Being on page #1 for popular and competitive keywords is one of the major goals, if not the major goal of most online marketing campaigns.  That said, being on page #1 and being on the top of page #1 can be significantly different in regard to the actual traffic that your site receives.  After all, users are much more likely (3.5 times more likely, for the statistically inclined) to click on a listing in the top three versus one at the bottom of the page (but of course being at the bottom of page #1 is infinitely better than being on page #2 or anywhere else).  This especially holds true if they got to your site via a longer and more specific key phrase, since your site is more likely to be what they are actually searching for.

Clearly, it is not enough to get on page #1 - being at the very top of page #1 is the key to a truly successful online marketing campaign.