The skyscraper technique is a link building and content marketing strategy that aims to improve the visibility and reach of your content by creating high-quality, link-worthy content. It was discovered and popularized by Brian Dean, the founder of Backlinko, in 2015. The skyscraper technique is a legitimate and ethical approach to improving your website’s visibility and attracting backlinks.

What Is the Skyscraper Technique? 

The skyscraper technique involves replicating backlinks to a webpage by creating high-quality content and conducting outreach by linking to websites that have domain authority. After reaching out, these websites will likely discover your improved version and may consider replacing their existing links with yours. This technique allows you to obtain high-quality backlinks, which could help boost your visibility and ranking in search results. 

Why Is the Skyscraper Technique Important?

The skyscraper technique is important for several reasons:

• Increases visibility and organic traffic.
• Improves search engine rankings.
• Establishes authority and credibility.
• Provides long-term benefits.
• Gives a competitive advantage.
• Creates brand exposure and networking opportunities.

Success Rate of the Skyscraper Technique

The success rate of the skyscraper technique can vary depending on various factors, including the quality of your content, the competitiveness of your niche, the effectiveness of your outreach strategy and the receptiveness of the linking websites. While there is no definitive success rate, many digital marketers and search engine optimization or SEO professionals have reported positive outcomes when implementing this technique.

Brian Dean got 17 links out of 160 e-mail outreach; his success rate was 11%, which is pretty amazing. 

How To Implement the Skyscraper Technique?

1. Topic Research

Begin by conducting comprehensive research to identify a popular and relevant topic within your niche that has lots of backlinks. Use keyword research tools, analyze competitor content and explore trending topics to find a subject with high potential for engagement and search volume.

2. Content Creation

Quality content creation is a big deal. Develop exceptional content that surpasses existing resources on the chosen topic. Make it comprehensive, well-researched and provide unique insights, actionable tips, or valuable resources. Ensure your content is visually appealing with engaging visuals, such as images, infographics, or videos.

There are four recommendations by Dean to make your content better than existing ones:

• Length – If there are 25 tips in the post, provide additional tips.
• Freshness – Keep existing content updated by adding new information, images, statistics, etc.
• Design – Use a custom, interactive design to stand out from your competitors.
• Depth – Add actionable details to lists.

3. On-Page Optimization

Optimize your content for search engines by incorporating relevant keywords naturally throughout the text, optimizing headings and meta tags and ensuring a user-friendly layout. Pay attention to factors like page loading speed and mobile responsiveness to enhance the overall user experience.

4. Outreach and Promotion

This is arguably the most important part of the process.  Extend your interest to collaborate with related websites and influencers in your industry to promote your content. Create outreach emails with a personalized touch, showcasing the value of your content and its benefit to the intended target audience. Emphasize the unique value and quality of your content, making a compelling case for them to consider linking to it.

Dean recommended an e-mail outreach format but making it your own will give you better results.

5. Link Building

Monitor the responses to your outreach efforts and engage in a dialogue with interested websites or influencers. If they agree to link to your content, provide them with the necessary information or assets to facilitate the process. Ensure that the links are placed naturally within their content and are relevant to the context.

6. Monitor and Measure

Continuously track the performance of your content, including organic traffic, search engine rankings and backlink acquisition. Use analytics tools to gain insights into user behavior and engagement metrics. This data will help you assess the effectiveness of your Skyscraper Technique implementation and make necessary adjustments for improvement.

Remember, implementing the skyscraper technique requires dedication, persistence and ongoing optimization. It’s crucial to continually assess and refine your strategy based on the results and feedback you receive. By consistently producing exceptional content and actively pursuing relevant backlinks, you can significantly enhance your website’s visibility, authority and organic traffic over time.

Pros and Cons of the Skyscraper Technique

While the technique has been widely adopted and praised, it has its pros and cons. Let’s take a look at them:

Pros of the Skyscraper Technique:

1. Increased visibility and organic traffic: By creating exceptional, highly informative and valuable content, you increase the chances of attracting backlinks from other websites. These backlinks can significantly improve your website’s visibility in search engine results, driving more organic traffic.
2. Improved search engine rankings: When your content attracts high-quality backlinks, search engines perceive it as a signal of quality and relevance. This can positively impact your search engine rankings, leading to increased organic traffic and exposure.
3. Establishing thought leadership: The skyscraper technique encourages you to create authoritative and comprehensive content on a specific topic. By consistently producing high-quality content, you can establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry, gaining credibility and attracting a loyal audience.
4. Long-term benefits: The backlinks generated through the skyscraper technique can have a lasting impact on your website’s authority. As more websites link to your content, search engines view your site as a reliable and valuable resource, leading to sustained organic traffic growth over time.

Cons of the Skyscraper Technique:

1. Time-consuming: The skyscraper technique requires substantial effort and time investment. Conducting thorough research, creating exceptional content and reaching out to potential linkers can be a time-consuming process, especially if you are in a competitive niche.
2. Uncertain success: While the technique can be effective, it does not guarantee immediate success. Building backlinks and attracting attention from other websites can be challenging, especially if you are competing with established websites in your industry.
3. Quality over quantity: The focus of the skyscraper technique is on creating exceptional content, which may require extensive research and in-depth knowledge of the subject matter. If you are unable to consistently produce high-quality content, the technique may not yield the desired results.
4. Link acquisition challenges: Reaching out to other website owners and convincing them to link to your content can be difficult. It requires effective outreach strategies and building relationships with influencers and industry experts, which may not always be successful.

Overall, the skyscraper technique can be an effective content marketing strategy for improving visibility, attracting backlinks and driving organic traffic. However, it is important to carefully consider your resources and goals before implementing this technique.

Does It Still Work in 2023?

Yes, the Skyscraper technique still works in 2023. However, it’s important to note that link building has become a challenging and competitive process. Contextual backlinks are crucial for a website’s success, and earning them is essential to increase website authority. 

Manual outreach and broken link building are difficult tasks involved in obtaining backlinks. The Skyscraper Technique, on the other hand, offers a relatively easier way to acquire contextual backlinks from high-authority websites. This technique is highly recommended by many SEO experts and professionals for effective link building.

Skyscraper Technique May Fail

The skyscraper technique, like any content marketing strategy, can face challenges and potentially fail for various reasons:

1. Lack of unique value: If your content doesn’t provide a unique and compelling value proposition compared to existing content on the topic, it may fail to attract attention and backlinks. Creating content that simply replicates what already exists without adding new insights or perspectives may not generate the desired results.
2. Poor execution: The success of the skyscraper technique depends on the quality of your content and how effectively you promote it. If your content is poorly written, lacks depth, or fails to engage the target audience, it may not gain traction or attract backlinks. Similarly, if your promotional efforts are insufficient or ineffective, the content may go unnoticed.
3. Inadequate outreach: The skyscraper technique involves reaching out to potential linkers and influencers to promote your content. If your outreach efforts are haphazard, lack personalization, or fail to communicate the value of your content, you may struggle to attract backlinks and engagement.
4. Competitive landscape: If you are operating in a highly competitive niche or industry, it can be more challenging to stand out and attract backlinks. If your competitors have already implemented similar strategies or have established their authority, it may require additional effort and innovation to surpass them.
5. Algorithmic changes: Search engine algorithms continually evolve, and what works today may not work tomorrow. Algorithmic updates can impact how search engines evaluate and rank content, potentially affecting the effectiveness of the skyscraper technique. Staying informed about algorithmic changes and adapting your strategy accordingly is crucial.
6. Insufficient time and resources: The skyscraper technique requires a significant investment of time, effort and resources. If you lack the resources to create high-quality content consistently or execute effective outreach, it may limit the success of the technique.

It’s important to recognize that not every content marketing strategy will achieve the desired results in every situation. Assessing and addressing these potential failure points can help improve the chances of success with the skyscraper technique or any other marketing strategy.

In conclusion, the skyscraper technique for link building and content marketing is a proven technique. It saves you time and reduces the cost of building high-quality contextual backlinks. It can also boost your website traffic, resulting in increased revenue. However, always remember the importance of creating quality content and implementing proper promotion and outreach strategies.