A well-designed user test measures the actual performance of users on the site by observing how they actually use your website and identifying what is working or opportunities for improvement. Depending on the scope of the test, participants are given tasks to accomplish or they surf the site on their own. During the test recording software is used to track user behavior, mouse clicks, and keystrokes. The software is also able to record the computer screen and the participant's voice and facial expressions during testing. [More]

Recently there has been much debate regarding the life of a press release; some argue that the press release is dead while others insist that press releases are alive and well. We at OpenVision believe that the press release is not dead; in fact it has been reborn as a useful marketing tool. Press releases, or news releases, have been used in marketing for years to communicate with the media. In the past they have been mailed, faxed or emailed to editors of newspapers, magazines, and radio and television stations. Once the editors received the press release they would then write a corresponding story. So what's new? With recent advances in communication with consumers through social networking and blogging the press release has been reborn as a useful communication tool. The recent avalanche of PR Sites has opened up a direct pathway to communicate with customers and bypass big media. So what do you need to know before publishing a press release online…. What You Should Kno... [More]

Social media users love to be heard, and if you are listening they can provide a great service to your company.Gauge User DataBy implementing a website analytics tool such as Google Analytics you can see what content most interests your users, what content they are reading, what links they used to get to your site and what they searched for to find your site. If you know your user types, referring sites and what keywords they used to find your site you can then create more favorable content. By understanding this data it should in turn give you the answer as to why other sites trust you and what related topics you should consider.Free Focus GroupStandard focus groups are a marketer's dream, one that is often unfulfilled due to high costs. By polling your social media users you can create focus groups for free allowing you to research for product concept, price validation, location based product offers and positioning. Most social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn have appl... [More]

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" or un-paid ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results as opposed to Search Engine Marketing (SEM) which deals with paid inclusion." - Wikipedia. In English please... Search Engine Optimization is the process of getting your website listed higher in search engines without paying for placement. It seems that in today's world anybody with a little bit of internet knowledge thinks that they can be an SEO Specialist: insert keywords here, submit site to search engines and wa-la instant SEO. Unfortunately it's not so easy; and neither is deciphering the legitimate SEO companies from the fly-by-nighters. Avoid these 5 SEO tricks and you will be on your way to a better ranked website without risking damage to your site or your reputation. 1. “We can successfully have your rankings increased within 48 hours!” SEO is a time consuming proces... [More]