Google Names Santa Rosa Beach the “Digital Capital” of Florida

Google announced that Santa Rosa Beach is Florida’s Digital Capital, honoring it with a 2013 eCity Award. Santa Rosa Beach is of course home to Scenic Highway 30A, and Google’s annual eCity Awards recognize the strongest online business community in each state.

“Visitors to Santa Rosa Beach enjoy the sand and sun, and — thanks to the strong web presence of its local businesses — anyone can look up hotels, restaurants, and day activities before a vacation,” said Google.

Google and an independent research firm analyzed the online strength of small businesses in all fifty states, including social media influences and other factors. The city with the highest score in each state was designated as the 2013 Google eCity.

“These cities’ businesses are using the web to find new customers, connect with existing customers and fuel their local economies,” said Google. “Across the country, businesses that are online expect to grow 40% faster.”

“I think this is quite an honor for a town of only 12,000 full-time residents, but I also think it’s well-deserved,” said 30A.com’s Mike Ragsdale. “We have free apps for Android and iPhone users, we have dozens of fantastic local bloggers, social media experts and online video companies, free local classifieds, thousands of Instagram photos, and our 30A Facebook community alone is over 240,000 fans strong. We’re very proud to be a part of such a thriving and progressive online business community.”

Click here to learn more about our town’s award!