Skyscraper technique
White hat. Within Google’s guidelines. Safe to use. White, grey and black hat SEO compared
What is skyscraper technique?
The skyscraper technique is a link-building method popularised by Brian Dean of Backlinko in 2015. You find a page in your niche that has earned lots of backlinks, create a clearly better version, then contact the sites linking to the original and suggest they link to yours too.
The name comes from building a taller building than the one next to it. “Better” is the hard part. Early versions of the tactic focused on making content longer, which led to a lot of bloated copycat articles. What works now is adding something the original lacks: newer data, original research, expert input, clearer visuals or a tool. That is the idea of information gain.
Why skyscraper technique matters for SEO
It targets people who have already shown they link to the topic, so the prospect list is warm, much like a link intersect. It stays white hat because the linking site makes its own decision on merit.
It fails when the new page is only a rewrite. Editors get many skyscraper pitches, and they rarely swap a working link for one that is not obviously better.
How to use the skyscraper technique
- Find pages in your topic with many referring domains, using a backlink checker on competitors’ top linked pages.
- Read the original and the pages linking to it. Note what is outdated, missing or hard to use.
- Build a version that is materially better: fresher data, original insight, better structure or a useful tool.
- Contact the linking sites with a short note explaining what is new and why it helps their readers.
- Keep the page updated so it stays the best resource.
Skyscraper technique FAQ
Does the skyscraper technique still work?
It can, but only when your content is genuinely better or more original. Longer rewrites of the same information rarely earn links today.
Who created the skyscraper technique?
Brian Dean of Backlinko named and popularised it in 2015, though the underlying idea of outreach for better content is older.
Related SEO terms
Link buildingWhite hat
Link building is the work of getting other websites to link to yours, to earn referral traffic and the trust that helps pages rank.
Broken link buildingWhite hat
Broken link building means finding broken links on other sites and suggesting your relevant page as the replacement. It is a white hat tactic.
Information gain is the new, useful information a page adds beyond what other pages on the same topic already say.
Content marketing is creating and sharing useful content, such as articles, guides, videos and tools, to attract and keep customers.
Editorial links are backlinks a writer or editor chooses to give because your content is worth citing, without payment or a link exchange.