Having some basic knowledge of the type information Government buyers use in the text of a solicitation can greatly enhance your ability to locate the solicitations which pertain to your company.

When searching for these solicitations (as there are 1000’s of them posted every day in BidLink) your searches must be set up correctly. If you are new to Government contracting, prefer to search using keywords (specifically for items), this article will explain some details on how to search smart.


In BidLink there are many ways to search for open Government bids (solicitations). Selecting the correct category and search term(s) are crucial in returning good results. When searching on Keywords, know that this type of search will scan the text in the bid details and technical characteristics for the specific keyword(s) that you enter.


A common mistake (especially those new to Government contracting) people will make when searching for solicitations using a keyword is to search on a term which describes a process they perform such as “machining”. A search using the keyword “machining” will not usually return any results. So for this example if the word “machining” is not listed in the text of the solicitation your search will not return any results. This is because the Government does not typically describe in the solicitation how something is produced. They will describe the item they are soliciting, with descriptors such as the name of the item, the part number, manufacturer, etc.


The Government will typically describe the item(s) in a solicitation with a name such as “bracket, mounting”. For example if you searched on the keyword “bracket” you would see over 1000 results for all types of brackets. To refine your search try using a combination keyword word search (an AND search) such as bracket & mounting (this is the one shown in the picture to the left).


Keyword Search Basics Review

Carefully select the keyword(s) that accurately describe the items you are looking to see open solicitations on. It is usually best to start with singular nouns such as:

Bracket
Pump
Shaft
Screw
Washer

Select the category such as Keywords or Item Name.
Save the search “Save search as name:” this will save this search in your profile as well as allow you to go back and edit or modify the search easily.


Be sure to watch the Videos in the Help section for details on setting up searches such as this.
More news