My first element was time - where should I be? And what features do I expect to see around me, and in what direction. If my time and rate and direction of travel were correct, what I see around me should be confirmation of what I expect to see. Then it's shapes and directions. Roads can be distinguished large from small, and often have an unusual curve or intersection which can distinguish a location. Railways are great too, particularly when they cross another feature, and better yet, when they cross at an angle which is clear to the eye. Then it's the shape and layout of towns and villages. Coast lines are good, but with one caution: If you're flying toward the coast, to arrive more of less square to a rather straight coastline, it can be bad when you arrive to the water, and don't know it you are left or right of your intended path. You have to turn along the coast (safe GA operations), and if you arrive to the coast lost, 50/50 you turn the wrong way - have a contingency plan for that!
Rivers are okay if you know them, and great of they have features like bridge crossings, or oxbow lakes which are very clear - but caution: If you don't know the river/have never seen it before, how big does it appear relative to what you expect? Tale of my past: I was flying a borrowed C182 from Texas, headed west to Arizona VFR in pre GPS days - so following a map. I landed for gas west of El Paso (very busy airspace) for fuel. There, I picked up a local, handy (photocopy of a photocopy) page of the VFR route I was going to fly, with the checkpoints to tell ATC as you progressed. The only thing I did right - not being local - was to take off, circle back up over the airport, and get positive radar contact with El Paso center, before taking up my intended route. They knew who I was, the route I intended, and where I was going. That was good - everything I did after that was not so much. The page said to fly toward the Rio Grande (translates to River Big), call there and follow it west. At that area, it was all urban. So, I'm following my heading, perfect weather, looking for a big river (I had never seen before in that part of the world). I watched, and watched, and flew and flew and did not see a big river. Eventually (always a bad word when flying) ATC calls me and asks if I know where I am. About that time I was already figuring my time (see above) was too long for this leg, so I quickly (and wisely) admitted I was lost. ATC comes back halfway laughing, and said I was about 5 miles into Mexico, and suggested a turn the heading 330 to get back on track. I eagerly accepted this advice. He seemed much more entertained by my mistake, rather than upset. On the other hand, The Mexican police were less amused, I noticed an all black 182 below me circling up toward me to intercept. So I firewalled my 182 (which was an older one, which I knew are a little faster than the newer one following me) and simply outran him back to the US boarder. He broke off, and life continued. As for why did I overfly the Rio Grande and not see a "river big"? It's a ditch going through El Paso! Yes, further east in Texas, it's a river (I'd seen it there), but at El Paso, it's a ditch, with really no visible water in it. Nothing on the paper I had told me that I was looking for a feature with really no water, as it's name suggests!
So, if you can, the night before, "fly" your route on Google Earth, and get an idea of some of the features you should overfly, and other features which are indications to you that you're off course!
And, always keep track of your time - where should you be?