Why are so many people obsessed with getting a high ranking on Google?

Tweet

For almost a year, I courted Google, trying to get them to notice my website. I did all the stuff the Internet Marketing gurus tell you to do, like adding fresh original content daily; exchanging links and more. But, still Google practically ignored me. And, then for some strange reason, after about a year, they started listing my website on page one for some obscure search terms. And, though it gave me a little bit of traffic, no actual sales. Most of the website traffic that I get from more traditional forms of advertising like classified ads, forums and link exchanges or my blogs have been more profitable. For some reason the only people that I get from the Google search engine are the freebie seekers who just want to read an article and have no intention of making a purchase. So, why is it that so many people are obsessed with getting a page one ranking on Google, if the traffic doesn't actually convert into paying customers? Have you noticed that your Google related traffic actually pays you money?