The skyscraper technique is a link building method where you find a popular page that has earned many backlinks, create a clearly better version on the same topic, then ask the sites linking to the original to link to yours. For example, a landscaping company might find a well-linked guide to drought-tolerant plants, publish a more complete and current guide with regional planting charts and original photos, then email the gardening blogs that cited the older guide.
For a business, the appeal is that it targets topics already proven to attract links. Instead of hoping a new page gets noticed, you start with a list of sites that have already shown interest in the subject. Done well, it can earn relevant backlinks. Done badly, it produces bloated content and outreach emails that get deleted.
What is the skyscraper technique?
Brian Dean of Backlinko introduced the skyscraper technique in a 2013 case study. The name plays on the idea of building something taller than what's already there. Ahrefs describes it in three steps:
- Find content in your niche that has attracted many links.
- Make something better.
- Ask the people linking to the original to link to your version instead.
Dean named four ways to improve on the original: length, freshness, design and depth. Over time, many people focused almost entirely on length. That shift explains a lot of the technique's mixed reputation today.
The skyscraper technique is one form of link building. It relies on outreach, so it shares some ground with broken link building and digital PR.
Why the skyscraper technique matters
It starts from proven demand. A page with links from dozens of sites shows that the topic is link-worthy. That reduces guesswork about what to create.
It builds a ready-made outreach list. Every site linking to the original is a potential prospect who already cares about the topic.
"Better" now matters more than "bigger." Google's guidance on helpful content asks whether a page provides substantial value compared with other pages in search results. It also says plainly that Google doesn't have a preferred word count. A page that's simply longer than the original doesn't meet that bar.
AI search rewards new information. AI assistants that cite sources often draw on several pages for one answer. A page that repeats the same points as ten others gives them little reason to cite it. Adding something the original lacks, such as original research, real examples or expert input, creates information gain, which helps with both links and AI citations.
How the skyscraper technique works
Finding link-worthy content
You use an SEO tool to find pages in your niche with many referring domains. Ahrefs suggests filtering for pages with a meaningful number of referring domains, and also checking which pages rank for competitive keywords. The best targets are topics relevant to your business, not just any page with lots of links.
Making it genuinely better
This is where most attempts succeed or fail. Better can mean more accurate, more current, easier to use, better designed or more specific. It might mean adding original data, expert quotes, step-by-step visuals or a tool. Ahrefs warns that adding mediocre items to a list or changing a publish date doesn't make a post better.
Reaching out
You pull the list of pages linking to the original and contact the people who run them. Ahrefs found that a major reason the technique fails is that many people copied the same email template word for word, so recipients learned to ignore it. Segmenting prospects by why they linked, and writing a personal note, works far better than mass emails.
Staying within the rules
Outreach that simply asks for a link based on merit is fine. Google's spam policies treat buying or selling links for ranking purposes as link spam, including exchanging money, goods or services for links. If a site asks for payment to add your link, that's no longer the skyscraper technique, and the link should carry a sponsored or nofollow attribute.
How to use the skyscraper technique
- Pick a relevant topic. Choose a subject your customers care about and that connects to what you sell.
- Find the leading pages. Use a backlink tool to find the most-linked pages on that topic, not just one.
- Study why they earned links. Look at the anchor text and the linking pages. Did people cite a statistic, a definition, a chart or a list?
- Find the gaps. Note what's outdated, missing, hard to use or wrong in the existing content.
- Create something clearly better. Add new information, real expertise and a better format. Don't pad it.
- Build a focused prospect list. Include sites linking to several of the leading pages, then remove irrelevant or low-quality sites.
- Write personal outreach. Explain specifically what your page adds and why it helps their readers.
- Keep the page current. Plan a content refresh so your page doesn't become the outdated version someone else improves on.
Common mistakes and misconceptions
- "Longer is better." Turning "15 tools" into "100 tools" adds length, not value. Google says it has no preferred word count.
- Using a copied template. Generic outreach emails are easy to spot and easy to ignore.
- Choosing off-topic targets. A heavily linked page outside your niche may earn links that don't help your business or bring the right visitors.
- Ignoring brand trust. Ahrefs notes that some sites link because they trust the publisher, not just the page. A new site may need to earn that trust over time.
- Paying for placement and calling it outreach. Paid links without the proper attributes break Google's link spam policy.
Skyscraper technique vs. broken link building
Both methods use outreach to sites that already link to a topic. Broken link building finds links pointing to pages that no longer exist, then offers your page as a replacement. That gives the site owner a clear reason to update the link. The skyscraper technique targets links to pages that still work, so you have to convince the site owner that your version is better. Broken link building often has an easier pitch. The skyscraper technique usually requires stronger content.
How Butter approaches the skyscraper technique
We use the core idea, studying what has already earned links, as research rather than a formula. When we look at well-linked pages in a client's niche, we ask what people actually cited and what's missing. The answer often points to something the client has that competitors don't, such as local data, real project examples or expertise from the team.
We focus on creating content that's worth citing for both people and AI tools, then pair it with the monthly AI-crawlable content citation and backlink included in our GEO plan. We don't buy links or send mass outreach, and we can't promise any site will link to a page. Our GEO services page explains how this fits together.
Frequently asked questions
Does the skyscraper technique still work?
It can, but not in its most copied form. In an Ahrefs poll of 1,242 social media respondents, 61% said it still works, though that was a self-selected audience. Results depend on making something genuinely better and writing outreach that isn't a template.
Who created the skyscraper technique?
Brian Dean, the founder of Backlinko, introduced it in a 2013 case study. He laid it out as three steps: find well-linked content, make something better, and ask the sites linking to the original to link to yours.
How long should skyscraper content be?
There's no target length. Google says it has no preferred word count, so the page should be as long as it needs to be to cover the topic better than what already exists.
Is the skyscraper technique white hat?
Yes, when you earn links on merit through honest outreach. It becomes a problem if you pay for links without the right attributes or trade goods or services for them, which Google treats as link spam.