UNSPSC 80141636: Search engine marketing

SEM (search engine marketing): Internet marketing to achieve a higher ranking in search engine results to enhance pay per click listing. It is a digital marketing strategy used to increase the visibility of a website in search engine results pages.

UNSPSC 80141636 Search engine marketing is a Commodity code that encompasses paid search, social media marketing, digital advertising, and integrated marketing communications services that state and local governments procure to reach residents, visitors, and stakeholders across digital platforms. Recent solicitations show state and local buyers using this code to fund social media content creation and community management, digital advertising campaigns, search engine optimization, website maintenance and analytics, paid media placement across multiple channels, and specialized outreach targeting underserved or language-specific audiences. Issuing bodies span transportation authorities (Orange County Transportation Authority, Monterey-Salinas Transit District), municipalities (City of Milpitas, City of College Park), state economic development offices (Texas Office of the Governor), counties (Broward County), university systems (East Texas A&M University, Texas A&M University, Prairie View A&M University), and specialized agencies (Texas Education Agency, Great Lakes Water Authority). Orange County Transportation Authority emerges as a repeat buyer, appearing across multiple recent opportunities for public outreach, express lanes marketing, rail capital projects, streetcar ridership marketing, and environmental mitigation programs. Work is concentrated in California (Orange County Transportation Authority, City of Milpitas), Texas (multiple state agencies and universities), and Florida (Broward County, Great Lakes Water Authority). Representative recent opportunities include the Orange County Transportation Authority's RFP 250350 for public outreach services for the Measure M Environmental Mitigation Program ($150,000 initial three-year term, proposals due July 13, 2026); the Orange County Transportation Authority's RFP 250271 for Express Lanes Marketing Program ($450,000 over three years, due June 30, 2026); and the Orange County Transportation Authority's RFP 250315 for Pacific Surfliner social media marketing and digital marketing services ($450,000 for one year, due July 9, 2026).

Geographic activity clusters heavily in California and Texas, with secondary activity in Florida and broader state representation. The code shows sustained demand from transportation and tourism agencies, municipal communications departments, state economic development and tourism offices, and public higher education institutions. Contracts typically run two to three years for initial terms with optional renewal periods, are structured as time-and-expense arrangements with fully burdened hourly rates or fixed fees, and range from $150,000 to $450,000 for initial terms. Deliverables commonly include content creation, social media management, email marketing, paid advertising across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn, community engagement support, performance reporting with metrics tracking, and translated or multilingual materials serving Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, Farsi, and other languages. Evaluation typically weights qualifications and experience at 20–30 percent, work plan and approach at 25–33 percent, cost at 20–25 percent, and staffing or personnel qualifications at 15–25 percent. No set-asides or preferences were noted across the recent opportunities; however, several solicitations encourage or require HUB, VetHUB, or DBE participation plans where applicable under state law.