Method and apparatus for generating a link to a presented web page

1. A method for identifying referrals for use in generating a website, comprising one or more multi-purpose computing devices adapted to perform the steps of:

requesting a list of companies for referrals;

validating the list of companies to obtain a valid set of company names;

presenting the valid set of company names to select for inclusion in the referrals;

receiving a list of selected companies;

sending a notification to owners of the selected companies informing them of the referral;

determining whether the selected site belongs to a same network as the website;

requesting, when a selected company belongs to the same network, the owners of the selected companies (1) whether the referral is acceptable by providing information about the website, providing a link to the website, and providing a link to a page for managing a referral process, and (2) to refer back to the website;

inviting, when a selected company does not belong to the same network, the selected site owner to register with the same network, and utilizing details from received information to pre-build a new web site for the selected site;

generating one or more referral pages for those owners that have elected to refer back to the website; and

generating a referral page for the website, the referral page comprising descriptions of one or more referred sites wherein only the referred-to site owner may change or edit the contents.

2. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

generating one or more referral pages for those owners that have elected to refer back to the website as a function of one or more characteristics of the website.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the referral pages include at least one link to the website.

4. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

informing that one or more of the owners have elected not to refer back to the website.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of validating further comprises:

obtaining a valid set of standard industry codes (SIC) for the valid set of company names.

6. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

adding to the valid set of company names one or more standard referral companies that have paid a fee for being added as referrals.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of presenting a valid set of company names comprises: presenting a prompt for an acceptance of each company in the valid set of company names.

8. A multi-purpose computing device for identifying referrals for use in generating a website, comprising:

memory; and

a processor that performs actions, including:

requesting a list of companies for referrals;

validating the list of companies to obtain a valid set of company names;

presenting the valid set of company names to select for inclusion in the referrals;

receiving a list of selected companies;

sending a notification to owners of the selected companies informing them of the referral;

determining whether the selected site belongs to a same network as the website;

requesting, when a selected company belongs to the same network, the owners of the selected companies (1) whether the referral is acceptable by providing information about the website, providing a link to the website, and providing a link to a page for managing a referral process, and (2) to refer back to the website;

inviting, when a selected company does not belong to the same network, the selected site owner to register with the same network, and utilizing details from received information to pre-build a new web site for the selected site;

generating one or more referral pages for those owners that have elected to refer back to the website; and

generating a referral page for the website, the referral page comprising descriptions of one or more referred sites wherein only the referred-to site owner may change or edit the contents.

9. The computing device according to claim 8 , further performing actions comprising:

generating one or more referral pages for those owners that have elected to refer back to the website as a function of one or more characteristics of the website.

10. The computing device according to claim 8 , wherein the referral pages include at least one link back to the website.

11. The computing device according to claim 8 , further performing actions comprising:

informing that one or more of the owners have elected not to refer back to the website.

12. The computing device according to claim 8 , wherein validating further comprises:

obtaining a valid set of standard industry codes (SIC) for the valid set of company names.

13. The computing device according to claim 8 , further performing actions comprising:

adding to the valid set of company names one or more standard referral companies that have paid a fee for being added as referrals.

14. The computing device according to claim 8 , wherein presenting a valid set of company names comprises:

presenting a prompt for an acceptance of each company in the valid set of company names.

15. A system for identifying referrals for use in generating a website, comprising:

at least one memory; and at least one processor, coupled to the memory, the processor adapted to execute program code to:

request a list of companies for referrals;

validate the list of companies to obtain a valid set of company names;

present the valid set of company names to select for inclusion in the referrals;

receive a list of selected companies;

send a notification to owners of the selected companies informing them of the referral;

determine whether the selected site belongs to a same network as the website;

request, when a selected company belongs to the same network, the owners of the selected companies (1) whether the referral is acceptable by providing information about the website, providing a link to the website, and providing a link to a page for managing a referral process, and (2) to refer back to the website;

invite, when a selected company does not belong to the same network, the selected site owner to register with the same network, and utilize details from received information to pre-build a new web site for the selected site;

generate one or more referral pages for those owners that have elected to refer back to the website; and

generate a referral page for the website, the referral page comprising descriptions of one or more referred sites wherein only the referred-to site owner may change or edit the contents.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium, carrying a set of computer program instructions, which when executed causes a computer to perform a process for identifying referrals for use in generating a website, the process comprising:

requesting a list of companies for referrals;

validating the list of companies to obtain a valid set of company names;

presenting the valid set of company names to select for inclusion in the referrals;

receiving a list of selected companies; sending a notification to owners of the selected companies informing them of the referral;

determining whether the selected site belongs to a same network as the website;

requesting, when a selected company belongs to the same network, the owners of the selected companies (1) whether the referral is acceptable by providing information about the website, providing a link to the website, and providing a link to a page for managing a referral process, and (2) to refer back to the website;

inviting, when a selected company does not belong to the same network, the selected site owner to register with the same network, and utilizing details from received information to pre-build a new web site for the selected site;

generating one or more referral pages for those owners that have elected to refer back to the website; and

generating a referral page for the website, the referral page comprising descriptions of one or more referred sites wherein only the referred-to site owner may change or edit the contents.

17. A method for gathering and validating web site referrals for a first web site over a network, comprising the steps of:

presenting a referral page at a client terminal, the referral page requesting a list of businesses related to the first web site;

receiving a first data entry, wherein the first data entry includes at least one business name;

validating each of the at least one business names;

correlating each of the at least one business names with a second web site;

presenting a list of validated business names to an operator of the first web site, wherein the operator has authority to edit the first web site;

receiving a second data entry, wherein the second data entry includes selection of at least one of the validated business names;

determining whether the selected site belongs to a same network as the website;

presenting, when a selected company belongs to the same network, a referral page to an operator of the second web site requesting (1) whether the referral is acceptable by providing information about the website, providing a link to the website, and providing a link to a page for managing a referral process, and (2) acceptance of the referral;

inviting, when a selected company does not belong to the same network, the selected site owner to register with the same network, and utilizing details from received information to pre-build a new web site for the selected site;

generating a referral from the first web site to the second web site;

presenting the operator of the second web site with an option to automatically generate a referral from the second web site to the first web site; and

presenting the operator of the first web site with an option to automatically generate a referral page for the website, the referral page comprising descriptions of one or more referred sites wherein only the referred-to site owner may change or edit the contents.