.

If you intend to outsource your digital marketing and technical support, then make sure you also implement good systems to manage all outsourcing.

WordPress Web Traffic Blueprint – Traffic Optimization

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

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

(Implement, optimize, and automate your traffic loop)

Increase Reach & Visibility

The first step of the process is to expose your business to as many members of your target audience as your resources will allow.

Useful Tips

• Your expertly configured WordPress site allows you to automatically publish your content on sites like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. The easiest way to increase your reach and visibility online, therefore, is to simply publish more content on your site.
• As mentioned earlier, investing in some paid advertising (e.g. Facebook ads) can help you generate data, which you can use to create content better targeted to your audience’s needs.
• Repurpose your content to leverage different media formats.
• Continue learning about ways to bring visitors using methods like LinkedIn ads, PPC advertising, forum ads, etc.

Plugins, Tools, & Strategies

See previous sections of this tutorial series for many useful tools and methods we’ve already covered to help you reach more members of your target audience.

Also, if you haven’t already, see other posts on this site to learn more about plugins that allow you to easily add the following to your WordPress website or blog:

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

Build Authority And Credibility

Getting more content out there is good, but to make this activity more effective, your content needs to build authority and credibility with your audience.

Publishing authoritative content improves your chances of getting it shared on other sites and viewed by more people and hence more traffic.

Tips

• Create and publish content that adds value to potential visitors and that showcases your expertise. This includes content that educates and informs readers, training content, case studies, adding testimonials, etc.
• Consider publishing a special report or PDF guide that can be sold or distributed online.

Tools, Plugins, And Methods

If you need great content ideas for your web site, then subscribe to our FREE email training series here:

Also, 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 Trust

Grow Influence & Engagement

At some point, you may want to consider developing “traffic on tap.” You can achieve this by growing a list or starting a group.

With “Traffic On Demand,” all of your traffic will come from an audience of existing customers or subscribers – people who already like you and trust you. Your influence and credibility can be used to generate traffic with every blog post you publish or broadcast you send out.

Traffic Ideas

• Encourage users 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 Facebook.

Tools, Plugins, & Strategies

There are many solutions and plugins that can help grow your online influence and improve engagement. For example:

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

Identify Problems & Provide Solutions To These

By taking advantage of incoming traffic to find out what your visitors need, you can develop new services, products, and solutions, all of which can provide you with new opportunities to generate new streams of web traffic.

Traffic Optimization Ideas

• Consider creating an e-learning program.
• Publish expert reports that can be sold or distributed online (e.g. sell on Amazon.
• Add an e-commerce store to your business.

Tools And Strategies

If you plan to provide products, services, and solutions online (as opposed to just providing information), then some of the more useful WordPress plugins you may want to add to your site 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 the collection and analysis of data. By interpreting data gathered from existing traffic, you can discover new ways to create content that can generate you additional traffic.

You should already have installed an analytics tool (e.g. Google Analytics) on your website. Make sure you understand the metrics and can interpret the data.

WordPress Web Traffic System – Summary

All you have to do once you implement the above strategies is repeat the process, fine-tuning and refining your methods as you go to grow your traffic and get better your results.

In summary:

• Start with an expertly configured WordPress site backed by good marketing, technical and business systems,
• Implement a content marketing strategy (consider adding some paid advertising to drive traffic and generate useful data) to increase your reach and visibility online,
• Add plugins, list-building strategies, and other solutions as necessary to help build authority, trust, and credibility, and also to increase engagement with users,
• 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 information has given you a blueprint that will help you automate and optimize the process of driving visitors to your WordPress website and get better results online.

***

***