I need some help with Serp..

[wmforums]

I been trying with this keyword about a month now by buying links, directories(free & paid)..still rank 14-17 in google...it is not improving ranks..how do I check the competitors and what is the best way to put my site in first page?

[A.N.Onym]

You can see your competitors above you on the page, I guess.

You can check how much links they've got in Yahoo by typing in 'linkdomain:domain.com -site:domain.com'.

Just getting low quality links won't get you anywhere on Google. You need focused quality content above all. Then you need to link directly to the page you are willing to promote for the keyword. It better be a keyword focused page (readable, though), of course.

Then you may want to write quality articles about your industry and offer them to established publications in your industry. If that doesn't work out, work on improving the quality and tone of your articles and submit your article to article banks meanwhile. Not sure links from article banks will help you, though.

[sponge06]

How old is your site?

if it is one month old then you may be in the sandbox.

[caffeine_kitty]

uhm, you migtht also try to check if you are targetting a major keyword or minor keyword....if its a major keyword with 100,000 plus clicks per month, then it will take few months before you hit the 1st page. (pls correct me if i'm wrong, thanks).

you might also consider the contents in your site....content is king, as they say.
anyway, continue to build quality links, that really helps a lot.

goodluck!