The Skyscraper Technique is a link building strategy popularised by SEO expert Brian Dean of Backlinko. The method follows three steps: find a piece of content in your niche that has already attracted a large number of backlinks, create a significantly better version of that content, and then reach out to the websites already linking to the original to suggest they link to your superior version instead. The analogy: if someone builds a 40-storey skyscraper, the city's attention shifts to yours when you build a 60-storey one.

The Three Steps

1. Find Link-Worthy Content

Use tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, or Moz to find content in your niche with a strong backlink profile. Search for your target topic and filter results by referring domains. Look for content that has earned 50+ links — this proves the topic attracts links, making it a viable skyscraper target.

2. Create Something Better

Your content must be demonstrably superior. "Better" can mean:

  • More comprehensive: Covers more subtopics, goes deeper, is longer and more detailed
  • More up to date: Replaces outdated statistics, examples, and recommendations with current ones
  • Better designed: Clearer layout, custom visuals, infographics, embedded tools
  • More credible: Includes original data, expert quotes, case studies
Better means better, not just longer: Simply padding out a 2,000-word article to 5,000 words without adding value will not earn links. Focus on genuine improvements that make a linker think "this is the best resource on this topic."

3. Outreach

Use Ahrefs or a similar tool to export the full list of sites linking to the original article. Contact each site's editor or webmaster with a personalised email pointing out that their linked resource is outdated or incomplete, and that you've created a more comprehensive version. Keep emails brief, specific, and genuinely helpful — mass-blasted generic outreach gets ignored.

Why It Works

Website owners who have already linked to content on a topic have demonstrated they care about that topic and are willing to link. They also have a self-interest in keeping their own content's outbound links pointing to the best available resource. If yours is clearly superior, upgrading the link is a quick win for them too.

Skyscraper Technique vs Guest Posting

Both are white-hat link building strategies, but they work differently. Guest posting creates new content on someone else's site to earn a link. The Skyscraper Technique creates content on your own site and then earns links to it through outreach. Skyscraper links typically carry more value because they are editorial links pointing to your domain, rather than links within content you authored on a third-party site.

Key Takeaways

  • Find popular, heavily linked content in your niche
  • Build a genuinely better version — more depth, more data, better design
  • Outreach to sites already linking to the original and pitch your upgrade
  • Success rates depend on content quality and outreach personalisation
  • Works best in niches where content quality is the primary ranking factor