Google ranking factors to consider
 

apart from quality, what are other important things that Google wants to see to secure a number one ranking in Google, since many SEO blogs I read online, none seem to come clean exactly on what needs to be done.

There are more than 200 ranking factors as per Google, so it's very difficult question to answer but as always content is king.

The best strategy to outrank your competitors
 

The best strategy to outrank your competitors is to analyze what they are doing and duplicate their strategy. If they are number 1 in google for a particular keyword...it's because their strategy is working