The skyscraper technique is a content and link building method where you find a page in your niche that already has a strong number of backlinks, publish something clearly better on the same topic, then tell the sites linking to the original that your version exists. Brian Dean at Backlinko named it in 2015, and it still works today when the "better" part is real rather than just longer.
The skyscraper technique is a three-step method for building content and backlinks together: find content in your niche that already earns a strong number of referring domains, create a page that beats it on depth, accuracy, freshness, or design, then contact the sites linking to the original and let them know your page exists. Brian Dean published the original case study in 2013 and gave the method its name in 2015.
The name comes from a simple idea. If you want to build the tallest building on the block, you don't guess at a height. You look at the tallest one standing, then build past it. Applied to content, that means researching what already earns links in your topic before you write a word, rather than publishing first and hoping links show up.
It sits squarely in the informational, how-to corner of content strategy rather than a quick tactic. You are producing a real asset, not just sending emails, which is why the research and the writing matter as much as the outreach that follows.
The skyscraper technique works in three steps: find content in your topic that already has a healthy number of referring domains, build something more current, complete, or better designed than it, then reach out to the people already linking to the original with your improved version. Each step feeds the next. Skip the research and you are guessing at what counts as link-worthy. Skip the outreach and even a genuinely better page can sit unread.
Ahrefs, whose Site Explorer and Content Explorer tools are built for exactly this kind of research, recommends targeting pages with at least 50 referring domains as a starting filter, since anything smaller may not prove the topic attracts links at all.
| Step | What it means | Where to start |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Find | Locate a page in your niche with a strong number of referring domains, not just high rankings | Ahrefs Site Explorer, Content Explorer, or a plain Google search for the topic plus "guide" or "statistics" |
| 2. Build | Make a page that is more current, more thorough, better designed, or backed by original data | Update the numbers, add a case study or dataset, commission real graphics, cut the fluff |
| 3. Reach out | Contact the sites already linking to the original and explain what your version adds | Pull the original's backlink list, find a named contact, send a short and specific email |
Brian Dean's original 2013 case study is still the clearest example: he rewrote a competitor's "Google ranking factors" list into a more complete version, then emailed 160 people who linked to the original. Seventeen of them linked to his page instead, an 11% success rate, and organic traffic to the page grew 110% within 14 days. Dean has said the single article has pulled in more than 2 million referral visitors since it went live.
The result held up because every part of the method pointed the same direction. Dean picked a page that had already proven people would link to that topic, he made a version that was genuinely more complete, and he asked the exact people who had already shown they were willing to link there. None of the three steps compensated for a missing one.
Yes, but it is harder than it was in 2013. Search Engine Land's 2026 breakdown of the method, citing an analysis from SerpReach, found that a majority of SEOs still believe the technique works, while actual outreach success on new campaigns has fallen well below what Dean saw in his original run. The gap is usually the word "better." Adding a few thousand words and some stock photos to an existing guide no longer earns a link, because editors have seen that move before and they can tell.
Ahrefs' own guide to the method points at five specific failure patterns that explain most of the drop-off: reusing Dean's original outreach template until it is instantly recognizable as a form email, not segmenting prospects by why they actually linked to the original page, contacting too few people instead of expanding past the original article's own backlink list, assuming more list items automatically beats a shorter, more curated one, and pitching a page from a brand nobody has heard of as if reputation does not matter. Most of those are link building mistakes, not content mistakes, which is why they show up again in our broader guide to how to build backlinks.
Dean's original four levers still hold up: make it longer where length adds real value, more up to date, better designed, and more thorough. What has changed is the bar. In 2013, a longer list was often enough. In 2026, reviewers expect something none of the existing pages have: original data from a survey or your own analytics, a first-hand example, a tool or calculator, or visuals built specifically for the page rather than stock photography.
Design carries more weight than most writers give it credit for. A page with custom charts, a clean layout, and fast load times reads as more trustworthy before anyone finishes the first paragraph, and that first impression often decides whether a busy editor keeps reading long enough to consider linking. Once the asset itself is solid, the actual writing craft, from the outline through the edit pass, is what turns research into something people finish reading; our how to write an article guide walks through that process end to end.
None of this requires starting from a blank page every time, either. A post you already published can become skyscraper-worthy with a real update rather than a rewrite, which is the same logic behind our guide to repurposing blog content.
Expect a single-digit to low double-digit number of new links from one focused campaign, not hundreds. Two real, documented campaigns show the range. Brian Dean's 2013 push sent 160 emails and landed 17 links, an 11% success rate. When Ahrefs ran a similar outreach campaign for their own SEO statistics page, they sent 515 emails, had 473 actually delivered, received 83 replies (a 17.55% reply rate), and converted 27 of those into links, a 5.71% conversion rate on delivered emails, for 36 total backlinks from 32 referring domains.
Link quality varied too. Of the 32 referring domains in Ahrefs' campaign, 9 had a Domain Rating of 70 or higher, 12 sat between 40 and 69, and 11 were lower authority sites between 4 and 39. That spread is normal. A real campaign earns a mix, not a uniform set of top-tier links, and even a handful of high-authority links from a focused push is a strong outcome.
Outreach fails for the same reason cold email always fails: it reads like it was sent to a thousand people at once. Reference the specific page you found their link on, name the exact section or example your page improves, and make one clear ask instead of a paragraph of options. Search Engine Land's 2026 guide makes the case for going further and building the relationship before you need anything: commenting on someone's work, engaging with what they publish, and becoming a familiar name in their inbox for 60 to 90 days before you ever send the pitch.
A handful of tools remove the manual grind of prospecting and tracking replies without replacing the personalization itself; our content marketing tools roundup covers the research, outreach, and analytics tools worth paying for at each stage.
Send one polite follow-up if you hear nothing after about a week, then move on. Chasing a non-response past that point rarely converts, and it costs you time you could spend on the next prospect.
Yes, indirectly. AI systems build answers from pages that other authoritative sites already link to and mention, so the same editorial links a skyscraper campaign earns also raise the odds an AI engine cites your page. A Princeton and IIT Delhi study presented at KDD 2024 found that citing named sources and adding statistics or quotations can lift a page's visibility in AI-generated answers by more than 40%, which happens to describe exactly the kind of content a well-run skyscraper campaign produces.
We have seen the overlap play out with a real client. After a white-hat link building push built on the same principles covered here, LiveHelpNow grew to more than 3,000 monthly organic visits and started getting cited in Google's AI Overviews. The links and the citations came from the same underlying work: content worth linking to, earned the honest way.
What is the skyscraper technique in content marketing? It is a three-step method for building content and links together: find a page in your niche with a strong number of referring domains, publish something clearly better than it, then reach out to the sites already linking to the original with your improved version.
Who invented the skyscraper technique? Brian Dean, founder of Backlinko, published the original case study in April 2013 and gave the method its name in 2015. It remains one of the most widely taught link building strategies in SEO.
Does the skyscraper technique still work in 2026? Yes, though it takes more effort than it did in 2013. Editors have seen enough padded "better" versions that superficial improvements no longer earn links; original data, real design work, and personalized outreach are what separate a page that gets links from one that gets ignored.
How many referring domains should the content you're trying to beat already have? Ahrefs recommends targeting pages with at least 50 referring domains as a starting filter. Fewer than that and you can't be confident the topic reliably attracts links at all, regardless of how good your version turns out.
How many backlinks does a typical skyscraper campaign earn? Expect a single-digit to low double-digit number from one focused campaign. Brian Dean's original run landed 17 links from 160 emails. Ahrefs' comparable campaign for its own SEO statistics page earned 36 backlinks from 32 referring domains after sending 515 emails.
How long does a skyscraper campaign take? Building a genuinely better page can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks depending on how much original research or design it needs. Outreach then runs in its own cycle, usually several weeks of sending, following up once, and tracking replies.
Is the skyscraper technique the same as guest posting? No. Guest posting means writing content for someone else's site in exchange for a link. The skyscraper technique means publishing content on your own site and asking other sites to link to it instead of a competing page, which keeps the asset and its future value on your own domain.
Can the skyscraper technique help with AI Overviews and AI search? Indirectly, yes. AI systems tend to cite pages that other authoritative sites already link to and mention, so the editorial links a skyscraper campaign earns also raise your odds of being cited in an AI-generated answer, especially when the page includes named sources and real data.
What is the biggest reason skyscraper campaigns fail? Reusing the same outreach email template everyone else uses, and confusing "longer" with "better." Ahrefs' own review of the method points to both as the most common failure patterns, along with only contacting the original article's backlinkers instead of a wider prospect list.
What tools do you need to run a skyscraper campaign? A backlink research tool such as Ahrefs or Semrush to find target pages and their linking sites, an email finder to locate the right contact, and a simple spreadsheet or CRM to track outreach. None of it is required to start; a single well-chosen target and a personal email will get you your first result.
Pick one topic where you already have a foothold, find the page in that space with the strongest backlink profile, and be honest about whether you can actually beat it before you start writing. If the answer is yes, budget real time for outreach, not just content. If you want a second opinion on which of your existing pages are close to skyscraper-worthy already, request a free SEO audit from Rankite and we will show you where the fastest wins are.
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