Traditional brink and mortar companies and website businesses have one thing in common; they cannot survive without customers and are constantly looking for ways to attract new business. Advertising is usually too broad to attract specific markets and target advertising can be exceptionally expensive, when the return on investment is calculated. Some of the best advertising available is word of mouth referrals from friends, family and verifiable previous customers.

Looking through many websites that portend to offer excellent earnings in exchange for little work, there always seems to be testimonials from satisfied customers or those that also sell the product and claim to making tons of money as a participant in that particular business. With no way to contact many of these people for a first-hand account, their reliability is open to question and considering that many endorsements are either paid or non-existent, it is no wonder they are not taken seriously.

When an individual tells a friend about a website or a business that has excellent customer service, a great product and a good price, there is a good chance that friend will become a customer. There is little doubt that referral is an honest representation of the company. Network marketing, one of the most popular business models on the internet, shares both the good and the bad and finding a business that can produce a work at home opportunity that pays honest money can be tough. However, they do exist and if a potential online worker can receive an honest referral to a specific opportunity, chances are they will take a chance.

Affiliate marketing can also be considered as a referral service, provided the site on which the ads appear is offering something of value. A site that is nothing more than a series of advertisements may gain a few sales over time, but one that offers useful information along with advertising aimed at their visitors, can increase their business dramatically. Visitors head to the site for information and stay for the purchase. Promoting the site online through article marketing, offering people the chance to receive free information and having the ads there as a sidebar, is more attractive than blatant attempts at making sales.

Additionally, visitors who click on these ads are more likely to be interested in the products or services being offered, provided they relate to the information on the website. For example, if a website offers information about certain dog breeds where a visitor can all they want to know about the breed and sees advertising related to pet care, they are more likely to visit the advertiser's site and make a purchase than they would be seeing an advertisement for gift baskets.

Whether the website is commercial with the intention of making money or is a site for the family, placing a few ads on the site may seem like marketing to the family, but they might see something they like. Additionally, social networking sites are a great place to generate income from home while referring visitors to online businesses, especially those that focus on the interests of the social network community.