VHT Reports Significant Growth in 2011

ROSEMONT, Ill., Jan. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- VHT, a leading provider of digital marketing technology and services, ended a highly successful 2011 by more than doubling the number of  brokerages and real estate professionals using the VHT ImageWorks platform.

As the debate over third party listings aggregators heats up, brokers are seeking alternative strategies for attracting online customers.

"In 2011, VHT was well-positioned to benefit from this trend with our comprehensive digital marketing platform.  VHT ImageWorks provides brokerages with a cost-effective and easy way to drive search engine visitors to their sites," said Brian Balduf, Chairman, VHT.  

"Brokers are choosing VHT ImageWorks because, unlike third party sites, our platform informs search engines that they are the original source of their listings data.  It gives them control over their listings, improved visibility in search engine rankings and increased sales conversion," Balduf said.  "Most importantly, it provides clients with a measurable return on investment that exceeds any other customer acquisition method."

During 2011, VHT experienced significant growth:

• VHT expanded its ImageWorks client base by more than 100 percent.
• VHT signed ImageWorks customer agreements or implemented the platform with dozens of leading brokerage firms, including Century 21, Parsippany, NJ; Edina Realty, Edina, MN; Shorewest Realtors™, Brookfield, WI; Prudential Fox & Roach, Devon, PA; and Watson Realty Corp., Jacksonville, FL. 
• Since VHT completed a beta program and launched the platform in April, the number of agents connected to the platform has surpassed 150,000. 
• Since  launch, the platform has optimized over 300,000 listings. 

Brokerages using VHT ImageWorks last year experienced an average 40  percent year-over-year increase in visitors coming  from search engines, compared to a decline for the industry overall. Some brokerages reported increases as high as 100 percent with return on investment as high as 10:1, exceeding any other client acquisition method.

VHT's automated platform is designed to help national brands and local businesses increase search engine exposure for their listings and product offerings, and boost sales conversion by making their sites visually stand out – all with minimal effort on the part of clients. 

"In the real estate industry, there's a new buyer lifecycle in which consumers spend the majority of their time on the web," said Alex Zoghlin, VHT CEO.  "Third party websites may have beaten brokers to the punch in leveraging this trend, but in 2011, brokerage companies began fighting back."

"Brokers have experimented with third party sites and pay-per-click adverting but found those strategies expensive compared to simply ensuring that they are visible in most real estate- related organic search results," Zoghlin said. "VHT ImageWorks offers them an easy-button to get their sites more exposure in Google's organic listings, demonstrate brand leadership and turn visitors into customers."

"We look forward to continued momentum in 2012 as brokerages keep looking for cost-efficient solutions to upgrade their digital marketing programs and better serve the needs of today's tech-savvy home buyers," Zoghlin said.

"Edina Realty chose VHT to help us enhance the strong presence of the region's leading real estate website, edinarealty.com.  VHT ImageWorks' platform will boost visibility of the most accurate, original listing information on search engines, where home buyers often start searching properties," said Bob Peltier, president and CEO of Edina Realty Home Services.  "And Edina Realty will continue to provide a superior real estate experience online and in the communities we serve," he added.

During the year, VHT continued making enhancements to the platform.  The company acquired Dwellicious, the leading social bookmarking site for real estate buyers and is integrating the tool into the VHT ImageWorks platform to provide brokerage clients with a valuable tool for communicating with home buyers. VHT's launch schedule for new clients is full well into the 2^nd quarter of 2012.

"Our company increased its local market share after taking back control of our online listings," said Joseph Horning, President of Shorewest Realtors. "VHT gave us a simple and effective solution for attracting and engaging home buyers on the web."

About VHT

VHT is a leading provider of digital marketing technology and services to companies offering unique properties, locations and products who need a comprehensive, cost-effective solution for customer acquisition and driving revenue on the web.  VHT Studios provides professional photographers, image optimization specialists and state-of-the-art technology for producing the finest visual imagery. VHT ImageWorks is an integrated and automated platform that includes a comprehensive array of tolls that businesses need to increase site traffic, leverage their visual assets and improve sales conversion.  The platform requires minimal efforts on clients' part, and has delivered measurable results to industry-leading brands by increasing the volume of visitors from search engines and engaging online visitors with alluring visual presentations of their offerings.

VHT's team has decades of experience in marketing, technology, search engine optimization and professional production, management and distribution of visual assets – including photographs, video, multimedia tours and Video on Demand television spots for 3,500 clients companies.  Venture-backed VHT is based in Rosemont, IL.  For more information, visit www.vht.com.  Follow us on Twitter: twitter/vht_studios

SOURCE VHT, Inc.