Internet user statistics are up according to Thomas Claburn’s report at Information Week. He says that the Center for Media Research reported that 47% of your day is spent using the Internet, which is 17% more than what was reported in 2003 as 34%.

That’s all interesting, but what really got to me was the reasons for the statistics increase. Video, Internet speed, better search engine technology, instant messaging usage, and the fact that there is just plain more information available were all cited.

Not that he’s wrong, but something is missing. What do these Internet user statistics really prove? Why is it important? And, how can this knowledge help your business?

Here’s my take:

1) These Internet user statistics prove that the Internet continues to increase in importance in our lives. We are nowhere near reaching a some sort of plateau. The Internet is still in the growth phase.

2) More people of all ages are using the Internet more and more, not just overall increases. My 9-year-old, for example, comes home from school every day and jumps right onto the Internet to play his favorite on-line game, instead of Playstation. My 71-year-old mother now uses the Internet to find values for rare books she finds at a bookstore she works at instead of only using the Internet for its e-mail.

3) People look to the Internet first (as opposed to the last place to try) as it now has so many more functions and purposes than it did before. We used to think of all of our possible reasources before we’d think of the Internet. Just think of when the last time was when you actually used a Yellow Pages BOOK or went to the library to look up an article.

Internet user statistics will continue to rise every year, not because more people are finding out about the Internet, but because it’s becoming a more valued part of our lives.

How can this knowledge help your business?

By tailoring everything you do with your business on-line to the ever increasing need for more information. Everything you do on the Internet to promote your business should be with the knowledge that Internet users are using the Internet more than ever before and will continue to use the Internet more and more every day for years to come.

For example, using the Internet for your business as a brochure type of website is practically an insult to today’s Internet user. Don’t just give them a bunch of bullet points telling visitors “what you do” but give them real content they can use. “10 Myths” about your industry, “10 Questions to Ask Anyone You’re Thinking of Hiring for (insert your business here)”.