Content Isn't King, Linkbacks Are

Yes, you read it right. Content is King might be the biggest Myth ever. So cutting to the point, I will say it as it is:

What Matters is AUTHORITY.

The more I search Google , the more I find how the authority sites are ruling the index.I have habit of reading the book from front cover to the last page. I end up reading the acknowledgements and thank you page more often than I like to admit.The habit extends to my online reading habits. Whenever I read any article, I don't stop reading after long the article finishes. I read the comments, and at the end, I read the website's footer too.What do I find on the majority of these footers?

LINKBACKS to the PARTNER SITES.

Let's see the footer of the Amazon:

AbeBooks - Books Sites
Shopbop - Female Outfit
Audible - Audio Book
DPReview - Gadget Reviews
IMDB - Movie Site
Amazon Music - Music Site...

The site is giving out the links to the various site that belongs to Amazon. It does not look unethical or shady at all. Or you may ask what is wrong in it.There is absolutely nothing wrong with it.But when you dig deeper, you find that every other site ranking the SERP has connection to a Big Company.

What does this mean:

Very Few Big Companies are Controlling the Majority of the Information flowing through our search results.

I found this image from the :This is how it is happening.So, does the Content matters, when there is this Premium PBNs are going on.