I'm curious to know how Adwords works when there is little or no competition for highly searched phrases. For example, let's say the phrase "Cheesy Hamburgers" has a high volume of searches, but there is low competition for the phrase. In fact, if you type it into Google, there are 0 ads displayed, nothing on the side bar and nothing on top either. Does that mean if I buy that phrase in adwords with a low CPC I will be the only ad showing up for that search? And will I be on top rather than the side bar?
No clear answer as it lurks behind the Google Veil of Mystery like so many other things. But Google will only show an ad if it meets a certain quality criteria it determines, which is why you might see ads on the right but none on the top. Low/no competition won't always guarantee an ad is shown or shown where you want it. I believe Google also goes into some commentary about it in their help site
If there is no competition or less competition then you will definitely get the less amount to pay for cpc. if the competition is higher and search volume is less than you have to pay more because competition is big. All depends on competition, doesn't matter search volume.