Most business owners that I talk with have preconceived notions about Internet marketing. Often, these ideas are rooted in misinformation that they've heard along the way or on one or two bad experiences with less than scrupulous marketers. Here are the most common Internet Marketing myths that I hear, along with the inside story on each one.

1) We've got Internet marketing covered, we have a website ' Just having a website does not constitute having an Internet marketing strategy! Many businesses believe that all they need is a decent website and that somehow prospects and clients will gravitate to it. Having a well designed, user-friendly website is one component in a multi-step Internet marketing strategy. The goal of internet marketing, like all marketing, is to attract new clients and to sell more products or services. If having a great website isn't selling more products and services, then you aren't marketing.

2) We're not a technology company and we don't sell products online, so we don't need Internet marketing ' Almost every business can benefit from Internet marketing. People use the Internet as a research tool to find quality products and services, and even if your product or services isn't internet based, you can still educate and inform prospects and get them to pick up the phone and call you or come into your store by using appropriate Internet marketing.

3) Internet marketing produces low quality leads ' When it's done properly, Internet marketing can produce the most targeted, qualified leads you've ever seen. The lead quality depends on choosing the proper keywords and targeting the right markets for your products and services. If you aren't marketing to the right people in the right way, you won't get good leads and prospects.

4) Internet marketing is expensive ' You can spend a lot of money on Internet marketing, but there are plenty of things that you can do without spending a fortune that produce results. Basic search engine optimization is relatively inexpensive and you can test keywords and pay per click campaigns with small amounts of money to see how they perform before you commit to spending more. Internet marketing is much easier to scale than most traditional marketing methods and you can measure your results, so it is a much more cost effective marketing medium.

5) Internet marketing produces immediate results ' There are some things that can be done to produce results in the near term, but lasting results from Internet marketing efforts take time. It takes time to build authority and rank for search terms, which is the goal of search engine optimization. Search engine marketing, also known as pay per click (PPC) advertising, requires testing and refining to produce consistent results. This takes time. While Internet marketing produces great results for the effort and cost, it isn't immediate. It should be given a fair amount of time to produce results and be evaluated on a realistic basis. Many business owners get frustrated if they don't see immediate results and stop all Internet marketing efforts before they have a chance to perform.

The Internet is a powerful marketing tool that can help your business reach more prospects and customers. Now that you've taken the time to get the real story on these common myths, implement internet marketing in your business and see what it can do for you!

Todd Tyler is a principal at Frontier Marketing, an Internet Marketing and SEO firm based in Dallas Texas. Todd has over ten years experience working with businesses in financial services, healthcare, high tech, and start-ups regarding operational and marketing concerns.