Gary Vela from Web Daytona talks about helping franchises achieve SEO success

Search engine optimisation (SEO) is a highly competitive industry that takes a great deal of commitment from practitioners in order for them to draw clients and generate revenue. SEO firms cannot be static, but must be flexible in how they offer their services so that they can make sure they are able to respond adequately to changes in the industry.

One such firm that has demonstrated this ability is Web Daytona, which has recently expanded its operations to include SEO services for franchises. Web Daytona, based in Florida, USA, was established in 2008 and has grown to service more than 3000 clients around the world offering a comprehensive and effective digital marketing solution.

We sat down with founder and CEO of Web Daytona Gary Vela and asked him some questions about his business.

What motivated you to start Web Daytona?

I was in college finishing up my Bachelors in Business Management at Daytona State College in Daytona Beach, FL. Part of my graduation project was to create a fictitious business & marketing plan. I spoke to my professor at the time and asked if, instead of creating a fictitious business plan, I could ask my former boss about building an online business version of his custom hardwoods flooring business.

After some back and forth, my professor agreed. I convinced my former boss to allow me to build him a website, which later on it became an online store where customers were able to create custom orders for stair treads, railings, hardwood flooring, crown moldings and more. My former boss and I agreed on a percentage deal, so it was a win win. I got to build him a online store for free while I got school credit for it.

This project ended up being a huge success (we are talking about 2005-2006) when the internet was still young and SEO or SEM (Search Engine Marketing) was rather simple. I was making 10% from all the online sales, which generated enough cash flow to pay for college – allowing me to graduate without debt.

After I saw that careful planning and online strategies executed properly can result in helping one business increase their sales bottom line in a few months, this was the turning point for my next venture. I started freelancing for a number of years – picking up jobs in craiglists (wow, it seems like a long time ago) until I landed a larger project 100k/year which required me to be a formal business.

Long behold, Web Daytona, LLC was born – now we continue to help businesses of all sizes expand their digital footprint through SEO, Social Media channels, Video marketing and more.

What’s your philosophy at Web Daytona?
Help businesses of all sizes expand their digital footprint one keyword at a time.

How do you provide franchise SEO services?
By working closely with corporations looking to expand future franchisees local reach on Google and Social Media channels. Web Daytona has a team of expert SEO strategists whose only job is to stay current with the latest trends and algorithm updates from Google.

Web Daytona also has a dedicated team which uses AI technology to conduct research and development for new strategies to help businesses rank higher on Google no matter the keyword rank difficulty.

What are the most recent trends in search engine optimization?
Voice search, video SEO and a focus on content relevancy.

What are you currently working on?
We are currently working on expanding our franchise SEO services across the state of Florida and the US.

Christian Woods
Christian Woods
Christian is a morning reporter and technology columnist for Best in Australia. Christian has worked in the media since 2000, in a range of locations. He joined Best in Australia in 2018, and began working in Melbourne in 2019.
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