In Part 1 of our Web Site Traffic Blueprint article series, we explained that the key to turning your site into an automated 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 web site that is not only powered by the WordPress CMS platform, but has also been expertly set up and configured (either by yourself or professionally) to take advantage of the enormous power, ease-of-use and built-in functionality of WordPress and the way it integrates with various sites, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, external site notification and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress website, all you have to do to automatically generate web traffic is add content regularly!)
Once your WordPress site has been fully set up and expertly configured, all you need to do then is add content on a regular basis to automatically drive more web traffic organically.
As outlined in Part 1 of this article series, the components of the automated online traffic system are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we discuss the “Setup” phase of the traffic 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 Blueprint – Setup
If You Have No Website
If you haven’t got a website yet, then it’s really quite simple … build a WordPress website!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and the easiest to use content management system available. We provide loads of articles, tutorials, and tips about the benefits and advantages of using WordPress to grow your business online.
For example, to learn just how popular WordPress is around the world, see this article: Statistics And Usage Of WordPress
After making the choice to build your website with WordPress, the next step is to decide which WordPress platform you will build your web presence on.
This step is important because there are two types of WordPress platforms available …
WordPress.org vs WordPress.com
(WordPress – Self-Hosted Or Hosted?)
WordPress provides users with a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
WordPress.org lets you download the full-featured WordPress CMS application at no cost and host a WordPress site or blog using your own domain name. This is the “self-hosted” WordPress option.
In the “hosted option”, WordPress will host your site 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 plan to build a professional business presence online 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 get to have full control over your web presence and avoid the limitations of the hosted option. Keep in mind that the free hosting limitations can be overcome by upgrading to a paid option, but then why not just start off with a WordPress site hosted on your domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Already Have An Existing Website
If you already have an existing site, check if it has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: How To Check If A Website Is Powered By WordPress
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 blog runs on something other than WordPress, then you will need to make some decisions.
Take a look at the flowchart below …
(Use the above diagram to help you decide how to set up a WordPress web site 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 blog. Your WordPress blog will then be used to drive traffic to your main website.
If you choose to keep your existing website and add a WordPress-powered 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 look and feel of your existing website using a closely-matching theme for WordPress.
To use WordPress for your main site, install the software in the “root” directory of your domain (i.e. http://www.mydomainname.com).
If you already have a website, then you will want to install WordPress in a subdirectory of your domain, e.g. www.mydomainname.com/blog (you can name the subfolder whatever you want).
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 it. This step is explained in the next article in the series.
This is the end of Section Two
To keep reading this article, click on the link below:
This tutorial is part of a comprehensive article series designed to help you learn how to grow your business online and drive traffic sustainably with a WordPress website or blog and proven marketing methods that are easy and quick to implement.
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"I am beyond impressed with what you have put together. I can tell that you put a ton of hard work into building what you have. You have the absolute best content on WordPress I have ever seen!" - Robert T. Jillie
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