Backlinks are like referrals. Having quality backlinks helps google understand that your website is trusted. This helps in improving your search rankings. Remember for backlinks it is important to prioritise quality over quantity. Make sure the links that you build are as relevant as possible. Through Moz's link analysis tool, you are able to find potential websites to build links. Also, you can analyze your competitor's backlink profile and check for any backlink gaps.
Overall backlinks are crucial in gaining trust and building backlinks is a continuous process to build relationships with your fellow webmasters.