Help with SEO/SEM For Online Magazines

A little more than 2 years ago I was working professionally with internet marketing using "gray" hat techniques for local, small business websites. I used techniques like outsourced backlink creation, on-site optimization, and subsequent analytics and strategy adjustment.

Since then, I have focused exclusively on front-end web development, and I've been freelancing ever since. Now I've been given an opportunity to work at a company that has had print magazines for many years but has recently decided to follow the beaten path and transition to a heavy online presence.

Common sense tells me they need external backlinks from high PR blogs, social media buzz, and maybe some directory listings if those don't exist already. I'm concerned that the techniques I've used in the past are now obsolete - i.e. article submissions, meta-tag optimization, Squidoo/Hubpage placement. This opportunity is also different from my past experience in that it's dealing with a small group of websites that are well-established - they have hundreds of articles, pictures, some user comments. Their main site is PR5. This differs from my past experience with sites that were PR0-1.

tl;dr ... I'm a bit rusty with internet marketing. What are some common techniques that this company can use to increase their web presence? Their main site is already PR5! But they're looking for more turnaround with their ad campaigns, and they have a pretty poor bounce rate (60%+).

I realize this is a self-serving post, please accept my advanced apologies for not offering anything of substance for others on this board. But if I can do enough for this company to secure my position there as a developer with supplemental SEM capabilities, I will certainly be returning here with detailed accounts of our successes/failures - and I certainly think that would be useful info for the rest of you.