n00b question - getting to page 1

Hi guys

SEO noob here. I have a site I have hardly done seo work on in like 2-3 years. I would really like to push it up in the google results, maybe page 1

Whats the main things i need to push my site up there for my key works? All advice welcome guys.

PS - any free software for seo that is useful for me to use?

From what I've seen so far (and I am working on my own sites), you primarily need the following:

1) Decent conent on the site - if it's a micro niche site, 6-10 pages with 400+ words. Personally, I'm shooting for 10-12 pages with 500-1000 words each article. After that, maybe 1 new article from time to time (haven't really verified whether additional articles are required after the first batch and if so, how often).

2) A steady stream of backlinks - but not all junk links and a good mix is the best... some Web 2.0, some .edu, some Wiki, some social media...

3) Articles with links to your page would probably help too...

and of course, all of this is based on whether #1 is achievable... aka, take a look at the front page via your keywords - how targetted are they and do they have a bunch of backlinks to their domain/page?

Good luck!