Most contractors search SAM.gov the same way they'd search Google: type a few words, hit Enter, hope for the best. The problem is that federal contracting officers don't all use the same language. What one agency calls “IT support,” another calls “help desk services.” If you're only searching for one term, you're only seeing part of the picture.

GovTrove supports two search operators that help you cast a wider net without drowning in irrelevant results: quoted phrases and the OR operator. This guide shows you how they work, with real result counts from live data.

Quoted Phrases: Precision When You Need It

By default, searching for two or more words finds opportunities that contain those words anywhere in the title or description, in any order. That's usually what you want — but not always.

Wrapping words in double quotes tells the search engine to find that exact phrase, in that exact order. The difference can be dramatic:

That's 121 vs. 5. Without quotes, you're seeing every opportunity that mentions “fleet” in one paragraph and “management” in another — contracts for fleet vehicle repairs alongside project management RFPs that happen to mention a vehicle fleet.

Another example:

The unquoted search matches everything from weapons systems to integration testing to system administration. Quotes narrow it down to opportunities that specifically mention system integration as a phrase.

When to use quotes

  • Multi-word concepts where each word is common on its own: "data center", "supply chain", "base operations"
  • Specific service names: "help desk", "fleet management", "system integration"
  • Narrowing down an overly broad unquoted search

When not to use quotes

  • Single words: "cybersecurity" and cybersecurity return the same results
  • Broad exploration: when you're still figuring out what's available, unquoted searches show you the full landscape

The OR Operator: Cover All Your Bases

Government contracting officers use different terminology across agencies. The OR operator lets you search for multiple terms at once, so you don't have to run separate searches.

The OR must be uppercase. cybersecurity or "information security" won't work — it has to be cybersecurity OR "information security".

Here's the impact:

The OR search found 12 opportunities that don't mention “cybersecurity” at all but do use the phrase “information security.” Without the OR operator, you'd miss them.

The effect is even bigger when neither term is dominant:

If you only searched for "IT support", you'd see 15 opportunities while 237 “help desk” opportunities — doing essentially the same work — went completely unseen.

Combining Both: Real-World Examples

The real power comes from combining quoted phrases and OR to build comprehensive searches. Here are some practical templates for common industries:

Facilities maintenance

"janitorial services" OR "custodial services"

  • "janitorial services" alone → 79 results
  • "custodial services" alone → 31 results
  • Combined → 98 results

That's 98 opportunities from a single search instead of running two separate queries and manually deduplicating.

Cybersecurity

cybersecurity OR "vulnerability assessment" OR "information security"

You can chain as many OR terms as you need. Mix quoted phrases for specific terms with unquoted keywords for broader coverage.

IT services

"IT support" OR "help desk" OR "service desk" OR "technical support"

Different agencies use different terms for the same work. One search catches them all.

Quick Reference

  • Quotes "exact phrase" — match these words in this order
  • OR term1 OR term2 — match either term (must be uppercase)
  • Combined "phrase one" OR "phrase two" — match either exact phrase
  • Mixed keyword OR "exact phrase" — broad keyword or specific phrase

All search operators work alongside GovTrove's filters. Combine a search query with NAICS code, set-aside type, or agency filters to get exactly the results you need.

Result counts are from live GovTrove data as of March 2026 and will change as opportunities are posted and archived.

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