Site traffic growth - now some 100 000 filtered page views a month - was achieved through multi-pronged marketing which includes links to popular sites, print and online campaigns and PR.

Targeting of news, business and property websites has brought many property seekers and decision makers to the site, says Sapoa Online spokesperson, Frank Reardon.

"Bringing the right people to the site has always been important in ensuring that we continue to deliver value to our subscribers through quality leads. Current traffic levels indicate that the site has achieved the critical mass necessary to service the needs of the commercial property industry into the future. This has attracted a growing queue of sponsors and advertisers."

Industry adoption of Sapoa Online as the definitive online commercial property resource has continued to grow with in excess of 2 600 000sq m of vacant space from over 20 portfolios searchable at any one time. "However, it is not just the number of participants, but also the level on which they are participating that has impressed. Subscribers are actively using the site to update their properties, find user generated space leads and access real, time property statistics.

"Increasingly our focus is shifting to educating existing subscribers as to how to gain maximum value out of this unique property resource," Reardon stated.

He says the launch of the weekly Broker Update has alerted the broking community to some of the effective business tools that Sapoa Online offers brokers.

The timing of this growth in broker participation coincided with a surge in people using the site to assist in their property decision-making process. This has led to an increasing number of online leads culminating in deals for brokers. There have been similar successes with delivering value for property service providers who are subscribers to Sapoa Online.

"A large part of this success is attributable to an aggressive product development policy, which has seen the site migrate to the Microsoft.net framework, and our in-house research capacity, which has ensured that site users are exposed to a relevant news and research offering.

"Increasingly, we are getting queries on topical research issues, market relevant statistics and feedback on published research, reflecting the value of Sapoa Online not just as an online property market place, but also as a forum where all stakeholders have a voice."

Sapoa Online recently launched The Property Investor (see page 2), an "investment hub" that aims to educate investors and facilitate investment in the industry, including the listed property sector, direct property investments and syndications.

"The vision of creating an online marketplace for the commercial property industry, which serves as a platform for exposing property as an asset class to the business and investment communities has become a reality," Reardon added.