What really helps a site rank high on Google?

Backlinks still carry the most weight especially in tough niches. After that, it's your on-page content: proper keyword density, internal linking, and anchor text strategy. Site speed and health matter a lot too. Even if you've nailed the content and backlinks, a slow site won't rank. And to be honest, there's also some randomness to it sometimes you just hope the next Google update works in your favor.