by Wes Joyner

Created on: September 13, 2008

The Internet is rapidly becoming the new standard medium for transacting business around the world. Currently, the percentage of the population regularly purchasing goods and services online is reaching the point that indicates a paradigm shift in commercial practices. This is already driving innovative thinkers to find the best methods of capitalizing on the global transition to e-commerce dominance.

Given the vast number of commercial websites available and the lack of geographic restriction for consumers, the primary goal of every online business is creating traffic that outpaces the competition. Referral programs and affiliate marketing are integral to most major e-commerce contenders. The cost per visitor, or unique impression, is much lower than traditional advertising for brick and mortar establishments, so businesses are able to expend vast amounts of resources for referrals while still saving money.

There are a number of different referral models online that allow anyone to generate income from almost any web presence. One of the simplest methods is partnering with an organization that will pay you to place advertisements on your website, thus turning your blog or personal site into a residual income generator. You may be paid per click (PPC), which is tracked to a unique referral identifier from the company providing you with the ad content, or you may negotiate a flat rate for a specific number of impressions, and the ad will be displayed until that number has been reached.

Other websites are solely dedicated to generating traffic for advertisers. These pay to click (PTC) sites sell ad packages to businesses, then present the advertisements to a subscriber base that is paid a small amount for each advertiser they visit. Furthermore, other subscribers may refer these users, and the referring member receives credit for the traffic of his referrals. When a member signs up for a PTC site without being referred, the site will often sell the referral rights to these users, allowing you to generate income based on those members' participation. This can be particularly risky, so you must do some homework before making an initial cash outlay to purchase referrals, lest you buy the rights to a lot of deadwood that doesn't generate any revenue.

One of the most lucrative opportunities is participation in affiliate marketing programs. This requires more active effort, but the rewards far outweigh other methods discussed here. Under this system, you don't buy referrals; instead, you create client referrals and possibly build a multi-level network of partners. You may have heard of an Internet juggernaut called Amazon.com making millions from affiliate marketing.

As an example of how this works, Amazon.com subscribers can purchase products from Amazon.com as well as their affiliates. This creates retail profit for direct sales, and each affiliate pays Amazon.com a percentage of revenue from sales they generate. While Amazon.com isn't looking to cut you in on the deal, other organizations allow you to participate in this type of marketing by acting as the referring agent to a sort of Internet mall, receiving credit for purchases made by your referrals.

Every day, more people make the jump to e-commerce. As traditional, geographically limited, cost intensive trade gives way to the cutting edge of global networking, you have many opportunities to ride the next big economic wave to success.

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