Specific vs broad keyword phrases

Which is "better" to bid on?

[limitup]

I have a relatively simple question about how adwords works.

Say I bid on a the term "cheap blue widgets" (without the quotes) at 51 cents.

My competitor bids on the term "blue widgets" (without the quotes)at 1.00.

Assume we have the exact same CTR.

If a person searches for "cheap blue widgets" (again without the quotes), would my ad be ranked higher than my competitors ad because I am bidding on the *exact* term the person searched for, or would my competitor's ad be ranked higher because he is bidding more, or?

Basically I guess what I'm wondering is if I should be focused on bidding on all of the obscure 3, 4, 5, 6 word phrases that people might search for and bid less ... or if I will get the same results by bidding on the more generic 2 word phrases that would show up under all the other variations?

[webdiversity]

If you bid without the quotations then you are broad matched.

The sequence is exact match, then phrase, then broad.

Assuming your pricing is the same for all keywords (v. bad in my opinion), then once a match is found the CTR is multiplied by the max CPC to give a factor.

In the scenario you mention your paying 51 cents regardless and so your competitor would be higher up.

One of the benefits of using exact match is a generally higher CTR which lends itself to a lower CPC, or a better position relatively speaking.

[limitup]

Ok thanks. I guess what I was really wanting to know is if Google's system gives preference to exact keyword/phrase matches or not. So the short answer is that it doesn't. If my keyword is an exact match and my competitor's is a broad match, and we have the same CTR, whoever is bidding the most will be ranked higher. I was thinking that maybe the exact match would/should get a boost over the broad match.

[limitup]

"One of the benefits of using exact match is a generally higher CTR which lends itself to a lower CPC, or a better position relatively speaking."

I assume this is usually true, however not always in the case of a very niche term where any phrase containing X and Y is a good match. Basically, if a person's search term contains X and Y, I want my ad to show up no matter what else they include ... except a tiny number of words that I can easily do a negative match on. In this case it seems simpler to just bid on "X Y" (without the quotes) and leave it at that, right?

[eWhisper]

Preference is only given in your account as to which ad is shown based by matching.

As far as how your ad ranks compared to competitors, there is no value in the system that gives preference to one matching type over another.

This thread showns how your account gives preference to certain matching options, post 10 & 11.
[webmasterworld.com...]

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