Tourism Search Engine Marketing Services

The vendor is required to provide search engine marketing (“SEM”) that can work closely with county staff at the direction of the digital marketing and social media strategist to manage County SEM strategy and implementation.
- Strategy, research and planning:
• Develop and execute a comprehensive, data-informed search engine marketing (SEM) strategy, maximizing the annual ad spend.
• Conduct in-depth keyword research to identify high-traffic, relevant keywords aligned with the destination's unique selling points, prioritizing keywords that complement rather than compete with county partners.
• Collaborate with the marketing team to set clear goals and identify target audiences.
o Some messages will target local audiences, others will target audiences 50+ miles away.
o Typical geographic markets include states.
o County may suggest other geographic markets based on the ad topic’s relationship to Datafy’s (or other database) information about clusters and points of interest within the destination.
o County is interested in reaching traditionally underserved communities, including accessible travelers and neurodiverse, BIPOC, AAPI and LGBTQIA+ audiences, as well as potential or returning visitors who value regenerative tourism and sustainability.
- Ad creation and management
• Develop and execute effective (seasonal and evergreen) search and display ad campaigns across google and other relevant platforms, adhering to industry best practices.
o Approximately 10 ads per season.
• Write compelling ad copy and design visually appealing ad creatives with clear, strong calls to action.
o Reformat image assets as needed.
• Continuously test and optimize ad variations, targeting and budgets.
o Selected vendor expected to review/optimize ads on a daily basis.
• Develop and implement effective bidding strategies to maximize ROI and control costs.
• Organize campaigns into well-structured ad groups to improve targeting and performance.
• Create targeted remarketing lists based on website behavior, demographics and interests.
• Employ first-party data to create target audiences. for example, county can provide mobile ad id (maid) information from Datafy.
• Stay up to date with the latest SEM trends and best practices.
• Be prepared to adapt to changing marketing conditions and adjust strategies as needed.
• Collaborate with the marketing team to:
o Gather messaging guidance, brand style guide, topics and image assets.
o Get mandatory monthly approval on ad creative, audience groups and campaign strategies.
o Share draft ads and receive feedback through a shared platform (e.g., google drive).
- Performance tracking and reporting
• Track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as clicks, impressions, ctr, conversions, ROAS, engagements and landing page performance (engagement time, conversions etc.) in a real-time online dashboard.
• Utilize ga4 to track website traffic, user behavior and conversions.
• Provide seasonal performance reports with clear insights, budget utilization and actionable recommendations.
o May include year-over-year and month-over-month comparisons.
o Must include a qualitative narrative section for each campaign/season with key takeaways for future optimization.
o May cover creative, ad placement, audience insights, trends etc.
- Project management
• Provide county with one clear point of contact and their contact information for questions and issues.
• Annual kick-off meeting at the beginning of each fiscal year in July to determine annual SEM strategy with county to ensure all work remains within budget.
• Organize and attend monthly or quarterly meetings with the marketing team.
o the purpose of these meetings is to review prior month or quarter’s performance, plan ahead, identify and update priority messages etc. send staff monthly written reports outlining and recapping discussions, actions and results.
- Trainings
• Provide two virtual or in-person SEM trainings annually to county partners and staff, either one-on-one or in a group as needed and identified by county staff.
- Contract Period/Term: 3 years
- Questions/Inquires Deadline: May 21, 2025