See how easy it is when there isn't much competition?
Someone promise you a #1 search engine ranking? Well sure, its easy to do if you target something that doesn't have much competition, such as "flying purple camel saddles". But to get ranked well for competitive terms and phrases that actually lead to sales and leads there's a secret:
The secret is... Build a great website! Get an experienced internet marketer who will help you to build a better site that is search engine friendly and worth visiting. If you do that you'll be successful. Sure you still will need to focus on optimizing your pages and your content, building quality links, etc. etc. It takes time and won't happen overnight. But if you spend your time trying to trick the search engines you are just wasting your time. They'll change and improve and you'll be left trying to figure out their latest modification of their algorithm. Instead, shoot for what their algorithm shoots for, and you'll stay on the right track regardless of algorithm tweaks.
Concern yourself with traffic and leads, not just rankings. Rankings are merely the means of the greater end, so don't let them cloud your way... Unless of course you are selling something like flying purple camel saddles.
An illustration of sorts by internet marketing consultant Jon Payne.