Just a few tips to help get better rankings in search engines.

Update often

Search engines like MSN like websites that are fresh and have been changed.

Register your domains for a long period

Search engines like sites who have registered their domains for as long as possible and are looking like they will be around for the long term

Update coming soon pages

If your website is still in the making, have a few articles on your site rather than just a "coming soon" page.

Keyword Meta Tags

Keyword meta tags still seem to have a bit of magic left in them. Only include keywords that occur in your page though.

Content

Like everyone says, content does make the site.

Buy good domains early

when you get the hint of an idea, buy a great domain for your site and investment. If you develop the site in years to come, you will be glad you brought a good domain early.

Focus on users more than search engines

Search engines like sites that are accessible and have a user focus.

Continual maintenance

Keep maintaining the site until it is taken offline

Be unique

If there was one way to set up a perfect website, everyone would do it.

It takes time

If everyone could make perfect websites instantly, everyone would be doing it, but they are not.