How to get those points up and rise through the ranks...

If you happen to have plenty of gold sat around doing nothing then buying trade ships is a worthy investment for raising points quickly. Another way to gain alot of points in one go is to do research, then not only are you bettering your colonies but also making points win-win if you ask me!

For details on the exact calculations of what will gain you points and by how much please see:

http://ikariam.wikia.com/wiki/Scores for additional help!

Finally according to faithful research from various alliance members (namely CM, Lez and Flip) your score goes up as soon as you upgrade a building but there is a time delay of about 30-40minutes when buying ships and research.