Google has long been regarded as the premier place to search for websites, and now according to Hitwise, it’s also the most popular place to search for blogs.

New data released by Hitwise, shows that Google’s Blog Search has stolen the top spot from Technorati for the first time since Google launched its service last year.

Technorati is an institution to the blogging community as it has not only been the most popular blog search service for some time, but been a driving force in the growth of blogging as a whole.

The fact that Google has overtaken Technorati in blog search traffic suggests to me that blogging is now truly reaching a point of critical mass. No longer is it just the domain of tech buffs and those in the know.

With blogging services available so easily these days (e.g. social networks, free software) it makes sense that the blogosphere is growing at the rate it is. Considering Google’s existing reputation for search, I figured it would only be a matter of time before it was the place to search for blogs also.

That said, Google’s Blog Search service still has plenty of room for improvement (the likes of Technorati and even Bloglines are more user friendly). Hopefully this new found status as the top blog search location will encourage Google to improve their offering.

Related posts:

• ineedhits and Hitwise Form Strategic Alliance to Bring World-Class Search Marketing Tools to Small Businesses
• Welcome to Our Search Engine Marketing Blog
• ineedhits Offers Money Back Guaranteed Google and Yahoo! Inclusion
• No Fee’s for Google Checkout in 2007
• Search Engine Technology:: Altering the Mindset