When you’re ready to up your game in terms of content creation and SEO strategies, then you’ll be considering the Skyscraper Technique. It’s an important link building strategy that elevates your efforts beyond the fundamentals and helps you take advantage of a more advanced approach. It describes the process of finding top-ranking content and then creating something even better.
We know that when we put it that way, skyscraper link building sounds simple. In reality, there are several steps to the process. Plus, it requires time and effort to create skyscraper content. But not to worry. We’re here to discuss exactly what’s involved so that you can add this tool to your existing approach to building quality backlinks. Let’s find out what’s involved, how it works, and what you can do to set your business up for success instead of failure.
Table of Contents
What is the Skyscraper Technique? Definition and Overview
The Skyscraper Technique is a specific link building strategy where you identify existing content and then aim to improve on it. It refers to skyscrapers, as the process of creating these impressive buildings involves identifying other tall buildings out there and then going a bit higher.
The same is true of your content. You identify an article with backlinks that are performing well. Now, you improve on that content and add your links. Once it’s polished and complete, it’s time to publish. The final step is reaching out to sites that linked to the original piece and suggesting yours as an up-to-date and improved replacement.
It’s popular in the SEO community as it relies on building on something that already works. Most importantly, it combines natural backlinks and relevant content, which will be recognized and rewarded when it comes to search engine rankings.
Here are some key elements and principles of the Skyscraper Technique:
- Content needs to have lots of backlinks.
- Your replacement should include a target keyword and other terms that match the initial piece.
- New content needs to improve on the original, for example, via depth or with new information.
- You reach out to point people towards your new content as a replacement.
Credit for coming up with and honing skyscraper content has to go to Brian Dean of Backlinko. When he first implemented the technique, the organic search traffic to his whole site, not just the article in question, went up by 110% in 14 days. He later emphasized that paying attention to user intent is key to finding success with the technique.
Another inspiring success story that shows how well the approach can work is Ryan Robinson. He saw the success of an article on an hourly rate calculator for freelancers and realized he could go one better by making it more visually appealing. Thanks to his clever use of the technique, his post received over 70,000 page views, generated more than 3,500 new email subscribers, and outranked the original article for the search term ‘freelance hourly rate’.
Does It Still Work? The Benefits of the Skyscraper Technique
This technique still works, so it deserves a place in your link building strategy. As the creator has emphasized recently, understanding user search intent and making that the focal point of your content is essential. Even as more people implement this approach, you can still enjoy the benefits.
The core benefit of this approach is that you attract high-quality backlinks. If half the sites that had linked to the original piece and a few new ones link to you, then you’re already doing well. You’ll only get this benefit if you’ve done your research beforehand and aim to improve on a piece that already has high-quality backlinks.
As you’ll see from our examples above, those high-quality backlinks bring other benefits. You can expect your search ranking to improve, and you’ll see a boost in organic traffic, too. Those benefits are just two more stepping stones to enhancing your website visibility and increasing your authority. It leads to a long-term boost that will positively affect your overall business goals.
Steps to Implement the Skyscraper Technique
When implementing the Skyscraper Technique as part of your link building strategy, it’s essential to be methodical. This method is so much more than content creation, so your research and outreach shouldn’t be overlooked. We’ve outlined the four steps in the process, and each one plays a vital role in getting results.
Step 1: Identifying Relevant Link-Worthy Content
The Skyscraper Technique starts with finding high-performing content in your niche. You might just come across it or have an idea for an article and then discover the top-ranking piece that you need to beat. However, if you want a more targeted approach, then you can use tools to find competitive high-quality content.
Ahrefs is a useful place to start if you want a tool that helps you identify relevant pages. You can enter a competitor into the Site Explorer and check the ‘best by backlinks’ report. If you prefer to search by topic, use the Content Explorer or the Keywords Explorer.
Other options include BuzzSumo, Google’s Keyword Planner, and Hubspot’s Keyword App, which help you check for specific phrases and search volume. Ideally, you’ll want to combine one or two tools so that you can analyze the factors that made the article successful. Look out for the number of backlinks, especially those from high domain authority sites.
It also helps to have a target keyword in mind to understand the search volume, cost per click, and how competitive they are. Some reports will provide alternative keywords, which will help you build your content.
Step 2: Make Even Better Content
Once you’ve identified the relevant content to beat, it’s time to find out how you can go one better. Adding value is the best route to take. You could aim to provide high-quality visuals, which is how Ryan Robinson found success. Alternatively, you could add more information, especially if the article is an incomplete list. So, instead of the top 10, you could write about the top 15 or 20.
Another brilliant way to add value is to conduct comprehensive research, add sources, and go into more depth than existing pieces. If that’s already been done or these approaches don’t fit your topic, then you can focus on freshness. Even if your industry moves at a slow pace, the world isn’t the same place, which means you can write something based on today’s environment.
To outperform the top-ranking pieces, you can also offer a unique insight by combining your experience in different areas or fields to address an issue from a more specific point of view. Alongside making better content, you can also focus on creating something more engaging and shareable. Adding share buttons, using different platforms and formats to reach new audiences, and including interactive elements will increase the appeal.
Step 3: Reach Out and Promote Your Content
Writing fantastic content is all well and good, but it’s not exactly what link builders would consider a link building tactic. The Skyscraper Technique is effective because it’s proactive. You take your list of referring domains from the original competitor that you identified and contact them to point out your new, more visually appealing, in-depth content.
We recommend utilizing long-term and short-term outreach approaches. Let’s start with the short term. You craft personalized emails to the linkers on your list and any other potential sites you’ve identified. Showing that you’ve read the piece on their site and know exactly why your new content will work better is more likely to get their attention than using a template with very little detail.
Alongside those efforts, don’t neglect PR and social media. These are two excellent ways to get people talking about your new content and reaching thousands of people. If you can tell prospective linkers that your article is already well-received by your existing audience, then you have a better chance of getting the link.
The long-term aspect of outreach is building relationships with people in your niche. Bloggers and influencers should be high on your list. When it comes to your short-term approaches, it’ll help to have some friendly faces and early adopters among the crowd who are ready to champion you as soon as you publish.
Step 4: Monitoring and Refining Your Strategy
As with any campaign, when you use the Skyscraper Technique, you’ll want to track your progress, evaluate, and course correct. It can be a time-consuming process, which is where professional skyscraper link building services come in. They streamline the research, content production, and outreach processes and have the right tools for measuring success.
Beyond monitoring your ranking on the search engine results pages (SERPs), you’ll want to track certain factors to see how your campaign is progressing. You can work with an external agency or use a tool such as SEMrush’s Backlink Analytics. You’ll be able to access a dashboard that shows your authority score, referring domains, backlinks, monthly visits, and organic traffic.
Over time, you’ll be able to see how well you’re capturing user intent, engaging audiences, and succeeding with outreach emails. You can use those results to refine the ways you improve the content, who you reach out to, how you approach them, and what kinds of topics in your niche are suited to the approach.
Best Practices for the Skyscraper Technique
Skyscraper link building has four steps to follow, which seems straightforward enough. However, the technique requires a considered approach, effort, consistency, and refinement. These things take time, but with some know-how and an understanding of the best practices, you can be well on your way to achieving success.
Focus on Quality Over Quantity
Quality over quantity works in two ways. One excellent piece of content with many backlinks is worth more than several articles with just a handful each. In the end, putting a lot of effort into one piece of content can pay off better. It’s what’s required for the Skyscraper Technique and will help you get better quality links.
When identifying pieces to compete with, your focus should be on those that already have backlinks from sites with high domain authority. We recommend using tools that not only show you the referring domains but also their authority so that you can focus your outreach efforts on the quality links that are worth pursuing.
Build Long-Term Relationships Within Your Niche
As we touched on above, the long-term work you do to build relationships can make your outreach efforts much easier. The Skyscraper Technique relies on page owners replacing existing links with your new content. You can improve your chances through networking, building trust, and prioritizing ongoing collaborations for link building.
Nurturing relationships with bloggers and influencers is key. It starts by picking the right partners, which means people who have similar values and goals and are interested in what you do. After that, clear and regular communication is essential. Keep in mind that it’s a balancing act between authenticity and control.
Consistency and Persistence
This link building tactic involves content marketing, which means consistency and persistence are required. Writing great content is a continuous process. You’ll need to hone your skills and build relationships, and the only way to do that is to keep producing engaging content. The other side of that is promotion. You’ll need to be persistent in sharing what you’re doing by staying on top of your social media marketing.
The other area where persistence is required is in your outreach. It’s a numbers game, so keep sending those messages. You’ll also want to keep refining your email text to get the best results. That’s why monitoring and evaluating your performance is crucial.
Common Challenges: Why The Skyscraper Technique Fails
This approach isn’t foolproof, which means it can fail, and there are challenges to surmount. The top ranking pages got there for a reason, so beating them isn’t a piece of cake. However, knowing the common pitfalls of the Skyscraper Technique helps you navigate the difficulties and prepare for success.
Outreach Fatigue: Use a Fresh Approach
Since you’ll be sending hundreds of emails, your approach can get a bit stale. Working with Buzznberry as your partner can add some fresh juice. We use a range of strategies to ensure our outreach efforts are effective.
If you’re dealing with rejections and low response rates, it’s time to test and evaluate. You can take a leaf out of our book by testing and perfecting your subject lines and automating while also personalizing.
There’s no harm in using a mass email platform and using a template. Just make sure that you use several fields to address the website owner, their site, the topic, your site, and the ways your content can add value.
Aim For Quality: Longer Isn’t Always Better
Sometimes, the best way to improve on existing content is to write a longer article, but that isn’t always the case. Understanding user intent is essential. It means you need to understand what the audience is getting from the top-ranking pages and find a way to deliver that and more.
By more, we don’t necessarily mean more words or even more details, although that can be good. Users could need a guide with easy-to-follow steps, an infographic they can share, a video, or budget or luxury versions. Your job is to keep the standard high, use feedback and trends to understand what people want, and then reflect on whether what you produce actually helps.
Keeping Up with SEO Trends
Skyscraper content is part content creation and part link building. It doesn’t exist inside a vacuum and, as such, is influenced by changing approaches to SEO. You can ensure your approach stays up-to-date by performing regular SEO audits and quality checks. If you identify any gaps, it’s time to adapt your technique to include best practices.
Attending events, joining SEO forums, and finding industry blogs that you can trust are three surefire ways to keep up with trends. You’ll pick up new solutions to old problems, get familiar with best practices, and expand your network to stay ahead of the game.
Conclusion
The Skyscraper Technique is a tried-and-tested method for link building. It gives you natural and high-quality links that will improve your domain authority, organic search traffic, and visibility. Whether you go it alone or partner with an expert, you can see results when you’re persistent, identify the user’s intent, and focus on quality.
Start straight away by identifying top-ranking content and then create something better. Once you’ve completed your outreach, remember to monitor your process, track your success, and take your findings into the next project. You’ll soon see an increase in backlinks, search engine ranking, and site visitors.
