In Part One of our Website 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 web site is not the same thing as a professionally-configured WordPress website. An expertly configured WordPress blog is a site that is not only driven by the WordPress CMS platform, but has also been expertly set up and configured (either by yourself or professionally) to take full advantage of the enormous power, features and functionality of WordPress and the way it integrates with other sites, specifically in areas like SEO, content syndication and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress website or blog, all you have to do is add great content regularly to bring traffic!)
Once you have your WordPress site fully set up and expertly configured, all you need to do then is add great content on a regular basis to automatically drive more traffic.
As outlined in Part 1 of this article series, the components of the automated online traffic machine are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we discuss the “Setup” phase of the automation process. We will 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 System – Setup
If You Have No Website
If you haven’t got a website yet, it’s quite simple … build your website with WordPress!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and the easiest to use content management system on the planet. We provide loads of articles, tips, and tutorials about the benefits and advantages of using WordPress to grow your business online.
For example, to see just how popular WordPress is as a content publishing platform, see this article: WordPress Usage Statistics
After choosing to build your web presence with WordPress, the next step is to decide which WordPress platform you will run your web presence on.
This step is very important as there are 2 types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
Hosted vs Self-Hosted WordPress Site
(WordPress Self-Hosted vs WordPress Hosted)
WordPress offers users a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
WordPress.org allows you to download the full-featured WordPress software for free and self-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 blog for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, some limitations to what you can and can’t do with your site when it is hosted for free at WordPress.com.
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 site 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 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 Web 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: The Easy Way To Tell If Your Website Was Built Using WordPress Software
If your site was built using 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 WP software, then you have some choices to make.
Take a look at the simple diagram below …
(Use this simple diagram to choose where to set up a WordPress site on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing website with a WordPress site, or
- Keep your existing web site and add a WordPress blog. Your WordPress blog will then be used to drive traffic to your main site.
If you choose to keep your existing website and add a WordPress blog, make sure to use the self-hosted version of WordPress, which requires your own domain name and web hosting, but allows you to fully configure your blog’s settings and customize the design of your existing website using a suitable WordPress theme.
To use WordPress for your main website, install the software in the “root” folder of your domain (e.g. http://www.mydomainname.com).
If you 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 subdirectory anything 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 blog
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 WordPress Traffic Blueprint series.
This is the end of Part 2
To read the rest of this article, click here:
This article is part of a comprehensive article series designed to help website owners learn how to grow their business and drive traffic organically with a WordPress website or blog and proven online marketing methods.
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