In Part One of our Web Traffic Blueprint article series overview, we explained that the key to turning a site into an automated traffic generation machine is to use an “expertly configured” WordPress website.
As we also explained, an expertly configured WordPress web site is different than a professionally-configured WordPress website or blog. An expertly configured WordPress site is a website that is not only driven 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 functionality of WordPress and how it can be integrated with other sites, specifically in areas like SEO, external site notification and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress website or blog, all you have to do to drive more traffic is publish content regularly!)
Once you have your WordPress site fully set up and expertly configured, all you need to do then to generate web traffic is publish great content regularly.
As outlined in Part 1 of this article series, the components of the automated website traffic blueprint 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 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 Web Traffic Automation System – Setup
If You Haven’t Got A Website Yet
If you don’t have a website yet, then it’s really quite simple … build a web presence with WordPress!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and the easiest to use content management system on the planet. We provide many 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 web content management system, see this article: Statistics And Market Share Of WordPress
After choosing to build your site with WordPress, the next step is to decide which type of WordPress platform you will run your web presence on.
This step is important because there are two types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
WordPress.org vs WordPress.com
(Hosted vs Self-Hosted WordPress)
WordPress offers a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
With the “self-hosted” option you can download the full-featured WordPress software for free from WordPress.org and host a WordPress site or blog under your own domain name.
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 WordPress.com hosts it for free.
If you are planning to build a professional web presence and you want to set up the traffic system described here, then choose the “self-hosted” WordPress platform. 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 with a WordPress site hosted on your own domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Already Have An Existing Site
If you already have an existing website, check first if your web site has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: Tell-Tale Signs It’s A WordPress Site And WordPress-Checking Tools
If your existing blog was built using WordPress 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 website is not a WP website, then you have some decisions to make.
Take a look at the simple flowchart below …
(Use this simple flowchart to decide where to set up a WordPress website on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing web site with a WordPress-driven site, or
- Keep your existing site and add a WordPress-driven blog. Your WordPress blog will then be used to drive traffic to your main web 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 site’s settings and customize the design and style of your existing website using an appropriate theme.
To use WordPress as your main site, install the software in the “root” folder of your domain name (i.e. http://mydomainname.com).
If you have a website, then you will want to install WordPress in a subfolder of your domain, e.g. www.mydomainname.com/blog (you can name your subdirectory anything you like).
If you have a site that you don’t want to delete or replace with a WordPress site, the other option you have is 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 explained in the next article in the WordPress Traffic Blueprint series.
This is the end of Section 2
To read the rest of this article, click here:
This tutorial is part of an tutorial series designed to help you learn how to grow your business online and drive traffic automatically using a WordPress-driven website and proven web marketing methods.
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"If you're new to WordPress, this can stand on its own as a training course and will stay with you as you progress from beginner to advanced and even guru status." - Bruce (Columbus, Ohio)
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