Its impossible for emotional connections to be made and saught after if theres no physical attraction or anything appealing about them to begin with (unless its a spiritual connection which draws you to them or them to you, though such attractions are not necessarily for relationship purposes, you may be fated to help someone and that feeling is a sign). People are not attracted to people whom they do not find attractive somehow. Whatever sparks your curiousity at first will almost always be a physical trait of some kind with the rest following afterwards. And this isn't a bad thing, its nature and its how it works.
Aside from the psychical, purely as a means to an ends in approaching someone and inquiring more about them, physical attractivenes is important to an extent. For example, someone who is overweight by choice and its not a glandular problem, thyroid disorder, etc. could imply they are weak-willed, lazy, irresponsible and wreckless with themselves and how they handle life and their priorities and can't commit to bettering themselves. And this could stem from a low-self esteem or bad thought patterns, mental blockage and any other negative quality they may have or how they live their life. Another example- someone who has bad acne/acne scars and, again, its not a problem they cannot help (or could have helped), like with the weight. Same is true for oral hygiene and indeed any form of self-care. Self-neglect and abandonment is a huge turn-off. If you can't love you, why should anyone else?
If physical appearances reveal to you, quite obviously, that this person is not committed to keeping themself in shape or in good health or that they simply do not care then they are not as desirable physically AND emotionally because they appear beaten, broken, defeated or simply indifferent. Theres nothing desirable about that, save for the pity you may have for them. Sometimes relationships are started on such feelings and the people learn to love themselves through the love being shown to them.
In actuality, physical appearance can tell a tale about a person without a word being spoken. So it is indeed very important in many respects.
However, I do agree that emotional connections, mutual compatibility and also spiritual connections are far more important than good looks, not that they are better qualities, but in that they are the elements of a relationship that will both keep it afloat, sustain it, make it livable and enjoyable, and it is the soul, the person not their body which ultimately makes the relationship what it is.
