The skyscraper technique for building links

The skyscraper technique is a link building method from Brian Dean of Backlinko: find a page that already has many links, publish a clearly better version, then email the sites that linked to the original. It suits topics people cite as a reference (statistics, definitions, tools), where you can add something measurable. It is mostly a bet on outreach, and Ahrefs describes the technique as oversaturated.

How to do it

1. Find a link-worthy page. Search your main phrase, then check the top results in a backlink tool. In Ahrefs Site Explorer, the "Best by backlinks" report lists a site's pages by referring domains, and Ahrefs suggests pages with more than 50 referring domains as likely targets.
2. Decide what "better" means before you write. Newer data, a fixed error, a calculator, clearer structure. Length alone is not a reason to link: a list that goes from 15 items to 30 gives a site owner no new reason to swap a link.
3. Build the prospect list. Take the sites that link to the original, plus the sites linking to the other top-ranking pages for the same phrase. Group them by why they linked (the Anchors report shows what each link points at), so you can pitch each group the specific thing you improved.
4. Write your own email. Mention their page, the exact link, and what is new on yours. Do not paste a template word for word.
5. Send, then track which sites linked, and which did not, so the next piece of content can learn from it. For help with the email itself, see cold email copywriting.

Examples

Backlinko. Dean wrote up his own run of the method. He reports sending 160 outreach emails for one post and landing 17 links, an 11% rate, and says organic search traffic to his site doubled in 14 days. That is one site, one post, and numbers Dean reported himself.

Ahrefs. In its own guide to the technique, Ahrefs says it grouped sites by the statistic they had linked to on its SEO statistics post, then told each group about the updated figure for that statistic. It published a case study of that outreach.

When it backfires

• It is crowded. Ahrefs wrote in 2023 that the technique has been oversaturated and may be less effective. It also cites Aira's State of Link Building report, where only 18% of SEOs said they still use it, ranking it 20th among tactics.
• Copied templates get deleted. Ahrefs says many SEOs used Dean's original email template word for word, and that recipients now delete it on sight.
• Offering money or swaps breaks Google's rules. Google's spam policy lists exchanging money or goods for links, excessive "link to me and I'll link to you" exchanges, and paid advertorials or guest posts whose links use keyword-rich anchor text as link spam. Asking an editor to consider a better resource is a different thing from buying or trading the link.
• The content is the cost. You can spend weeks on a better page and get no links. Dean's 11% is from his own site and cannot be used as a forecast for yours.

Questions people ask

What is the skyscraper technique in SEO? Improve an existing popular page, then ask the sites that linked to the original to look at yours. The three steps in Backlinko's write-up are find link-worthy content, make something even better, and reach out to the right people.

Is skyscraper content the same thing? Skyscraper content is the improved page. The technique includes the outreach that follows it.

Does the skyscraper method still work? Ahrefs says the logic still holds (create great content, then reach out to people), but that the common failures are template emails, unsegmented prospects, small prospect lists and assuming bigger is better.

Sources

• Backlinko: The Skyscraper Technique, read Oct 8, 2026
• Ahrefs: Skyscraper Technique guide, read Oct 8, 2026
• Google Search spam policies, read Oct 8, 2026