As an SEO/Web 2.0 Consultant, I utilize multiple resources in order to stay on top of trends and industry news. One of my top resources is SEOmoz.org and the premium membership I have with them. I utilize data and other vital information to convey the importance of SEO and Web 2.0 integration for your business. SEOmoz posted excellent statistics on the importance of business blogging.

Let’s take a look at the statistics.

In April of 2008, the Technorati blog search engine was tracking 112.8 million individual blogs. In the previous year, Technorati chairman Dave Sifry released his State of the Blogosphere, where he acknowledged that there were 70 million weblogs with 120,000 new blogs arising daily. Every second, 1.4 new blogs are being created from scratch, with 1.5 million posts per day or 17 posts per second. In one year, from 2007 to 2008, the size of the blogosphere increased 62%.

While the number of blogs is growing, however, the number of regularly updated blogs is approximately 13 million.

In 2005 (and later updated in 2008), Business Week wrote a fascinating piece on how blogs – coupled together with social media – allow individuals to actively participate in online communities. Business Week calls the blog “simply the most explosive outbreak in the information world since the Internet itself.”

In 2004, a Pew Internet & American Life Project report was released that stated that at least 32 million Americans consume their news through blogs. That’s more than 25% of Internet users.

Another report from 2004 found that nearly half of internet users have contributed their thoughts and files to the online world. Whether by blogging or by social media, content creation is preferred by more than 53 million Americans. The report finds that the average age of content creators is 25. These are your influencers, and these are also your customers.

In 2006, blogging wasn’t dying down. Pew Internet & American Life Project found that bloggers are the new authors, with 54% of writers only using the blog, and no other form of media, to share their thoughts with the rest of the world. Fifty-seven million Americans are reading blogs on a regular basis. Millions of people are adding blogs to their daily news consumption.

But how are blogs used? A large percentage of individuals utilize the blog as an online journal. Only five percent of blogs in the world are dedicated to business, which is why a blog is a great opportunity to market your product and business and to establish yourself as an authority in your niche.

Why, then, should you really blog? In another Pew Internet & American Life Project study, 58% of people turn to the Internet to address problems and issues. Fifty-three percent consult with professional advisors, many of whom may actually already be on the Internet). The entire chart is below:

Traditional media (newspapers, magazines, television, and radio) are playing a much smaller role in shaping decisions. The Internet is it, and it is now.

The statistics may be astounding, with the numbers not appearing to add up. Indeed, a large percentage of blogs today are splogs (otherwise known as spam blogs). What’s left, then? Your blog, with your voice, where you can be engaging your customers and talking about your industry and your business. In a nutshell, blogs give you power and exposure that was never envisioned before. With blogs, you can know what people are saying about your company, actively encourage a dialog that can improve your business and its products and services, and create a sense of satisfaction by empowering your customers and giving them a voice by allowing them to offer feedback and by responding to their concerns on your website. In essence, blogs provide new trustworthy relationships with your customers.

So what are you waiting for? Register "blog.yourbusinessname.com" and start blogging.