As a web designer, I am well aware that a majority of small business owners are not aware of what they can expect from a web site. Some may have never given it much thought, while others are fooled into believing everything that they read online. Let's dispel some of the top misconceptions I frequently hear

I have listed here 5 of the most common misconceptions I hear about business websites.

Myth #1 "Nobody's actually making any money online"

Not true. There are some people making very good money online. There are single person operations pulling in $30,000 - $50,000+ a month online. Granted those people are on the high end of the curve but they are out there.

A more reasonable level that can be aimed for is to have $5,000 to $10,000 a month in sales. The best way to do this is with multiple streams of income. That is have several sites pulling in $500 to $1,000 a month all on autopilot (which you can read more about here). The trick is to get one up and running completely before moving on to the next.

Myth #2 "If you build it they will come"

This is probably the major disappointment with most people and their website. It never occurred to them that the site would be created but no traffic would come to it.

Web site traffic does not "just happen". It has to be figured into the whole design of the site.

This doesn't mean that you can't put things in place that will help. In fact you need to! These traffic building ideas can include:

• Good, solid content
• Basic search engine understanding to get higher placement in the listings
• Marketing campaigns including pay per click and online advertising
• Introduction of an affiliate program to have other sites sending traffic to you

Myth #3 "It's not worth the time or effort"

I suppose this is directly based on what results you were expecting or hoping to see. The reality is that a well performing site can be your ticket to a steady stream of income once it is up and running.

How big an income stream is related to what your site is about and how well you implement the marketing of it.

Ask someone with a well performing site and they might tell you that it has been a life changing amount of income for them. That would be worth some effort.

Myth #4 "My site is going to show up in the search engines as soon as it is done"

This is usually one of the biggest and quickest disappointments for a new web site owner. I always make it a point to let them know UP FRONT what the realities are. Yes, they will start showing up in the search engines but it may be anywhere from 4 - 8 weeks or more.

There is also no guarantee of how high up they will be in the listings. I explain that I will optimize their pages as much as possible but there are no guarantees in life!

The goal for me is google indexing the site. Generally google prefers to find a site because it was linked to from another site. Once google has about 3 or more links to your site, it generally starts to give your site some credit.

When more and more sites link to you, google starts visiting more often. Indexing more and more as it goes.

Bottom line: links TO your site are very important.

Myth #5 "It's too late, I missed the internet gold rush"

That is utter nonsense. If anything you are in a better position than ever.

You now have some established websites to look at, analyze, and emulate. By seeing what successful sites are doing, you can adapt your own strategies accordingly.

There is no shame in this, in fact it is extremely smart to do. Obviously you aren't copying them exactly (!) but there is nothing stopping you from adapting what is working for them and applying it to your site.

I do this myself by keeping up with the most successful subscription sites online. I am constantly analyzing and researching what is working for them and adapting it to my own site. Why would I NOT want to benefit from their experience?!?

By learning the reality behind some of these truths ahead of time, you can save yourself some stress. Better to face realities then struggling about wondering what the real truth is.

(Do you have any myths or misconceptions you would like to share as a website owner? Feel free to drop me a line, I would love to hear from you).