Tips to help the Google help your site

Here's a page of "Google Ranking Factors".

The two things that I'd add are these:
1 - the distinction between "good" search engine optimization and "spam" is that "good" optimization techniques produce a page that is valuable to readers and then help the Google spider to find it. Bad techniques attempt to trick the spider into thinking the page is more valuable than it really is.

2 - The most important good techniques in the list really come down to producing a page with good content that people will want to link to for its own sake. Build good original content and build an incoming link base at a natural pace over time without any of the reciprocal link scams.

Hat tip to the Problogger.

Make your own Google

Darren at ProBlogger.net points to this nifty tool that lets you make your own mini-Google.

Google Logo Maker

Try it fast, it may not be around long.