What is the importance of link role?

[tpluscode]

I use links to create "relations" between two kinds of layers since that is not supported by relation layers.

What is the significance of "Role name" which has to be entered when creating a link? Is it merely a label?

[reckart]

Yes, it is a qualifier for the link. You can turn off role labels in the feature settings if you do not need them for your task.