In Part One of our Website Traffic Blueprint article series, 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 web site is different than a professionally-configured WordPress web site. An expertly configured WordPress blog is a site that is not only powered by WordPress, but has also been expertly set up and configured (either by yourself or professionally) to take full advantage of the tremendous power, ease-of-use and built-in functionality of WordPress and the way it can be integrated with various sites, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, content syndication and reporting.
(With an expertly configured WordPress website or blog, all you have to do to generate more traffic is publish content on a regular basis!)
Once your WordPress site has been fully set up and expertly configured, all you need to do then to automatically bring web traffic is add content regularly.
As outlined in Part 1 of this article series, the components of this automated website traffic machine 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 website yet, or if you already have an existing site that may or may not have been built using WordPress.
WordPress Web Traffic Blueprint – Setup Phase
If You Haven’t Got A Web Presence
If you haven’t got a web presence yet, it’s 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 many articles, tips, and tutorials on this site about the benefits and advantages of using WordPress to grow your business online.
For example, to see just how popular WordPress has become with businesses, see this article: Facts And Figures About WordPress
After making the choice to build your web presence with WordPress, the next step is to choose which WordPress platform you will run your web presence on.
This step is important because there are 2 types of WordPress platforms available …
WordPress Self-Hosted Or WordPress Hosted?
(WordPress.org vs WordPress.com)
WordPress offers users a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
WordPress.org allows you to download the full-featured WordPress CMS application for free and self-host a WordPress site or blog under your own domain name. This is the “self-hosted” WordPress option.
With 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 blog when WordPress.com hosts it for free.
If you plan to build a professional web presence and you want to set up the traffic system described here, then 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 the free hosting limitations can be overcome 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 Already Have An Existing Site
If you already own an existing web site, 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 Web Site Runs On The WordPress CMS Platform
If your existing website was built using WP 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 was built using something other than the WordPress CMS platform, you will need to make some decisions.
Take a look at the simple flowchart below. It will help you choose how to set up WordPress on your domain …
(Use the above flowchart to help you decide how to set up WordPress on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing website with a WordPress-powered site, or
- Keep your existing website and add a WordPress blog. This blog will then be expertly configured and used to drive traffic to your main website.
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 webhosting, but allows you to fully configure your site’s settings and customize the design of your existing web site using a suitable theme.
To use WordPress for your main site, install the software in the “root” folder of your domain name (e.g. http://www.mydomainname.com).
If you 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 subdirectory anything you like).
If you have a 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 addressed in the next article in the WordPress Traffic Blueprint series.
This is the end of Part Two
To read more, click here:
This article is part of a comprehensive series of tutorials aimed at helping you learn how to grow your business with a WordPress-powered website or blog and proven online marketing methods.
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"This is an awesome training series. I have a pretty good understanding of WordPress already, but this is helping me to move somewhere from intermediate to advanced user!" - Kim Lednum
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