The Four Key Factors That Drive SEO

1.Technical Components: 

•Website architecture that aligns with Google's quality standards
 •Under the hood stuff: Title Tags; META Tags; Meta Descriptions; etc. 

•Google’s primary goal: Best search experience for users

2.Custom Content:

•Google rewards quality content that is unique
      •No duplicate content
      •No keyword stuffing

•Content that you want to showcase based on geography

•Thought provoking content that is helpful, not a rehashed article

•Google’s Panda Update - April 24, 2012; Penalized sites with duplicate content; Keyword stuffing; Excessive Anchor Text; etc.

3.Backlinks (most important factor for ranking):

•Quality of links vs. Quantity of links that point to your website
•Relevancy of link  = The right types of backlinks pointing to your site
•Exclusivity (Where the link comes from. Not diluted) 
•Back linking is both hard work & time consuming that requires specialized knowledge.  

•Google's Penguin Update was both jarring & jolting for 65%+ of SEO companies who used Black hat tactics

4.Age of your URL/Domain 

•Is it trusted?

Is it credible?

Is it popular?

Is it informative? (Helpful to visitors)