Current Google Webmaster Guidelines.
They no longer contain two lines:
- Have other relevant sites link to yours.
- Submit your site to relevant directories such as the Open Directory Project and Yahoo!, as well as to other industry-specific expert sites.
Does this mean “links no longer required?”
Juhn Mueller, a Google employee based in Switzerland has responded, making two points (paraphrased):
- Google should not have named specific directories. If a directory brings you quality traffic, go for it.
- The wording suggested that one should “make” (force) other sites to link to ours. You should make it easy for others to link to you.
Link to Google Groups thread. (apologies for old news – this one lay forgotten in my Drafts folder)