Got a site to number 1 spot but don't know how

[adder]

Well, it is as sad as it gets. I just checked Google results and, alas, two different sites of my main client have shoot up in rankings. One is now #1 for the main keyword and the another is in the first page of results for all main keywords and keyphrases.

The silly thing is that I cannot go with my own projects anywhere near those results. All my projects keep sticking around #300 positions and wouldn't climb. I thought I knew what I was doing and in the result I managed to push my client's projects.

Obviously I do not know what I am doing and I am just lucky... but on the other hand... there are two different client sites and I have had different approach about them. In the end they both succeeded.

So the question is. Could any of the senior members help me out with an advice. This is the most stupid and humiliating situation I've ever been in for all my life. And, yeah, I can still count myself as a newbie as this is my first year as a full-time webmaster. Gave up a nice career to start online projects :(

Thank you in advance.

[piatkow]

Well I'm not that good at reading the entrails when it comes to Google rankings but a few thoughts:

1. Has your client acquired some inbound links?
2. How different is the market for his search terms compared whith your problem site?
3. Do the search terms have the same prominence on both sites?
4. Are any of the search terms location specific? - in some sectors any location related search will have the first page or three occupied by directories.
5. Are the sites in the same market sector?

I would guess that your new site is in a niche where there is a lot more competition for key search terms.