Phrase match not working?

[machix]

From what I understand, phrase match is supposed to be able to respond to queries that come with a prefix or a postfix.

E.g. The user types in "used blue widgets" and my ad for the keyword "blue widgets" should be shown.

However, this is not the case as I have found out. I did a test for my keywords and my ad was not shown even though there were only a few other ads on display. Does anyone know what could be the reason for this?

[AdWordsRep]

From what I understand, phrase match is supposed to be able to respond to queries that come with a prefix or a postfix.

E.g. The user types in "used blue widgets" and my ad for the keyword "blue widgets" should be shown.

However, this is not the case as I have found out. I did a test for my keywords and my ad was not shown even though there were only a few other ads on display. Does anyone know what could be the reason for this? Sure. It is a relatively common misconception that phrase match keywords will be shown for the keyword within quote marks, plus any and all other words added in front of or behind the keyword in quotes. This is incorrect, however. Basically it'll show for relevant variations, rather than all variations.

Quoting from the AdWords Help Center, with bolding added by me:

Phrase Match - If you enter your keyword in quotation marks, as in "tennis shoes," your ad would be eligible to appear when a user searches on the phrase tennis shoes, in this order, and possibly with other terms before or after the phrase. For example, your ad could appear for the query red tennis shoes but not for shoes for tennis, tennis shoe, or tennis sneakers. Phrase match is more targeted than broad match, but more flexible than exact match.

The above is excerpted from this page:

What are keyword matching options?
https://adwords.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=6100

The same principle applies to broad match, by the way - and the information linked-to below will also be useful in understanding how it works:

What should I do if I can no longer see my ad for some broad match variations of my keywords?
https://adwords.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=8586

AWR

[machix]

Thanks AWR.

Looks like it is still safer to include all variations of keywords rather than pray that phrase match catches everything. :o

[AdWordsRep]

Looks like it is still safer to include all variations of keywords rather than pray that phrase match catches everything. Agreed. ;)

AdWords is designed to allow advertisers to take substantial control over their advertising, and I agree that it is far better to be in control than to simply leave things to chance.

To your comment I'd add that it safer to include all relevant variaions, rather than all variations. This will likely help you improve your CTR, bring more highly qualified customers to your site who are more likely to purchase, and perhaps increase your ROI.

AWR