Links back to your website from external sources are a great way to get that extra traffic, but does it really work. Would someone see your link on some other website and click it. So the whole question with a backlink is that does it generate enough traffic for your business or is it just a tool that many SEO companies use to get their clients higher rankings in search results. Well, there is no perfect answer and it all depends on the quality.
Are you backlinking to random sites and are creating backlinks in bulk, avoid the practice. With current algorithms on popular search engines, engaging in bulk backlinking is doing more harm than good. While, for years, search engines used the number of backlinks to calculate the popularity of a website and accordingly position it in their results. Not anymore, indeed, search engines may demerit your website for engaging in shady practices.
So now the question is, should you not be doing backlinking at all. Do it but only if you expect a traffic flow from that link. Search Engines are able to detect pattern of traffic flow and can determine if a backlink is really worth it. If for eg: you put a backlink on a niche link which is receiving tons of traffic, chances are that you may get some visitors as well. But then conversion also plays a role. If you have a lot of dead mileage, that is a high bounce rate, then chances are that the search engine will be able to recognize the the issue as well. On the contrary, if you have a backlink on a niche site and combined with it, you have positioned the backlink in such a way that it highlights what the link offers and clicks are from users that may be interested in your product or service and may browse a lot of stuff on your website. This user behaviors will allow search engine to mark that backlink as a crucial one and will be used to rank your website.
For a new business, we would advise to put your efforts on content building and internal linking which is way powerful than backlinking. Also, businesses on limited budget may need to correctly channelize their budget on areas that will help them boost SEO with least effort. Let us know if we can help you with your SEO goals.