Blogs have been an important part of the social online community since Al Gore invented the internet. Recently, marketing professionals have picked up on this trend and have began using it to their advantage. As blogging becomes a more popular part of online marketing, it has begun to replace many roles traditionally held by web pages. Not only is a blog cheaper (free!) and more manageable than a web page, but the effects on SEO have been huge. Here are 4 key points to reaping the SEO benefits of your blog:

1. Fresh Content- Google rewards sites with continuously updated content by ranking them higher in the SERPs. The addition of new content also means that your website will be crawled more frequently and your content will become searchable faster. A consistently updated site will also draw the attention of users and keep them coming back on a regular basis. Popular blogs such as The Huffington Post and Perez Hilton have kept the attention of millions by updating their posts almost hourly.

2. Relevant Content- It's very important to keep your blog focused on topics relevant to your company. The use of keywords during your blogging will help you clearly communicate what your site is about, thus raising your overall search visibility. Remember, write for your readers first, and then come back to sprinkle the keyword dust on your content.

3. Organized Content- A blog itself is simply content kept in chronological order. However, you can also organize blog content into other types of categories and themes. The Google likes well organized content because it's easier to figure out the main themes of your website if the content has been siloed properly. Users also appreciate a well structured blog where they can easily navigate to other pages of interest and gobble up all that yummy content you have.

4. Building Relationships- Loyal blog readers can also increase a sites visibility by advocacy through their own sites as well as commenting within your blog. Don't just turn on a setting to allow comments on your blog, encourage and challenge your readers to respond. If you take it a step further, and take the time to respond to their comments, the skies the limit. What better advertising is there than being able to directly connect with your target audience?

A great CMS like Drupal can easily get you started and allows for easy expansion as your blogging empire grows. Although constant blogging seems like a chore, it keeps search engines and users coming back to your site. Once your blog is up and running, relax and be patient. You may not see results immediately, but with hard work and a little elbow grease your site's SEO ranking will begin to reap the benefits.