Ever you heard about the Skyscraper technique? It is a link building technique that SEO experts swear by for gaining success. Do you wanna try it too? If yes, then here’s all you should know about it.
In 2015, Brain Dean of Backlinko revealed a link-building strategy that got him a huge success rate. In fact, he stated that his organic traffic doubled within two weeks of using this strategy. He named it the Skyscraper Technique.
Since then, many have tried and tested this technique – some swear by it, whereas others find it just another sham. So, what it is? Does it work or it doesn’t? Well, it depends on your approach. So, let’s learn more about this off-page SEO technique that has taken the world by storm.
Table of Contents
What is Skyscraper Technique?
It is a link building technique in which you improve the popular existing content and replicate all the backlinks for your webpage. In short, the definition of skyscraper technique can be stated as:
- Finding a popular piece of content with several backlinks.
- Creating better content for that topic.
- Asking all the people linking to the original content to link to your superior work.
Now, you might be wondering, what makes one so sure that this technique will work. Although no one can be sure about it, one can definitely place their bets on getting more backlinks by using the Skyscraper technique. The reasons are:
- You are looking at content that is already high in demand and popular.
- When you create better content, there are chances that visitors might stick to your website for some more information.
- Google already ranks the original page. It means if you succeed in creating something better with backlinks, Google will give you the preference in rankings.
How to Use Skyscraper Technique for Link Building?
It is a comparatively very simple process. You can clearly divide the entire technique into three simple steps:
- Find link-worthy content
- Create better content
- Promote and reach out to the right people
So, let’s start this step-by-step guide to learn the Skyscraper technique.
Step 1: Find Link-Worthy Content
Your first step should be to find relevant content with several backlinks that you can use. You can do this by simply searching your target keywords on Google (given you know your keywords; if not, then it’s high time you do keyword research). Google will provide you with top results related to your keyword.
That’s not enough, you need to check that the content is perfect to use in this technique. Therefore, the things you should be looking for are:
- Content is high-ranking
- It has a number of backlinks
- Content is most-shared
But how will you find these things? This is where SEO tools come in handy. Some of the tools you can use are:
- BuzzSumo
- Ahrefs Content Explorer
- Visual.ly
- Google Alerts
- Moz Open Site Explorer
- SEMrush Backlink Analytics
Here, let me show you how to do it with the help of Ahrefs tools.
Using Site Explorer
Enter a popular website from your niche or your competitor’s site in the search area of the tool. Make sure that you choose a website with a reputation to publish good content. Now go to the section with ‘best by links’ results. It will show you all the list of pages of that particular website with the most link authority. Next, sort this list as per ‘referring domains’. Tada…here are the web contents worth replicating.
Using Content Explorer
Enter a broad relevant keyword into the search bar. You will get billions of results showing content with your target keyword. Now, sort it according to the ‘referring domain’ category and set the filter to 50. Even 50 backlinks are a good number to target. Here’s your list of content ideas.
Step 2: Create Better Content
Now you have the topics and articles that rank higher with most backlinks. So, observe them properly and figure what makes them special, and why people are linking to them. Once you have your answer, ask yourself if you can create anything better. Because if you create something similar to the previous content, why would someone link to you rather than them. So, there must be scope for creating better content.
Some of the questions you can ask yourself are:
- Is there any discrepancy in the text?
- Can you create a better up-to-date research piece?
- Are you an expert in the area and correct some of the misconceptions?
- Is the blog exhaustive? Can you add some more value and information?
- Are there questionable referring domains?
Once you have positive answers to these questions, move forward and try creating something better than the original article. The best way to do that is to improve on all four aspects of the write-up – length, freshness, design, and depth.
Step 3: Promote and Reach Out to Right People
Creating content is just half the battle. Without proper promotions or reaching out to people asking them to link, your content is simply yet another piece in the vast sea of digital platforms. So, this is a crucial step to seek after.
Rather than spamming everyone and asking them to link, you can start with the people who have linked to similar content. So, the options will be narrowed down to:
- People having a website in your niche.
- People interested in your topic.
- People are already linked with similar topics.
Let’s start with the people who have linked to the original content. There’s a possibility of them linking to a better content that you have created.
Enter the link of that webpage in the Site Explorer tool and select the backlinks options. You should have a list of all the backlinks to the webpage. Now’s the time to shoot an email to them.
Things you should include in the outreach email are:
- Why you are reaching out to them
- A link to your content
- Why it is better than the original content
- Call to Action asking them to swap the link
While writing an email, try to be personal. If you have communicated before, then make sure you mention it. Another tip is to try to be polite and just suggest them to swap the link. Do not be over pushy as that may look arrogant at times.
Conclusion
The Skyscraper technique is just a tiny small piece of your larger link building strategy. But that does not mean you can overlook it, especially when it is sure that this technique brings in the desired results. So, it’s your time to try this technique for your website. And do not forget to tell me how the backlinks generation technique worked for you.