Plus I feel that Links will continue to be down-graded as the SE’s get better
I feel that way, too, although I think links will remain a big part of the formula.
My question is, though, what else could they concentrate on over links?
I’m not too sure that they can give TOO much emphasis to outbound links, because that is so easy for SEO types to abuse – i.e. just look for the best PR sites in the field and link out to them.
My guess is that they may start using the data they get from their stats, perhaps adding weight to number returning visitors to sites as a mark of quality, or even for number of pages viewed and time spent on the site too.
It’s interesting stuff…