Looking for a new way to increase web traffic, establish your expertise and ultimately drive more customers to your business?

We were intrigued recently to read about a content marketing methodology called the skyscraper technique.

Popularized by Brian Dean of Backlinko (which makes sense, duh), it’s a content marketing strategy that’s built on creating high-quality content to naturally attract backlinks to your website to improve your SERP results.

As you likely know, a backlink (also referred to as an inbound link) is a link to your website from someone else’s. And the more you have, the better.

But there’s a catch. Search engines have become smarter at recognizing fake backlinks and shady practices to manipulate rankings. This is where the skyscraper technique comes into play.

Creating next-level content
So how do you start building backlinks using the skyscraper technique?

Here’s how it works:

Find link-worthy content that resonates with your target audience. Research your industry to identify existing website content that already has a high number of backlinks.

Check out online magazines or blogs in your niche to see what topics are successful and what keywords are being used. (Tools like Ahrefs and Moz can also help by analyzing your competitors’ backlink profiles.)

Create content that’s even more valuable and comprehensive. This step is all about building on existing content. The end goal is never to duplicate and regurgitate the content from another post,  but rather to turn it into something to make it more relevant, actionable and shareable.

Dig deeper into a topic. This could mean turning an infographic into a data-driven case study or transforming a how-to list into an instructional video.

Get people to link it. Reach out to websites that link similar content and share your new and improved version. Craft personalized outreach emails to the appropriate contacts, covering specific details about their content and why yours would strike a chord with their audience. You might consider using outreach tools like Snov-io for finding email addresses associated with a particular domain.

This step can be the beginning of ongoing relationships with other businesses in your industry. You may offer to share their content on your platforms to reciprocate the favor.

Track and measure results. Monitor your backlink profile, website traffic and SERP rankings to gauge the effectiveness of your link-building efforts. When you know what works and what doesn’t, you can refine your approach for better results.

Rinse and repeat. The skyscraper technique isn’t a one-and-done method of cranking up your credibility and visibility. You have to keep at it to maintain results.

Reach new heights in the effectiveness of your content
By creating valuable content, branching out to relevant stakeholders and consistently implementing the skyscraper technique, your brand will have a better chance of standing out in a crowded page of search engine results.