Google and the Long Tail

Hello,

I have a long tail question that I didn't find asked here at WF.

Using the Google Keyword tool, I have found several three word phrases in a few niches that Google says has 12k searches / month. Testing those phrases using "<phrase>" yields between 150-2k competing pages. At first I thought I hit the jackpot! However, those particular phrases are somewhat "backwards".

Let me explain.

Normally, one would normally use the phrase like this: "word1 word2 word3". These phrases are backwards - "word3 word1 word2". Re-testing with Google using the "normal" form yields FAR greater competing pages.

Now I am college educated and I also live in a hick town, so I get to hear it all. But even the rednecks would never use the phrases in the backwards form.

I DID notice that Google highlights the search phrase and I have found it used when there is punctuation between the words. I CAN make a nice title using those three words such as "Don't Waste your Time with <word3> <word1>. <word2> these 3 Steps for Success!", or something like that. But, using that title enclosed within quotes, and even shorter versions of it, yields almost no search results, even though the phrase has the keyword within it.

Should I abandon such phrases? Or will making a long tail using those phrases and "buy type" prefixes and suffixes yield good traffic in real life? In other words, will Google pick out the "EXACT" phrase in the middle of my title and include it with the "word3 word1 word2" results?

Thanks,

-Ken