SearchCap: Google link command, mobile-first index & SEO problems

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.

From Search Engine Land:

• Google has officially killed off their link command
  Jan 12, 2017 by Barry Schwartz

  Google tells webmasters and SEOs to stop using the link command, that it is officially dead and not functioning properly.

• Fetch and Horror: 3 examples of how fetch and render in GSC can reveal big SEO problems
  Jan 12, 2017 by Glenn Gabe

  Columnist Glenn Gabe demonstrates why discovering how Googlebot sees your desktop and mobile content is essential to any good SEO audit.

• A simple checklist to prep for the Google mobile-first index
  Jan 12, 2017 by Bryson Meunier

  Columnist Bryson Meunier believes that for savvy marketers, the rollout of Google’s mobile-first index will represent an opportunity — not a threat.

Recent Headlines From Marketing Land, Our Sister Site Dedicated To Internet Marketing:

• Marketing budget increases: Tips for wielding a double-edged sword for 2017
• Ad copy hack for your AdWords pathways
• Super Bowl LI advertisers: Here are the brands gearing up for game day
• Intel’s Super Bowl LI ad turns NFL MVP Tom Brady’s daily routines into epic experiences
• [Podcast] Marketing Land Live #40: Who’s using cinemagraphs and how with Flixel’s Robert Lendvai
• In the age of intelligent agents, how does marketing work?
• Dun & Bradstreet buys Avention so its data can become real-time triggers
• Conversable launched the first Twitter-based automated conference guide at CES
• Amazon Canada ordered to pay $1M fine for deceptive price listings
• 5 big things marketers actually have to start doing in 2017
• Mobile marketing predictions for 2017 from 11 industry veterans
• Facebook Journalism Project aims to build stronger ties with news publishers
• Can you prove social media is working?

Search News From Around The Web:

Industry

• Google in Talks to Sell Its Satellite Business, Wall Street Journal
• January 2017 Google Webmaster Report: Algorithm Update, Mobile Interstitials & Mobile-First Index, Search Engine Roundtable
• The Google Brain team — Looking Back on 2016, Research Blog

Local & Maps

• Bing Places Testing New Local Listing Redesign; Adds Popular Times, thesempost.com
• Google Testing Website Builder Within Google My Business, Mike Blumenthal
• MozCon Local 2017’s Full Agenda, Moz
• New year, new look: ride services mode gets an update, blog.google
• The simple and creepy reason Google Maps knows when there’s traffic, BGR

Link Building

• KPIs for linkbuilding, Branded3

Searching

• Saving you bandwidth on Google+ through machine learning, blog.google
• SearchResearch Challenge (1/11/17): Finding immersive experiences, SearchReSearch
• Google Play Music’s “Ones to Watch” Artists in 2017, blog.google

SEO

• Best SEO Practices to Dominate In 2017, semrush.com
• Google: Dirty URLs In Sitemaps Don’t Hurt Your Sitemap File, Search Engine Roundtable
• Google’s Mobile Popup Algorithm Launches – First Examples of Negative Impact, gsqi.com
• International SEO: It’s Not About YOU, Search Engine Journal
• Moz Updates Their 302 SEO Help Documentation Based On Google Feedback, Search Engine Roundtable
• The Pressure from Google to Be “Mobile First” by Kim Krause Berg, creativevisionwebconsulting.com

SEM / Paid Search

• 8 Steps to Open a Baidu PPC Account, KoMarketing
• Apple Search Ads: What You Need To Know To Improve Performance, PPC Hero
• The New World Of PPC Targeting, PPC Hero

Search Marketing

• How to start your keyword research: a case study, Yoast

The post SearchCap: Google link command, mobile-first index & SEO problems appeared first on Search Engine Land.