A saved search stores a keyword and its filters so you never rebuild them. Run a search you like, click Saved at the top right of the results page, name it, and click Save search. From then on Bid Banana re-runs it for you and emails you once a day, at a time you choose, whenever new open bids match.
What Is a Saved Search?
If you look for the same kind of work every week, you are retyping the same query every week. A saved search removes that step. It captures your keyword phrase and every filter you applied — states, agencies, NAICS codes, industry, solicitation type, closing window — as one named item you can re-run in a click.
It also turns a manual habit into an automatic one. Instead of remembering to check, you get a daily email listing the new bids that matched while you were doing something else.
◆ NOTE: Saved searches apply to open bids only. The Saved menu does not appear in Closed bids or Award data, because those datasets aren't accepting new submissions. To keep an individual closed bid or award record, save it to Favorites with the banana icon instead. In Closed bids, click Alert me on new open bids to turn your search into an alert for new open bids.
How Do I Save a Search?
- Open the Search tab and run a search on the keyword phrase you want to track.
- Apply your filters on the results page — state, agency, NAICS code, industry, type, closing date. See How to Search Using Keywords and Filters if you want to tighten them first.
- Check the results. Whatever is on screen is what gets saved, so it is worth getting the first page right before you continue.
- Click Saved — the bell button at the top right of the results, above your result count.
- Under Save this search you'll see your current query quoted back to you. Type a name in the Name field.
- Click Save search. It appears immediately under Your saved searches in the same menu.
💡 Tip: The Saved button shows a count, so you can see how many searches you have running without opening the menu.
Can I Create a Saved Search From Closed Bids?
Yes. Closed bids doesn't have the Saved menu, but it does have an Alert me on new open bids button, in the toolbar on desktop and under the tabs on mobile. It turns your closed bids search into a saved search that watches for new open bids. Your search phrase, states and agencies carry over; the Closed date window doesn't, and the form lists anything that won't carry over before you save. The alert then appears under Account Settings > Saved Searches and in your daily email, just like any other saved search.
Where Do I Find My Saved Searches?
In two places:
- The Saved menu on any results page, for running one quickly. Click a name to run it.
- Account Settings > Saved Searches, for managing them. Get there from the account icon in the navigation bar, or from Manage all at the bottom of the Saved menu.
◆ NOTE: Saved searches are not in the Favorites tab. Favorites holds individual bids you have starred; Saved Searches holds the queries themselves.
What Can I Do From the Saved Searches Page?
Each saved search appears as a card showing its name, the keyword in quotation marks, the filters it carries, and a line confirming the email schedule — for example Daily email at 12 PM ET · Open bids. Three actions sit on every card:
- Run search: executes it now and takes you to fresh results.
- Rename: changes the label without touching the query behind it.
- Delete: removes the search and stops its daily email.
Use New saved search at the top of the page to add one from here rather than from a results page. The button is there even when you have no saved searches yet, and an empty page also shows an Or start from a live search link if you'd rather build the search on the results page first.
💡 Tip: To change the keyword or filters behind an existing saved search, run a corrected version from the Search tab and save that, then delete the old one. Rename only changes the label.
When Do the Daily Emails Arrive?
You pick the delivery time. At the top of the Saved Searches page is a line reading "[n] searches emailing you daily at…" with a time control next to it. That setting applies to every saved search on your account, so all your alerts arrive together in one predictable slot rather than trickling in.
Emails go to the address on your Bid Banana account, and only when there is something new to report.
How Should I Name My Saved Searches?
Pick a convention and stick to it, especially if colleagues share the account. Naming by service plus territory scales best: IT Services — Texas, Janitorial — Northeast, Grounds Maintenance — School Districts. A name you can read in an email subject line six months from now beats a clever one.
How Many Saved Searches Should I Have?
Enough to cover each distinct thing you sell, in each territory you serve — usually a handful rather than dozens. Several narrow searches beat one broad one: a tight search produces a short, readable email you act on, while a broad one produces a long list you learn to ignore.
If you find yourself wanting a search that simply describes your company, set up a Match profile instead. Match tunes your whole feed to your industry, services and location, and complements saved searches rather than replacing them.
Remember that saved searches only ever watch open bids, even when you create one from Closed bids. What Is Bid Status? explains how open bids, closed bids and award data differ.