Guide
How to set up tender alerts that actually find IT work
How to build keyword and category alerts for government IT tenders that catch the right opportunities without burying you in irrelevant ones.
Most portals let you save a search and get an email when something new matches. Most firms set one up once, get 40 irrelevant emails a week, and stop reading them. Here is how to build alerts you will actually open.
Use category codes, but don't rely on them
Public tenders are tagged with category codes, such as CPV codes in Europe and the UK, UNSPSC codes in Canada and Australia, and NAICS codes in the US. They are a good start because they catch tenders whatever words are used.
The problem is that buyers often pick the wrong code, or a vague one. A website redesign might be filed under "marketing services". A data platform might sit under "consulting". So codes alone will miss work.
Useful starting codes for IT work include the CPV 72000000 family (IT services) and 48000000 family (software packages), and NAICS 541511, 541512 and 541519 (programming, systems design and other computer services).
Add plain-language keywords
Write down the words a buyer would use to describe your work, not the words you use. A buyer might say "online booking system" when you would say "custom web application".
A good keyword list for a small software firm might include:
- software development, application development, web application
- portal, online service, digital service
- system replacement, modernization, migration
- API, integration, interface
- Drupal, WordPress, .NET, Java (if you specialize)
Exclude the noise
The words that bring in noise are often generic: "support", "services", "system", "maintenance". Add exclusions for the false positives you see most, such as "HVAC", "building", "vehicle", "janitorial" or "medical equipment".
Cover every portal your buyers use
An alert only covers its own portal. If your buyers are a mix of federal, provincial and municipal bodies, you need alerts on several portals. Our guide to where to find government IT tenders lists the main ones by country.
Review your alerts every month
Once a month, ask:
- Did we miss a tender we should have seen? What words did it use? Add them.
- Which alerts sent nothing but noise? Tighten or delete them.
- Have we started offering a new service? Add its words.
Or let something read the tenders for you
Keyword alerts are limited because they match words, not meaning. StackBid reads each tender, works out what kind of tech work it is, how big it is and whether a small firm can win it, and only sends the ones that fit. That catches the website redesign filed under marketing.
Common questions
How many keywords should a tender alert have?
Ten to thirty is typical. Fewer than ten tends to miss work, and more than fifty usually brings in noise unless you also use exclusions.
What is the most common reason firms miss tenders?
Buyers describing the work in words the firm did not think of, or filing it under an unexpected category. Reviewing near-misses every month fixes most of it.
Should I get alerts for tenders I can't bid on?
It can help. Seeing awards and tenders above your size shows who buys what, and some become subcontracting opportunities.