Backlinks Yes / No?

A resounding YES for backlinks - just don't get lured into the bucks for backlink traps that many companies are offering. 

Backlinks like many things SEO need to be approached on a logic basis.  That is the link from your site to another and back again must offer relevance and or synergy.

A good rule of thumb is creating a backlink for any company that you - in the context of your business - have been asked to recommend,  At Webnerd we often get asked to recommend gadgets such as drones or the best Tablet or Cell phone.  It stands to reason therefore that a good synergy for our company would be DJI and or Apple.