Skyscraper Technique 2.0: The Way to Get Qualified SEO Traffic

The Skyscraper Technique was and is one of the SEO strategies best known by all of us who are dedicated to web positioning.

It consists of creating content that is superior to those that are currently positioned for a certain keyword and that, in this way, our content surpasses said content since ours has a much higher quality.

This strategy continues to be talked about even in 2021, however I have discovered based on experience that this approach has become very outdated and that today it is not the SEO mentality that we must have if we want to compete in the rankings.

In this post I am going to explain why I think that and what is the approach that I think we should have, that is why I have called it Skyscraper Technique 2.0 😉

Let us begin!

What is the Skyscraper Technique?

This technique created by Brian Dean from Backlinko consists of creating content that is better than what is currently positioned in Google and that, in this way, we can obtain more links for our website.

And what do we mean by BEST?

We mean that there are 4 differentials that can help you get better content:

• Make more updated content than those that are currently positioned.
• Create a much longer content in terms of the length of the blog post.
• Design much more attractive content for users.
• Write a more complete content than those that are currently positioned.

I must admit that for a long time I had this approach to create content, but little by little Google made me realize that this is not the side that the browser or the algorithm wants to go.

Example of content created using the Skyscraper Technique

Suppose I want to position myself for the keyword: “digital marketing agencies in Spain”:

As we see many are lists of "top best" "the 10 best", etc etc.

Therefore, if I wanted to apply Skyscraper's strategy, what I would have to do would be: create better formatted content that contains the 100 best agencies in Spain.

The reason this no longer works

This approach no longer works.

Why do I say this?

Because this kind of thing is not aligned with what Google expects from good content. At least today they are not completely aligned and there are other strategies that we can apply to obtain more and better results.

That is why I am going to give a very specific example.

A few months ago I developed a content about Blogspot , the Blogger platform.

In that content I did something very peculiar, instead of creating the typical content of: "why you should use blogspot and what are its advantages" I based it on exactly the opposite, that is: "why you should NOT use blogspot".

From one day to the next it became my most visited blog content in the last 15 days:

And it is currently in the 2nd position for the keyword “blogspot” in Spain:

Why did this happen so quickly?

Because I have used a different approach, a much more engaging approach than the typical “pros and cons” of a platform or tool.

Skyscraper Technique 2.0

This is how the Skyscraper Technique 2.0 was born.

To execute this strategy we must think: what can make my content more original than the one that is currently positioned in the first 3 Google results?

Answering that question and executing is that you will get the first or second position of the SERP's .

Skyscraper Technique 2.0 Example

If we want to create a post like the one mentioned above about digital marketing agencies in Spain, what we can do to ensure that it is perfect content is:

• Send an email to each of them requesting more information.
• Offer an interview or pass questions to agency directors for answers.
• Create the content in PDF format so that it can be downloaded.
• Research reviews and user opinions on Google My Business .
• Create small tools or small platforms that help position the keyword.
• Invest in web design to find a differential with respect to the rest of the competitors.

This will make you absolutely stand out from the other posts, as 99% of them will list the first agencies found in the search results and do absolutely nothing else. That is not helpful to the user. Users need more information, a more "journalistic" and informative job than any human being can do by reading in just 5 seconds.

Besides, what will you get with this?

You will make your content so epic that the barrier to entry to fight for that keyword is higher.

Ways to make the best possible content for a keyword

• Get data and statistics that are out of the ordinary and act as a differentiator (That's why the case studies are so successful).
• Give away downloadable content to your users that add value according to the theme of your blog post.
• Find the opposite angle to the one that everyone is looking for using advanced keyword research, measuring the search intention to the maximum and putting yourself in the place of the user.