Government contractor marketing: look like the safe choice before the bid opens.
Contracting officers Google you before they score you. Government contractor marketing isn’t ads — it’s the digital presence that makes your bid credible: a capability-statement site that answers their checklist, SEO for set-aside and NAICS searches, and a LinkedIn footprint that matches the proposal. Here’s the system — and yes, the calculator below works for pipeline math too.
Where the money goes — and why.
The capability site
One page that mirrors how COs evaluate: NAICS codes, certifications (8(a), SDVOSB, WOSB, HUBZone), past performance, DUNS/CAGE, and a downloadable capability statement. Most primes’ sites fail this checklist — yours shouldn’t.
SEO for set-asides
Primes search for subs: “[trade] SDVOSB [state],” “8(a) [NAICS] contractor.” These searches have near-zero competition and put you on teaming shortlists — the highest-leverage SEO in B2G.
LinkedIn, not Facebook
B2G social lives on LinkedIn: award announcements, project completions, certifications. It’s reference-checking material for COs and primes, not lead gen — and it needs to match your proposals exactly.
What is your ad spend producing — and what should it produce?
Drag the sliders to what you spend and pay per lead today. The right column shows the typical range after proper management — tighter targeting, weekly negative keywords, faster landing pages — plus leads recovered by missed-call text-back.
Estimate based on typical results from removing junk clicks (15–30% of unmanaged budgets), landing-page fixes, and missed-call recovery (contractors miss 20–35% of calls). Ranges, not promises — your audit shows the numbers for your actual market. Ad spend is always paid straight to Google/Meta, never marked up.
Your first 90 days, week by week.
No mystery retainer. This is the exact rollout order, the same one we run for every client — each phase starts producing before the next one starts spending:
Audit + foundations
We audit your rankings, ad accounts, tracking and competitors, then fix the free stuff first: Google Business Profile completed, review engine on, tracked numbers on everything. You get the findings in writing within 24 hours of the first call.
LSA live
Google Guaranteed screening submitted day one — it takes 1–3 weeks to approve, so it runs while everything else is built. Pay-per-call only. First calls typically land here.
Search ads launch
Campaigns split by service and intent, each with its own landing page and budget. Emergency terms and big-ticket terms never share a campaign. Weekly negative-keyword pruning starts immediately.
Website + conversion
Fast pages, click-to-call everywhere, instant estimator, proof blocks. Every channel lands here — fixing it mid-rollout means every dollar before and after works harder. Automations (missed-call text-back, review requests, reminders) go live.
Content, Meta & SEO compound
Monthly film day starts feeding Meta ads and GBP. Retargeting switches on. City/service SEO pages publish and start their climb. From here it’s weekly tuning and a Friday text with the four numbers that matter: spend, calls, cost per call, estimates booked.
Want the full channel-by-channel playbook? Read the digital marketing for contractors guide →
Straight answers.
Does marketing even matter for government contracts — isn't it all bids?
The bid wins the contract; the presence gets you considered. Primes shortlist subs by searching, COs verify credibility online, and teaming partners vet you before calling back. A weak web presence quietly costs you invitations you never knew about.
What should a government contractor's website include?
NAICS codes, all certifications and set-aside statuses, CAGE/UEI, bonded/insured limits, past performance with agencies named (where allowed), and a one-click capability statement PDF. We build it to the checklist COs actually use.
Do you handle SAM.gov and certifications?
We handle the marketing layer — the site, SEO, LinkedIn and materials. For SAM registration and certification applications we’ll point you to reputable specialists; beware anyone charging for 'guaranteed' certifications.
Get a free audit — see your market's real numbers.
One call. Within 24 hours you get it in writing: where you rank, what leads cost in your market, and what your top three competitors are running.
No card. No contract. Takes one phone call.