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Everything you mentionned can help. One good thing to know is that a PR of 6 is not like another PR of 6. There are weak 6s and strong 6s. Google shows us only increments that gives us a very rough idea. PR is not a linear calculation.
Also the higher the page rank the higher the step. It takes more good relevant links to jump to PR 6 from 5 than to jump to PR 5 from 4.
The general idea is to get pages link to yours. Shop around for related vortals, business and local directories, and patiently watch it rise.
People speculate a log base of from six to ten, which would make it five to nine times as much. This doesn't mean that you need that many links, if the new links are from higher PR pages.
You need links, preferably on topic, to move up the PR scale. There are two ways of doing it:-
1) Go hunting for links, or
2) Build a content rich site that people will consider link-worthy by themselves.
I do a little of the former and it can be usefull for ferretting out links from high PR sites and/or .edu sites. But the challenge here is whether the link will stick or not. Exchanging links means if the terms of the exchange change for any reason then the link disappears. And paying or bartering for a link is not "cricket" in my view.
So really, you need some compelling reason for people to link to you and for that link to stick. That could be something available for free, goods for sale, or a miriad of other reasons. In my view the most compelling reason is content.
2) It is an adage of business that you will always get reward for the effort you put in, it just may not come from where you expect it. If you are after good links with longevity then the best way to get them is content.
So build. build, and build again good solid meaty content pages and give your visitors good reason to link to you without you asking.
Onya
Woz