It seems no-one can guarantee high google rankings (excluding adwords etc) but here are a few tips I picked up that can possibly help.

1. Each page will need to have an individual title tag. – This is the single most important aspect and the quickest way to get penalized in Google.
    
2. Each page will need to have an individual description tag. – This is very important and is another way of getting penalized in Google and MSN
    
3. Each page will need to have an individual keywords tag. – Not hugely important now but has been in the past and may well become important soon.
    
4. Each page needs a document structure that comprises of a series of H1, H2, and H3 tags. – This emphasises the key terms in a way that Google expects.
    
5. Each page needs to have individual alt tag information. – Important as it is a good way to get diversity of keywords.
    
6. Google site map, this will need code adding to pages.
    
7. I've found it may also help if the key words that you want your site to be found by are also in the url of the page, I've looked into this somewhat and have found that the folder structure or file name can be used e.g. www.wesdesign.co.uk/how-to-create-a-database/ would probably fair well when someone is searching for "how to create a database".
    
8. A resources page to enable linking strategy to be implemented. – Link popularity is a key part of Goggles ranking mechanism, this page will need regular editing as proposals are received for linking.
    
9. In addition it is advisable to create a mechanism for natural inbound linking to take place, we would look to add this mechanism to an internal dedicated page and reference it from the homepage if possible. This would provide the code and the text for other webmasters who may link to you.

To summarise, it seems that as long as you focus on promoting your site with some kind of linking strategy and you have well-structured content you're well on your way! On the same note, Google is forever changing the way their search engine works to enable the most accurate information to become closer to the top as developers catch on.