To be ranked well in the search engines, it is really a combination of just these two factors?

[Greg And Fiona]

You need to look at ranking from Googles point of view.

They want to provide a good experience for their customers - the people searching on Google.
That means the number one thing they're looking for is good content.
Good quality content will get ranked naturally, as if it's good and people read it they will share it on social media etc.
Backlinks these days are only relevant if they have high PageRank and relate to your niche. Throwing thousands of backlinks at a website is just going to throw up a red flag in Googles eyes.