Google chose Sarasota as the Sunshine state’s leading E-city this year.
Based on research conducted by Google and a research firm, small businesses in Sarasota are more likely to have an online presence than other cities in Florida.
Google spokeswoman Emma Ogiemwanye said these leading cities in all 50 states have small businesses that are more likely to embrace the growing digital economy.
She said business in these cities tend to have websites, blogs, social networking- or are selling their goods on the internet.
Ogiemwanye said listing E-cities is a way of highlighting good business practices. She says it’s also a way to gauge the strength of a small business community using digital as an interesting metric.
“We really think that it’s important that if a business hasn’t already that they should create that online presence, whether it’s through a website, or social media or online advertising, or some combination of the three,” she said. “But, having a strategy that allows your business to not only have a physical presence, but a digital presence as well, is just extremely important for the longevity of your business moving forward.”
This is the second year the online search engine giant has handed out E-city awards.
Last year, Google named Santa Rosa Beach as the state’s leading e-city.
