How to rank number one on Google for any keyword

Executive overview

Ranking number one comes down to one thing: earning more backlinks from more unique domains than whoever currently holds the top spot. Content quality is table stakes — once it's comparable, links decide the order.

The path to rank one is to replicate every link your competitor has earned, then get more.

Why links and referring domains determine rankings

• Ahrefs compared three articles targeting "skyscraper technique": #1 had 936 backlinks from 406 domains, #3 had 139 backlinks from 30 domains, #4 had 61 backlinks from 18 domains.
• The pattern is consistent: more links and more referring domains = higher rank.
• Anchor text matters less than raw link volume and domain diversity.
• The #1 post used exact-match anchors in 34% of links; the #3 post's most common anchor was irrelevant — yet both ranked on page one.

How to execute the link gap strategy

• Open the top-ranking competitor's backlink report in a tool like Ahrefs Site Explorer.
• Identify every domain linking to their page.
• Systematically earn a link from each of those domains.
• Then find additional domains they haven't tapped — enough to pull ahead in total referring domain count.

On-page optimisation is minimal

• Exact-match keyword in the URL slug.
• Keyword appearing naturally throughout the content (not forced).
• Title starting with the target keyword.
• No need for exact-match headings or deliberate keyword stuffing.