WordPress Traffic Automation Blueprint – Part 5 (Optimization)

Welcome to Part Five of our WordPress Web Site Traffic Blueprint article series, where we show you how to create an automated traffic generation machine using the WordPress CMS platform.

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

In Part One of this series, we explain why using an expertly configured WordPress site is the key to generating automated traffic …

(With an expertly configured WordPress website, all you have to do is add great content on a regular basis to begin attracting traffic!)

In Part 2, we looked at the setup phase. We explained the best way to get started if you don’t have a web presence yet, how to set everything up if you already have a website, and what to do if your existing website has been built using WordPress.

(In Part 2 we show you how to set up WordPress on your domain)

In Part Three, we look at the configuration phase. We explained how to configure all the settings (hosting, WordPress and external) that can affect your site’s ability to generate traffic automatically …

(In Part 3 you will configure hosting settings, WordPress settings, and external settings that affect your website’s traffic-getting ability)

In Part Four, we looked at ways to automate the traffic-getting process with WordPress plugins.

(Publish content once, automate the rest!)

In this section of the WordPress web traffic automation blueprint article series, we look at ways to optimize the traffic system with a number of different tools and strategies.

WordPress Web Traffic Blueprint – Systems

In addition to getting your WordPress website or blog expertly configured, generating targeted traffic on a consistent basis is the product of a clearly-defined business vision, great digital planning, and great systems in place.

(Generating consistent traffic is the result of having a clear business vision, sound planning, and great systems)

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

These include:

• Marketing Systems – How you create new traffic for your website.
• Technical Systems – The systems used to ensure that your online presence remains optimized for receiving traffic.
• Business Systems – The systems and processes used to manage and respond to traffic.

(Systems help you grow, automate, and manage your traffic)

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

Marketing Systems

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

• What channels do you plan to use to generate traffic (e.g. blogging, video marketing, etc)?
• How will you assign your budget and resources to your marketing channels?
• Who will create your content, sales funnels, and marketing campaigns?
• How will you track conversions and measure the results of your campaigns?

During the setup and configuration phase, you should 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 initial 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 keep your online presence optimized for receiving traffic. There’s no point driving traffic to your site if your site is down or your web pages take too long to load.

Your systems need to adequately handle technical areas like webhosting, website 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 will look after my server?
• Who looks after my website and keeps my site, plugins, themes, etc. maintained and up-to-date?
• Who will fix errors, troubleshoot problems, provide technical support and advice, etc. should anything go wrong?

Many potential issues can be minimized if your website planning process and setup and configuration phases have been completed correctly. Like all technology, however, you should expect new problems. You will need the right technical systems in place to handle these.

Business Systems

You need good business systems and processes in place to help you manage and respond to the influx of new traffic. This includes:

• Communication systems
• Resources management – human, financial
• Handling sales enquiries
• Order fulfillment
• Customer training/service
• etc.

If you intend to outsource your digital marketing and technical support, then you will need excellent systems in place for managing all outsourcing.

WordPress Traffic Automation Blueprint – Traffic Optimization

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

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

(Implement, optimize, and automate your traffic loop)

Increase Reach & Visibility

The first step of the process is to expose your business to as many members of your target audience as possible.

Tips

• Your expertly configured WordPress site allows you to instantly notify and publicize your content to traffic-getting sources like Facebook, Twitter, GooglePlus, etc. The easiest way to increase your reach and visibility online, therefore, is to simply publish more content online.
• As mentioned earlier, investing in some paid advertising (e.g. Google AdWords) can help generate data, which you can use to create content better targeted to your audience.
• Repurpose your content to leverage different media formats.
• Continue learning about ways to get web site visitors using methods like SEO, podcasts, StumbleUpon, etc.

Tools & Methods

See previous sections of this tutorial series for many excellent tools and strategies we’ve already covered to help you reach more members of your target audience.

Also, contact us to learn more about plugins that let you easily add the following to your website:

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

Build Authority And Credibility

Getting more content published is great, but to make this more effective, your content needs to be building authority and credibility with users.

Publishing authoritative content not only helps to establish your credibility, it also improves your chances of getting it shared around and viewed by more people and hence more visitors.

Traffic Ideas

• Focus on creating and publishing content that adds value to potential visitors and that showcases your expertise. This includes content that informs and educates readers, training content, case studies, adding testimonials, etc.
• Consider publishing a training guide that can be sold or distributed online (e.g. sell on Clickbank.

Tools & Strategies

We have created an entire email training series aimed at helping you come up with unlimited content for posting to your website or blog:

Also, if you haven’t already, look for plugins that let you easily add the following to your WordPress website or blog:

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

Grow Influence And Engagement

At some point, you may want to consider developing “traffic on demand.” You can do this by growing a list or starting an online community.

With “Traffic On Tap,” your traffic comes from an audience of customers or subscribers – people who already know you and trust you. Your influence and credibility can be used to generate traffic with a single post or email broadcast.

Useful Tips

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

Tools And Methods

Many solutions and plugins are available that 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 & Surveys
• Webinars (e.g. Webinar JEO)
• Comment sharing
• Add media, video galleries, etc.

Identify Needs/Problems And Provide Solutions

By taking advantage of incoming traffic to listen to what problems your visitors are trying to solve, you can have an endless funnel of ideas for developing new services, products, and solutions, all of which provide new opportunities for generating new sources of web traffic.

Traffic Ideas

• Create a free or paid e-learning program.
• Consider publishing special reports that can be sold or distributed online.
• Add e-commerce to your site.

Tools And Strategies

If you plan to provide services, products, and solutions online (as opposed to just providing information), then some of the more useful plugins you may want to add to your site include:

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

Analyze Data & Feedback

The final step of the process is to collect and analyze data. Gathering and interpreting data from existing traffic lets you discover new opportunities to create additional traffic.

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

WordPress Traffic System – Summary

Once you implement the above strategies, all you have to do 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:

• Start with an expertly configured WordPress site backed by good marketing, technical and business systems,
• Implement a content marketing strategy (consider adding some paid advertising to drive initial traffic and generate useful data) to increase your reach and visibility online,
• Add plugins, list-building strategies, and other solutions if necessary to build authority 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 post has given you a blueprint that will help you automate and optimize the process of driving traffic to your web site and grow your business online.

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