Iron Monkey Ventures

http://www.linkbuilding.org/guide/tips.asp

Short list of things to do for SEO

Content

1. Provide content, not just links, not just images.
2. Use meta-data to describe your site and content.
3. Check for broken links and correct HTML.
4. Fill in “alt” in your image tags.

Backend

https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/dashboard – submit/verify your website, create a sitemap

Completing these steps will make sure you get listed on search engines and prepare you for the next steps – marketing and building links.

See Vaughns Google search engine SERP Ranking Factors SEO Checklist for a much more detailed and comprehensive list than what I have here.
Vaughn also lists things to avoid.  Which is just as, if not more, important than things to do.

I have talked to many small business and website owners who set up a website and wonder why their site is buried several pages deep on search result pages.  They expect someone to get them listed at the top of natural search results within a week.  That might have been possible a few years ago, but not anymore.

Search engines are smart.  They know when you’re trying to dupe them and they don’t like it.  Google has a habit of penalizing websites that break their rules.  They are aware of the link building sites and services.

You business was probably not an overnight success.  You had to market your business and build a customer base.  It’s the same with SEO  – to be listed on page one of search results takes some time and a little effort.