This makes no sense

Guess the minimum CPC for numbers 0-10

[mike schmitz]

I tried bidding on the numbers 0-10. Interesting results:

0: $.50
1: $1.00
2: $1.00
3: $.20
4: $5.00!
5: $1.00
6: $1.00
7: $1.00
8: $1.00
9: $.10
10: $5.00

No ads came up for any of the numbers in Google.

[inbound]

Here are possible explanations:

9 will appear in many adverts that have pricing so there will be a history of ad copy featuring the numer getting clicks

3 is a mobile network in the UK, search for 3 mobile and you will see such adverts, again they will have a disproportionate amount of 3's in adverts that get clicks

4 is used by loads of rubbish 'whatever4u' sites, people in the UK don't seem to click on such urls as they prefer a more natural url, I don't know if this holds true for the US

In a similar way 'Top 10' is used in many poor adverts, especially ebay affiliates. the CTR must be very low and cause the CPC to be pushed artificially high

0 can be explained by 0% interest on credit card and finance deals, these are more likely to be clicked than ones that do not mention borrowing rates.

Of course this is conjecture, but there must be reasoning behind the pricing.

[eWhisper]

Wonder if it's your location, as I see ads for almost every number.

The amount of impressions you can get with bidding on numbers each day is pretty impressive.

I've seen minimum bids from $0.01-$15 on numbers depending on the account.

[mike schmitz]

Ya, that is why I was going to bid on them. That, and just looking for some cheap clicks.

I'm a bit confused why two accounts with no history of bidding on these numbers would see different minimum CPCs.

I can understand why if you have history on these words how it would be different, but otherwise - what is the reason?

[eWhisper]

Who says all these accounts don't have history on these sorts of words? ;)

[hooloovoo22]

and if it doesn't have any history it could be Google guessing how well the ad would perform. does the ad title,text,url have anything to do with the number(s)? If so they'll predict a higher CTR and possibly a lower price.

lots of fun factors at play now...

[mike schmitz]

My mistake e. Funny.

Anyway, I have tried putting the keyword in the title, checking the CPC and then changing the ad copy with basic keyword stuffing. It doesn't change the minimum CPC after the initial creation. I then created a new adgroup with the keyword ladden ad copy the first time around and got the same minimum CPC.

I am beggining to think the minimum CPC is about as accurate as the old CPC estimator which is to say it was a like drawing names out of a hat.