Marketing · Backlinko founder and SEO educator
Brian Dean Turned Better Content into a Repeatable SEO Experiment
The breakthrough was not simply writing more. It was making something worth referencing and helping the right people find it.
How did Brian Dean succeed?
Brian Dean built Backlinko's reputation by explaining SEO through practical case studies. His Skyscraper Technique combines finding a resource that already earns links, creating a meaningfully better alternative, and contacting relevant publishers. It connects content quality with distribution, but does not guarantee links or rankings.
The story
Brian Dean's best-known contribution to marketing education began with a specific publishing experiment rather than a broad declaration of expertise. In 2013, he introduced the Skyscraper Technique on Backlinko. His case study described publishing a resource about Google's ranking factors and then deliberately promoting it. The story's transferable value lies in that sequence: content development and distribution were designed together, not treated as unrelated tasks.
Dean challenged the assumption that good work automatically attracts links. A useful article can remain invisible if the people who might cite it never see it. Conversely, aggressive outreach cannot rescue a resource that offers no reason to replace an existing reference. His three-step method put both problems into one workflow: find link-worthy material, improve it, and identify people for whom the improvement is relevant.
The first step is research into demonstrated demand. An existing resource with editorial links suggests that publishers have found a reason to reference the subject. That is more informative than choosing a keyword only because its search volume is large. It does not establish that every backlink is legitimate or that a topic suits your business. You still need to examine the audience, the source of those links, and whether you can contribute something genuinely useful.
The second step is where imitation can go wrong. Better does not mean copying an article and adding more paragraphs. It might mean updating obsolete evidence, clarifying a confusing procedure, supplying an original comparison, or creating a tool that saves the reader work. Dean's method is strongest when the improvement is easy to explain. If a publisher asks why the new resource deserves attention, the answer should identify a reader benefit rather than a word count.
The third step is targeted distribution. Relevant publishers may already have covered the subject or linked to a related resource. A concise message can explain what is new and why it may help their readers. The decision to link remains theirs. Mass emailing, invented compliments, and paying for undisclosed links are not the educational lesson. Outreach is an invitation to evaluate useful work, not a mechanism for demanding editorial approval.
Dean's published results describe a historical experiment under particular conditions. Search systems, competing content, and inbox behavior change. Beginners should study the structure of the experiment rather than assume its reported traffic increase is a forecast. His practical education offers a stronger lesson than any promise of a ranking shortcut: publish with a hypothesis, make the value visible, and examine the result honestly.
The Cheat Code: shortcuts that worked
1. Find a Reference, Not Just a Keyword
Look for material that relevant publishers already cite. Examine why it earns those references, and decide whether the underlying reader need is one you can serve.
2. Name Your Improvement in One Sentence
Before writing, finish the sentence: this resource is more useful because it supplies this missing evidence, tool, or explanation. If you cannot name the difference, you may only be making a longer duplicate.
3. Build the Outreach List First
Identify a small group of appropriate publishers while researching. Their audience needs can help shape the resource, and you avoid finishing an article with no sensible distribution path.
4. Record the Nonresponses
Measure the whole outreach attempt, including rejections and silence. A handful of links without the denominator can make an expensive process look more effective than it was.
Your plan to do the same
- Select a subject directly connected to your product or expertise.
- Review five frequently cited resources and document what each leaves unresolved.
- Produce one original improvement and verify every factual claim.
- Contact a small, relevant publisher list with an individual explanation of the benefit.
- Track editorial links, referral visits, useful actions, and work hours separately.
- Revise the resource or distribution hypothesis based on the full results.
Frequently asked questions
What is Brian Dean's Skyscraper Technique?
It is a content and outreach method: find link-worthy content, create a better resource, and tell relevant publishers about it. The improvement must provide reader value, not merely extra length.
Does the Skyscraper Technique guarantee rankings?
No. Links, content quality, competition, technical accessibility, and search systems all affect outcomes. Dean's historical case study is an example, not a guaranteed result for a new site.
Can a small website try this approach?
Yes, especially on a narrow subject where it can provide original expertise or evidence. Keep outreach targeted and judge the outcome relative to the time and money invested.