Matt Cutts shows some good pointers on how to analyse a site.
Major takeaways on the video are:
#1: Put text on your page
#2: Think about what users will type when users search
#3: Allow visitors to be part of the conversation thereby generating useful user generated content
#4: Show your content above the fold
#5: Establish branding
#6: Create original content
#7: It’s not just web, include other sites or media, ie, photo, videos on youtube
