Web logs (hence, 'blogs') may be all the rage with young consumers, but still the bleeding edge for most marketers. But there's at least one reason for you to at least consider blogging, and its called Search Engine Marketing.

For all the attention blogging has received, the dirty little secret is that only a tiny fraction of us have bothered to download the RSS readers that enable true blog functionality in all its forms. So strictly speaking, blogging as a marketing channel remains restricted to an audience of early adopters. The final release of Microsoft's new operating system - Vista - is supposed to change this with its built-in RSS capabilities, but only as the user population upgrades.

But there is good reason to blog now. Blog pages are Web pages and hence "findable" by search engines like Google and Yahoo. And what do search engines like best and notice most? Fresh content. The more frequently you update a blog, the higher your standing in the keyword searches you have optimized your page for. The tie in with email is the same with any form of search engine marketing. Search is a great way to find new prospects; email is a great way to build subsequent relationships with them.

Blogs are one more form of social media, which has somehow managed to be the 'next new thing' for about the past five years. What remains to be seen is whether social media can become marketing media in any significant way. The jury is still out.