Why did I lose my rankings for a keyword "CRM" even after getting quality backlinks?

[sandeep.clickdesk]

Initially my website is ranking on third page of Google.com for the keyword "CRM". So to improve rankings I got good number of quality backlinks by guest posting in various websites. But now my website is ranking on 6th page, which is a big concern for me. But for Google.in there was neither any improvement nor any fall in the ranking.

I have following doubts in my mind

1. Does the sudden increase in backlinks (quality backlinks in the from of guest posts) effect rankings in a negative way?

2. Why did it effect on Google.com and not on Google.in?

3. What needs to be done on urgent basis to recover from this?

Kindly help me with all your suggestions.

Thanks

[MattRoney]

Hi Krishna! We'd love an update—did Dmitrii's or Patrick's response(s) help? And if so, would you mind marking one or both responses as a "good answer?"

Thanks!

[DmitriiK]

Hi there.

1. It might, if you got hundreds of them at the same time or a lot of those guest posts are duplicate content.

2. Most likely locality. Also the language of backlinking websites. Anchor texts also could be the reason.

3. I doubt there is something you can do in ten minutes and get your rankings back.

Now, here is a thing. While backlinks are a strong signal, it's far not the only signal. Have you done any other changes to your page recently? Have your competitor done any changes recently? How is your SEO? Technical SEO?

If you were ranking on third page, it means that fluctuations of +/- 2-3 pages are normal, since there were no "good reason" to rank your page anyway.

[PatrickDelehanty]

Hi there

It should be noted that effects of backlinks are immediately felt - they do take time to take effect and also show their benefits. For instance, there's chat of the Google Sandbox...

"The Google Sandbox is an alleged filter placed on new websites. The result is that a site does not receive good rankings for its most important keywords and keyword phrases. Even with good content, abundant incoming links and strong Google PageRank, a site is still adversely affected by the Sandbox effect. The Sandbox acts as a de facto probation for sites, possibly to discourage spam sites from rising quickly, getting banned, and repeating the process."

Now, while your site may not be new so this may not apply. I would make sure that these links are quality like you said but also that they are relevant to your site and that you are not abusing anchor text in your post. Here is a great resource from Kissmetrics on how to guest post properly. I suggest you read it but also look for other opportunities:

• Partnerships
• Integrations
• Certifications
• Awards
• Industry links
• Press releases

But again, these all have to be relevant. I would give your link building efforts some time to see the real ROI. Make sure you annotate in GA and that you are tracking keyword rankings and variations.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Good luck!
Patrick