In Part 1 of our Web Site 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 website is not the same thing as a professionally-configured WordPress website or blog. An expertly configured WordPress blog is a blog that is not only powered 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 built-in functionality of WordPress and its integration with other sites, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, external site syndication and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress blog, all you have to do to automatically generate traffic is publish content regularly!)
Once you have your WordPress site fully set up and expertly configured, all you need to do is add great content on a regular basis to automatically generate more traffic.
As outlined in Part 1 of this article series, the components of this automated website traffic system are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we discuss the “Setup” phase of the automation process. You will learn the best way to get started 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 Automation Blueprint – Setup
If You Haven’t Got A Web Presence
If you don’t have a web presence yet, then it’s really quite simple … get a WordPress site!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and the easiest to use content management system available. We provide many articles, tutorials, and tips 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: Statistics About WordPress
After choosing to build your website with WordPress, the next step is to decide which WordPress platform you will use to build your web presence on.
This step is very important as there are 2 types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
WordPress – Self-Hosted vs Hosted
(WordPress Self-Hosted Or WordPress Hosted?)
WordPress offers website owners a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
The “self-hosted” option lets you download the full-featured WordPress software for free from WordPress.org and host a WordPress site or blog using your own domain name.
In the “hosted option”, WordPress will host your blog for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, some limitations on what you can and can’t do with your site when it is hosted for free at WordPress.com.
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 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 options by upgrading to a paid option, but then why not start off by hosting a WordPress site on your own domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Have An Existing Web Site
If you already own an existing web site, first check to see if the site has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: Tell-Tale Signs It’s A WordPress Blog And WordPress-Checking Tools
If your existing blog was built using the WP CMS platform, 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 site was not built with WordPress, you will need to make some choices.
Take a look at the simple flowchart below. It will help you decide where to set up WordPress on your domain …
(Use this simple diagram to help you choose how to set up WordPress 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-powered blog. This blog will then be expertly configured and used to drive traffic to your main site.
If you choose to keep your existing web site 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 and style of your existing site using a closely-matching WP theme.
To use WordPress for your main site, install the platform in the “root” folder of your domain (e.g. mydomainname.com).
If you already 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 subfolder whatever you like).
If you have a website 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 blog
Once you have set up your WordPress site, the next step is to configure its internal settings. This step is explained in the next article in the series.
This is the end of Section 2
To read more, click on the link below:
This tutorial is part of a comprehensive series of tutorials aimed at helping you learn how to grow your business and drive traffic sustainably with a WordPress-driven website or blog and proven web marketing strategies.
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"These tutorials have so much information and are easy to understand. If you use WordPress or plan to in the future these will help you with everything you need to know." - Valisa (Mesa, Arizona)
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