Best Strategy for High Google Search Position?

[Dominixe]

This is a question for the Webmaster experts: What is the best strategy today for attaining a high site ranking in Google search results?

I know this is an often-asked question, but Google has made recent changes that appear to de-value "standard" recommended SEO practices in link-building. The focus seems to be more on link relevancy than quantity of links (particularly unrelated links). It appears that one-way, relevant links are the best way to go. Reciprocal links (ie. 2 or 3-way link trades) have been de-valued, such that 50 one-way relevant backlinks may outperform 500 reciprocal links.

It is not clear cut to me that a high Google PageRank will necessarily result in a high search result position for a given set of search terms. There are opposing views by SEO "experts" on this. I have personally seen lower PR sites positioned higher in search results than higher PR sites (not always).

I think that banner trades are no longer effective (because they are reciprocal and have no anchor text to contribute to relevancy). Text backlinks with keywords in the anchor text and contained within relevant text on a webpage appear to be favored by Google.

Given keyword and on-page optimization, what link-building advice would you give a Webmaster newbie for obtaining a high position in search engine results for todays Google?

Thanks for your help.

Dominixe