For most webmasters, ranking high in Google should take priority over all the other search engines.
why? Because Google has over 60% market share of all searches. High organic rankings in Google means tons of free traffic.

In order to achieve these rankings though there are a few things you need to focus on.
The number one thing you need to rank higher in Google is external links -- links from other websites that point to yours. When seeking to aquire links from other sites, you should only exchange links with quality, topically related sites. Avoid the standard links page as Google usually discounts the links they find on these, and look for places in body text you can get a link placed. Also, be very careful about paid links. Google is on an active mission to seek out and destroy paid links for the purpose of PageRank and better SERP rankings.

Make sure that the "anchor text" of your links contain the keyword(s) your are trying to optimize for. Vary this text a bit as well. Gaining to many links to quickly with the same anchor text can trigger "Google Bomb" filters and penalties with Google and ultimatly hurt your ranking efforts. For example, the John Kerry "waffles" or George Bush "Miserable Failure".

Try to focus on free, one-way links if you can. Many quality link directories offer one way links.

If you are ready to dominate the competition, get the
Google Search Engine Best Practices Guide
Right here, Right now.