Yes, backlinks are still a major factor and foundation metric when it comes to ranking your website on Google search results pages. Backlinks provide a way to show Google that your website is a reputable and legitimate source of information.
However, backlinks only work if they are done properly. You need to have a detailed link building strategy, ways to implement it and clearly defined metrics that you want to track. If your link building strategy is not done properly, it will just drain your budget and do more harm than good.