Relevant backlinks are the engines that drive page rank. Please see my blog on backlinks at my Profile. It is not how many backlinks you have, its how relevant they are to the Google bots that index websites. A backlink is a link on another website that links to your website. I have a website devoted to launch jacking; rickriveralaunchjacking.com/ - I created some posts and pages to get it going and then I Turned to Tabish and bought some backlinks from him. I didn't need 1000s, just 100. In a few days my website was not only on page 1 of Google, it was in the first 2 results and I got lots of traffic. That offer is no longer in effect, but I keep the website up as an example of the power of backlinks to help your website rise in the SERPs. And yes there are many scammers out there promising to get you to page 1 of Google. You just have to pick the right ones. But relevant backlinks have not been devalued and anyone who says that does not know what they are talking about and despite the Panda and Penguin Google slaps they will continue to be important for ranking. It's all part of Search Engine Optimization.

The articles you are reading are probably selling some sort of backlinking service. This is an outdated technique and will actually hurt your site.

Don't be taken in by these offers, they will not help you. The Penguin update last fall has devalued most backlinks.