vbSEO'ed URL in Custom PHP Widget

I have a custom widget on the CMS pulling in some threads from the forum. After my query, I am building the url by:

PHP Code:

<a href="forum/showthread.php?t=' .$threadid. '">' .$threadtitle. '</a> 


I would have expected that to automatically convert to the vbSEO'ed url but it's not. How can I get this converted?

Thanks!

Please see:
vBSEO Functions for Extensibility - vBulletin SEO Forums

Got it, thanks. For simplicity for anyone who comes across this:

PHP Code:

$threadurl = vbseo_thread_url_row($thread_row);