I understand that getting your home page on the 1st page of Google is difficult, but Im thinking about what if my url or clickable link is on a page thats on 1st-2nd page google results. But what service would be best like directories, articles submitting, links, links on blogs, Press releases, etc. I understand that all are needed, and that PR , traffic , competition all matters. But Im trying to figure out the best bang for my buck on one specific thing. For example if someone searches "buy weight loss hypnosis cd" then a blog is on the 1st page and my link is on it.
You are right that all that is needed for competitive markets. You need to do things that the websites ranking above you are doing, but better. You can't expect to get good rankings by just focusing on one strategy. If you can get your link on pages that are ranked above you, those links would help significantly. So try to cover all your bases and be willing to hire a freelance employee if you can't do it all yourself.