WordPress Traffic Automation Blueprint – Part 5 (Optimization)

Welcome to Part 5 of our Website Traffic Blueprint article series, where we show you how to drive new visitors automatically to your site using the WordPress CMS.

So far, here is what we have covered in this series:

In Part One, we explain why using an expertly configured WordPress site is the key to automating traffic to your website …

(With an expertly configured WordPress website, all you have to do to automatically start driving traffic is publish great content regularly!)

In Part Two, we focus on the setup phase. We help you understand the best way to get started if you don’t have a website yet, how to set everything up if you already have a website, and what to do if your existing site is built with WordPress.

(In Part 2 we show you where to set up a WordPress web site on your domain)

In Part 3, we discussed the configuration phase. We configured all the settings (hosting, internal and external) that can affect your website’s ability to generate traffic automatically …

(In Part Three we explain how to configure all the settings that affect your website’s ability to generate traffic automatically)

In Part Four, we showed you how to set up various WordPress plugins that can help drive new visitors automatically to your website or blog as you begin publishing web content on a consistent basis.

(Publish once to WordPress and automate the distribution of your content to all other marketing channels!)

In this article, we discuss ways to optimize your traffic using different tools and methods.

WordPress Web Traffic Blueprint – Systems

In addition to having an expertly configured WordPress website, generating consistent traffic of high quality is the product of a clear business vision, careful digital planning, and good systems and process in place.

(Generating automated traffic is the result of having a clear business vision, planning, and excellent systems)

Let’s review the systems that will help you grow and manage your traffic.

These systems include:

• Marketing Systems – The processes and methods used to drive new traffic to your website.
• Technical Systems – How you keep your digital presence operating efficiently for receiving new traffic.
• Business Systems – The systems and processes used to manage and respond to traffic.

(Systems help you grow and manage your web traffic)

Let’s review the importance of the above systems briefly:

Marketing Systems

Your marketing systems consist of the processes and methods used to drive new traffic to your website. You can test your online marketing systems by asking questions such as:

• What channels will you use to drive traffic (e.g. blogging, video marketing, etc)?
• How will you allocate your budget and resources to these marketing channels?
• How will you create your content, sales funnels, and run your marketing campaigns?
• How will you measure the ROI of your campaigns?

During the setup and configuration phase, you would have installed an analytics program (e.g. Google Analytics). If you’re just starting out, you may want to consider investing in some paid advertising to help you generate some intelligence. If you’re tracking your marketing campaigns correctly, this should yield some actionable data, such as the keywords people are searching online to find your site, which you can use to create content targeted specifically to your audience.

Technical Systems

Your technical systems and processes ensure that your web presence remains up and running for receiving new traffic. There’s no point driving traffic to your website if your site is experiencing problems or your pages take a very long time to load.

Your systems need to handle areas like webhosting, site maintenance and support, installing, configuring, and updating new software (e.g. plugins), integration, customization, troubleshooting, etc.

You can test your technical systems by questions such as:

• Who looks after my server?
• Who will look after my website and keep my site maintained and up-to-date?
• Who will fix errors, troubleshoot problems, provide technical support and advice, etc. should things go wrong?

Many potential problems can be minimized if your planning and setup and configuration phases have been completed correctly. Like all technology, however, there will always be problems. Your technical systems need to be able to handle these.

Business Systems

You need good business systems and processes in place to help you manage new traffic. These include:

• Communication systems
• Managing human and financial resources
• Handling leads and sales inquiries
• Order fulfillment
• Customer training/service
• etc.

If you intend to outsource your digital marketing and technical support, then make sure you have implemented excellent systems to manage all outsourcing.

WordPress Traffic System – Traffic Optimization Strategies

If your business objectives are clear and your systems and processes are in place, all you need to focus your efforts on is growing a “traffic loop”.

Let’s go through an example of how to implement, optimize, and automate a traffic loop. Take a look at the processes illustrated below …

(WordPress can help you implement, automate, and optimize your traffic loop)

Increase Reach & Visibility

Step 1 of the process is to increase visibility for your business.

Tips

• Your expertly configured WordPress site allows you to automatically distribute your content to places like Facebook, Twitter, GooglePlus, etc. The easiest way to increase your reach and visibility online, therefore, is to simply publish more content.
• As mentioned earlier, investing in some paid advertising (e.g. Google AdWords) can help you generate actionable data, which you can use to create web content better targeted to your audience’s needs.
• Repurpose your content to leverage the power, appeal, and reach of different media formats.
• Continue learning about ways to get visitors using methods like Facebook ads, banner ads, email ads, etc.

Tools And Methods

See previous sections of this article series for a number of useful tools, plugins, and methods we’ve already covered to help you reach more members of your target audience.

Also, ask us about WordPress plugins that let you easily add the following to your website:

• Share your posts online,
• Run contests, offer discounts/downloads for shares/likes,
• Add user generated content, feeds, etc.
• Distribute content online in various media formats (e.g. videos, PDF guides, audio, etc.)

Build Authority & Credibility

Getting more content published is a great first step, but for this activity to be really effective, your content needs to build authority and credibility with your audience.

Publishing better quality content improves your chances of getting more views from social sharing and hence more traffic.

Tips

• Create and publish content that will add value to potential users and showcase your expertise. This includes content that informs and educates readers, training content, user reviews, adding testimonials, etc.
• Consider publishing expert reports that can be sold or distributed online (e.g. sell on on the Amazon Kindle book store.

Tools & Methods

We have created an entire course on how to develop a content marketing strategy, how to promote your business with content, and ways to never run out of content ideas that you can plug into for free here:

Also, ask us about plugins that allow you to easily add the following to your website or blog:

• Legal Pages
• Testimonials
• Customer Support (e.g. Helpdesk, Live Chat, etc.)
• Ratings
• User Reviews
• Badges/Certificates Of Trust

Grow Influence And Engagement

At some point, you may want to consider developing “traffic on tap.” You can do this by building a list or starting a group.

With “Traffic On Demand,” your traffic comes from an audience of customers or subscribers – people who already like you and trust you. Your influence and credibility can be used to generate new traffic with every post you publish or email you send out.

Tips

• Encourage users to leave comments and start discussions on your site.
• Add an autoresponder training course and encourage people to subscribe.
• Add a paid, free, or ‘freemium’ membership site, online forum, or social community.
• Start or join an online group on LinkedIn/Facebook.

Tools And Strategies

There are many solutions and plugins that are easy to implement and can help grow your online influence and improve engagement. For example:

• Autoresponders (e.g. Aweber, MailChimp, etc.)
• Contact Forms, Live Chat
• Forums and Social Communities (e.g. bbPress, BuddyPress)
• Polls and Surveys
• Webinars (e.g. Webinar JEO)
• Comment sharing
• Add media, video galleries, etc.

Identify Problems & Provide Solutions To These

If you take advantage of incoming traffic to listen to what your visitors are looking for, you should have no problem developing new services, products, and solutions, all of which provide new opportunities for generating additional traffic.

Useful Tips

• Create an online training course.
• Publish a special report or even an e-book that you can sell or distribute online.
• Consider adding an e-commerce store to your business.

Tools, Plugins, And Strategies

If you plan to provide services and products online (as opposed to just providing information), ask us about WordPress plugins that let you easily add the following to your website or blog:

• Membership Sites (e.g. Wishlist Member, S2 Member, etc.)
• Learning Management Systems (e.g. Courseware)
• Event Registrations (e.g. EventEspresso)

Analyze Data & Feedback

The final step of the process is the collection and analysis of data. Gathering and interpreting data from existing traffic lets you discover new traffic opportunities.

Hopefully, by now you already have installed an analytics tool (e.g. Google Analytics) on your site. Make sure you understand the metrics and can interpret the data.

WordPress Traffic Automation Blueprint – Summary

All you have to do once you implement the above strategies is repeat the process over and over again, fine-tuning and refining your methods as you go to grow your traffic and improve your results.

In summary:

• Begin with an expertly configured WordPress site backed by good marketing, technical and business systems,
• Implement a content marketing strategy (consider also investing in some paid advertising to drive traffic and generate useful data) to increase your reach and visibility online,
• Add plugins, list-building strategies, and other solutions as necessary to help build authority, trust, and credibility, and also to improve engagement with visitors,
• Promote any new solutions, products or services using your existing channels and strategies to generate additional streams of traffic,
• Analyse your data and your results, automate your processes wherever possible, and begin the cycle again.

Hopefully, this article has given you a blueprint that will help you automate and optimize the process of driving visitors to your web site and build a better business online.

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