Skyscraper technology: a case study in content SEO link building
Here are the brutal facts about link building:
Too many people in online marketing today think that "quality content" is enough.
They say, "If I post great content, people will naturally link to me."
If only it were that easy...
If you really want to get quality links, you need to be very systematic about creating and promoting your content.
Otherwise, you're taking the "cooked spaghetti approach" to SEO: throw a bunch of stuff at the wall and hope something sticks.
Well, today I'm going to show you a technique that virtually guarantees you quality backlinks from every blog post or any other content you publish.
Continue reading to learn how ......
Skyscraper Technology: (Content Marketing for Link Builders)
On April 18, 2013, I posted Google's 200 ranking factors: the complete list.
Implementation"Skyscraper Technology" after the page'sThe number of backlinks skyrocketed like a rocket:
What's more, the natural search traffic to my entire site (not just that article) in just 14 daysDoubled:
What's even better is that so far this post has attractedOver 2 million referred visitors to my website.
The best part?
You can do the same for your website ......Even if you don't have a Fortune 500 marketing budget or connections to influential bloggers.
3 Steps to Quality Links and Targeted Traffic Using the Skyscraper Technique
The Skyscraper Technique is divided into the following 3 steps:
Step 1:Finding content worth linking to
Step 2:Making things better.
Step 3:Contacting the right people
That's why this technology is so effective (and how it relates to skyscrapers):
Have you ever walked past a very tall building and said to yourself:
"Wow, that's amazing! I want to know how big the eighth tallest building in the world is."
Of course not.
(indicates passive-voice clauses)best thingWhat attracts is human nature.
All you have to do here is find the "tallest skyscraper" in your space ...... Then build 20 floors on top of it.
Suddenly, you have content that everyone wants to talk about (and link to).
present .: The skyscraper technique is just one of the many strategies I use to get ranked on the first page of Google.
Step 1: Locate verified linkable assets
Linkable assets are the foundation of any successful link-centric content marketing campaign (including this one).
I'm not sure who coined the phrase "linkable assets" but it'sideallyDescribes what you want to create: a high-value page that can utilize links over and over again.
Remember, linkable assets are not "12 Things Spider-Man Taught Me About Social Media Marketing" link bait nonsense.
It's so wonderful and so incredibly informative,So useful.So much so that people can't resist logging into their WordPress dashboard and adding a link to your site.
But how do you know if your linkable assets will be a huge success ...... or a complete failure?
It's simple: findAlready generatedLots of linked content.
Step 2: Make things better
Your next step is to take what's there andBlow it out.The
You can take existing content to the next level by..:
Make it longer.
In some cases, posting an article that is longer or contains more items will serve the purpose.
If you find a link magnet titled "50 Healthy Snack Ideas," post a list of 150 (or even 500).
In my case, I decided to list all 200 ranking factors ...... Otherwise it's dead.
The first 50 are easy. 50-100 are very hard. 100-150 are very hard.very muchDifficult. And 150-200 is almost impossible.
I drank 10 gallons of coffee and sat in front of my laptop for 20 hours (don't worry, I went to the bathroom) ......
...... But in the end, I got something significantly better than anything else.
Update More
If you can organize your outdated content in a more beautiful way, you've succeeded.
For example, most other lists of ranking factors are severely outdated and lack important ranking factors such as social signals:
If you find that some content contains old information, create some content that covers many of the same points ...... but update it with cutting edge content.
Better Design
Sometimes visually stunning content can generate a lot of backlinks and social compared to similar content on an ugly page.
Just check out Help Scout's customer acquisition strategy for entrepreneurs:
This guide is a curated list of links to other internet marketing sites.
Due to its beautiful design, the page has attractedLots of attention.
For my guide, I added a nice banner at the top:
more thorough
Most list posts are just bland lists of bullet points with nothing important that people can actually use.
However, if you add a little bit of depth to each item on your list, then you'll have a more valuable list post and a chance to be the top performing blog post for that targeted keyword.
For my part, I've noticed a lack of reference and detail in other lists of ranking factors:
So I make sure that each point on the list has a short description (with references):
Important Tip:I suggest that youAt all levelsGo beyond existing content: length, design, current information, etc.
This will objectively show that you have better content.
This is really important when you start spreading the word ......
Step 3: Contacting the right people
Email promotion is the key to skyscraper technology.
It's similar to direct link begging, but with a very important twist.
Instead of sending promotional emails to random people, you can contactAlready linked to similar contentSite Owner.
You'll know when you've identified such a prospect:
1. they operate a website related to your field.
2. they are interested in your topic.
3. They have linked to articles on the subject.
Now it's just a friendly reminder that your content is significantly better.
The method of operation is as follows:
1.Export all links pointing to competitor content to a spreadsheet.
2.Remove referral pages that have no meaningful connection (forums, article directories, etc.). In my case, after cleaning up the list, I have a list of 160very muchEmail lists of reliable prospects.
3.I used this template to email all 160 individuals:
hey[Name](math.) genus
I was searching today for some information about[Your Topic]article and then I stumbled upon this page:[URL]
I noticed you linked to one of my favorite articles - the [Title of article]
Just wanted to let you know I wrote a similar post.
It is similar to[Name of article], but more comprehensive and updated:
[URL]
Might be worth mentioning on your page.
Anyway, keep up the excellent work!
Cheers.
[Your name]
(I obviously personalized and adapted this template for each person I contacted.)
Even I was shocked at how positive the feedback was:
I got 17 links out of 160 emails:The success rate is 11%.
Considering that these are cold emails that ask for a link in the first email, the success rate of 11% is quite impressive.
You may be thinking, "17 links, that's it?" .
But remember, the key is mass (in physics), not quantity.
There are a lot of gems in that set of 17 links.
Also, look at the dramatic increase in organic traffic these 17 links have brought me (in a very short period of time).
Obviously, the page has several naturally occurring links, but some of the best ones come from Skyscraper Technology.
Try it now.
I hope you see the potential of skyscraper technology for your website and business.
Yes, it takes hard work to create great things.
But through this strategy, theYou already know in advanceYour hard work will be rewarded (and that goes along with posting a lot of content hopefully!some(Being able to spread the word quickly is different).