I decided to take a statistical look at some of the differences beween high-ranking and so-so ranking pages. For this, I used the Firefox extension "SearchStatus", which purports to give counts of a phrase of your choice within any given web page and the key elements thereof (as you will see below). I wanted to test a number of phrases, but the cut-and-paste-and-format got too tedious, so I just did a couple. In each case, I checked the #1 page Google returned for the subject phrase, then the #11, then the #21, then the #31--those being the page breaks for most users. I tried to use phrases that were neither too narrow and obscure nor too wide and universal. In both cases, the phrase was two-part: in one instance, two words, in the other a two-word phrase (set off in quotation marks) and a second word. I only discovered by chance when i was done that the Firefox extension tool does not treat hyphenated phrases the same as unhyphenated, so the counts for the quoted two-word phrase may not be exactly correct. (That is: in "A science-fiction book is about science fiction" will--or at least can--return different results in the tool depending on whether one enters "science fiction" or "science-fiction". Alas.) Anyway, here are the data, on which one is free to cogitate. The phrase in brackets is what Google was searched with; the "BackLinks" count is from a Google "site:" inquiry on the URL in the SERPs. I present the data as "PHP code" to preserve formatting; don't forget to scroll right to see results for each part of the total search phrase. (In one case, I used #2 instead of #31 because #1 was a PDF file.) [induction cooking] #1: BackLinks: 1 INDUCTION: COOKING: Location Matches Total Words Percentage Location Matches Total Words Percentage ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- Title: 1 3 33.3% Title: 0 3 0% Meta keywords: n/a n/a n/a Meta keywords: n/a n/a n/a Meta description: n/a n/a n/a Meta description: n/a n/a n/a Body: 30 911 3.3% Body: 14 911 1.5% H1/H2/H3: 3 32 9.4% H1/H2/H3: 0 32 0% Links: 22 729 3% Links: 11 729 1.5% Bold: 1 24 4.2% Bold: 1 24 4.2% [induction cooking] #11: BackLinks: 10 * INDUCTION: COOKING: Location Matches Total Words Percentage Location Matches Total Words Percentage ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- Title: 1 4 25% Title: 1 4 25% Meta description: 1 21 4.8% Meta description: 2 21 9.5% Meta keywords: 0 18 5.6% Meta keywords: 1 18 5.6% Body: 28 1873 1.5% Body: 20 1873 1.1% H1/H2/H3: 9 120 7.5% H1/H2/H3: 5 120 4.2% Links: 9 333 2.7% Links: 6 333 1.8% Bold: 7 83 8.3% Bold: 7 83 8.3% [induction cooking] #21: BackLinks: 45 INDUCTION: COOKING: Location Matches Total Words Percentage Location Matches Total Words Percentage ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- Title: 1 11 9.1% Title: 0 11 0% Meta description: 3 38 7.9% Meta description: 1 38 2.6% Meta keywords: 1 11 9.1% Meta keywords: 0 11 0% Body: 47 1835 2.6% Body: 10 1835 0.5% H1/H2/H3: 0 15 0% H1/H2/H3: 0 15 0% Links: 27 544 5% Links: 4 544 0.7% Bold: 22 95 23.2% Bold: 0 95 0% [induction cooking] #32: BackLinks: 1 INDUCTION: COOKING: Location Matches Total Words Percentage Location Matches Total Words Percentage ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- Title: 0 10 10% Title: 0 10 0% Meta description: 1 10 10% Meta description: 0 10 0% Meta keywords: 1 9 11.1% Meta keywords: 0 9 0% Body: 18 13059 0.1% Body: 4 13059 0% H1/H2/H3: 0 0 0% H1/H2/H3: 0 0 0% Links: 7 586 1.2% Links: 1 586 0.2% Bold: 1 223 0.5% Bold: 0 223 0% ========================================================================================================================= [science fiction fantasy] #1: BackLinks: 2,530 "SCIENCE FICTION" FANTASY Location Matches Total Words Percentage Location Matches Total Words Percentage ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- Title: 1 10 10% Title: 1 10 10% Meta description: 1 8 12.5% Meta description: 1 8 12.5% Meta keywords: 1 24 4.2% Meta keywords: 1 24 4.2% Body: 4 1518 0.3% Body: 4 1518 0.3% H1/H2/H3: 0 0 0% H1/H2/H3: 0 0 0% Links: 0 229 0% Links: 3 229 1.3% Bold: 0 121 0% Bold: 0 121 0% ["science fiction" fantasy] #11: BackLinks: 797 "SCIENCE FICTION" FANTASY Location Matches Total Words Percentage Location Matches Total Words Percentage ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- Title: 1 8 12.5% Title: 1 8 12.5% Meta description: 1 23 4.3% Meta description: 1 23 4.3% Meta keywords: 1 67 1.5% Meta keywords: 1 67 1.5% Body: 6 1141 0.5% Body: 3 1141 0.3% H1/H2/H3: 0 0 0% H1/H2/H3: 0 0 0% Links: 2 306 0.7% Links: 2 306 0.7% Bold: 0 98 0% Bold: 0 98 0% [science fiction fantasy] #21: BackLinks: 17 {Yahoo Directory page} "SCIENCE FICTION" FANTASY Location Matches Total Words Percentage Location Matches Total Words Percentage ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- Title: 1 9 11.1% Title: 1 9 11.1% Meta description: 1 14 7.1% Meta description: 1 14 7.1% Meta keywords: n/a n/a n/a Meta keywords: n/a n/a n/a Body: 28 1423 2% Body: 26 1423 1.8% H1/H2/H3: 2 10 20% H1/H2/H3: 2 10 20% Links: 17 208 8.2% Links: 14 208 6.7% Bold: 3 52 5.8% Bold: 3 52 5.8% [science fiction fantasy] #31: BackLinks: 260 * "SCIENCE FICTION" FANTASY Location Matches Total Words Percentage Location Matches Total Words Percentage ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- Title: 0 7 0% Title: 2 7 28.6% Meta description: 0 14 0% Meta description: 1 14 7.1% Meta keywords: 1 34 2.9% Meta keywords: 1 34 2.9% Body: 3 1643 0.2% Body: 14 1643 0.9% H1/H2/H3: 0 31 0% H1/H2/H3: 2 31 6.5% Links: 1 192 0.5% Links: 3 192 1.6% Bold: 1 199 0% Bold: 4 199 2% PHP: Each person will see something different there, but if we take the Google backlink counts as at least relatively correct (that is, proportional from page to page, even if not accurate in an absolute sense), we begin to have some doubts about the "backlinks rule" theory. This is, of course, an awfully small sample, but I think it remains indicative and interesting. I think what it suggests, rather than that this or that point is "key", is that no point, or small combination of points, is key. But it does at least hint that content still plays a really large part in SERPs.
Yes, you did some good work there. It seems backlinks don't count as much as good quality content. As they said in the very old days of print, and it holds true today on the net, "Content is King"