To find out what high-ranking pages in Google have in common, Searchmetrics examined the 30 top search results for 10,000 keywords, analyzing 300,000 websites. It then published its findings in a downloadable white paper and created an infographic.
The infographic highlights the findings regarding backlinks, social, technical, and content.
Backlinks are a huge factor in helping pages rank high in Google. The study found that "the 'most natural link profile' possible and 'diversity' are keywords here."
In regards to social, the study found that though social signals aren't necessarily a factor for high rankings, the top URLs showed more social signals.