In Part 1 of our Web Site Traffic Blueprint article series, we explained that the key to turning your site into an automated traffic generation machine is to use an “expertly-configured” WordPress website.
As we also explained, an expertly-configured WordPress site is not the same thing as a professionally-configured WordPress website. An expertly-configured WordPress site is a site that is not only driven by WordPress, but has also been expertly set up and configured (either by yourself or professionally) to take advantage of the enormous power, features and functionality of WordPress and how it can be integrated with other services, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, content syndication and analytics.
(With an expertly-configured WordPress blog, all you have to do to automatically drive more traffic is publish great content on a regular basis!)
Once your WordPress site has been expertly-configured and fully set up, all you need to do is add content on a regular basis to automatically bring more web traffic organically.
As outlined in Part 1 of this article series, the components of the automated traffic blueprint are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Publicize
- Optimize
In this article, we look at the “Setup” phase of this process. We will help you understand the best way to start 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 Blueprint – Setup
If You Don’t Have A Web Presence
If you haven’t got 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 on the planet. We provide many 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 web businesses, see this article: Useful Statistics About WordPress
After making the choice to build your web presence with WordPress, the next step is to choose which type of WordPress platform you will use to run your web presence on.
This step is important, as there are 2 types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
Self-Hosted vs Hosted WordPress Site
(WordPress.Org Or WordPress.com?)
WordPress offers a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
WordPress.org allows you to download the full-featured WordPress software for free and host a WordPress site or blog under your own domain name. This is the “self-hosted” WordPress option.
In the “hosted option”, WordPress hosts your blog for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, some limitations on what you can and can’t do with your site 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 blog at WordPress.com. You 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 platform by upgrading to a paid option, but then why not start off with a WordPress site hosted on your domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Have An Existing Web Site
If you already have an existing site, first, check if it has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: How To Check If Your Web Site Was Built Using WordPress
If your existing web site was built with 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 existing web site runs on something other than the WP CMS platform, then you have some decisions to make.
Take a look at the diagram below …
(Use the above diagram to decide where to set up WordPress on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing website so that your main website is built using WordPress, or
- Keep your existing website and add a WordPress-driven blog. Your WordPress blog will then be used to drive traffic to your main website.
If you choose to keep your existing site and add a WordPress-driven blog, make sure to use the self-hosted version of WordPress, which requires a domain name and web hosting, but allows you to fully configure your site’s settings and customize the design and style of your existing site using a suitable WordPress theme.
To use WordPress as your main website, 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 your subdirectory whatever you want).
If you have an existing site 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 it’s internal settings. This step is addressed in the next article in the series.
This is the end of Part Two
To read the rest of this article, click on the link below:
Website Traffic Blueprint Part 3 – How To Configure Your WordPress Site To Automate Traffic
This article is part of a comprehensive series of articles designed to help business owners learn how to grow their business online sustainably using WordPress with proven and cost-effective online marketing methods.
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Hopefully this information has given you a better understanding of problems that can affect your web site and how WordPress can help you get better results online. To learn more about using WordPress please see our related posts section.
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