In Part One of our Website Traffic Blueprint article series overview, we explained that the key to turning a website into an automated web traffic generation machine is to use an “expertly configured” WordPress website.
As we also explained, an expertly configured WordPress site is different than a professionally-configured WordPress web site. An ”expertly configured” WordPress web site is a website or blog that is not only driven by WordPress, 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 its integration with various sites, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, content syndication and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress website, all you have to do is publish great content regularly to automatically generate traffic!)
Once your WordPress site has been expertly configured and fully set up, all you then need to do is publish content on a regular basis to automatically bring traffic organically.
As outlined in Part One of this article series, the components of this automated traffic system are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we discuss the “Setup” phase of this process. We will help you understand the best way to get started if you don’t have a web presence yet, or if you already have an existing site that may or may not have been built using WordPress.
WordPress Web Traffic System – Setup
If You Don’t Have A Website
If you haven’t got a web presence yet, it’s 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 loads of articles, tutorials, and tips on this site about the benefits and advantages of using WordPress to grow your business online.
For example, to see just how popular WordPress is as a platform for doing business online, see this article: Some Useful Facts And Figures About WordPress Usage
After choosing to build your site with WordPress, the next step is to decide which type of WordPress platform you will build your web presence on.
This is important because there are 2 types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
Hosted vs Self-Hosted WordPress
(WordPress – Self-Hosted vs Hosted)
WordPress offers website owners a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
WordPress.org allows you to download the full-featured WordPress application for free and host a WordPress site or blog using your own domain name. This is the “self-hosted” WordPress option.
With the “hosted option”, WordPress hosts your blog for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, a number of limitations on 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 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 own an existing web site, check to see if it has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: How To Tell If Your Website Is A WordPress Web Site
If your website runs on 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 runs on something other than WordPress, then you have some choices to make.
Take a look at the simple flowchart below …
(Use this simple diagram to help you decide where to set up WordPress on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing website with a WordPress site, or
- Keep your existing website and add a WordPress-driven 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 site’s settings and customize the design and style of your existing website using a closely-matching theme.
To use WordPress for your main site, install it in the “root” folder of your domain name (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 subfolder whatever 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 site
Once you have set up your WordPress site, the next step is to configure its internal settings. This step is covered in the next article in the WordPress Traffic Blueprint 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 online cost-effectively and drive traffic automatically with a WordPress-driven website or blog and proven marketing strategies that are easy and quick to implement.
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