This document discusses the evolving role of links in SEO based on a presentation by Rand Fishkin. It provides both anecdotal and experimental evidence that links are still important for rankings but may be less so compared to other signals like content quality, user experience factors, and social signals. While Google continues to crack down on manipulative links, marketers should focus on building links through quality content and prioritize other ranking factors over purely link-based SEO. Testing the impact of links for specific queries is recommended to determine if links remain influential or other tactics would be better.