What Is The Skyscraper Method

1. Introduction

• Concept Definition: In a narrow sense, the skyscraper methodology is a principle for writing a long and high-quality article to maximize its value to the reader. In a border sense, it is similar to the general system design principle of "low coupling and high cohesion”.
• Concept Founder: This concept was first proposed by Brian Dean (founder of Backlinko) in a link building strategy article in 2015.
• Concept Advantage: The method is a good guideline to produce high-quality content. It is also a design principle when managing a complex relationship between two systems.

2. How To Demonstrate It?

• One of the most significant use cases of the internet is to search for answers.
• Google" s algorithm always tries to find the most helpful answer to a particular search request.
• By analyzing the top 3 most searched answers of thousand keywords, it becomes clear that longer articles have a higher chance of being presented at the top of google search results.
• Given the quality of two articles on the same topic is the same, the longer article will always provide more value to the reader.
• Content value = content quality * content length
• The value is created for the reader because the article covers all information that he was searching for. The reader can easily share the entire article with another person by sending him a direct link.
• If the information in one article were split into five pieces, the user would need to jump to another article one by one, and he would need to send five links to his friend. The user would not know which one to read first. The reading and sharing experience would be much worse.
• Content creators have named these articles "skyscrapers" because they are so long and contain so much helpful information, like a tall skyscraper.
• Another good way would be to call them “all-in-one” articles, where everything is in one document.
• The core value added is created by providing simple user access (òne article) but having a lot of content behind the interface (tons of information in the article).
• In a more general sense, the skyscraper principle is to minimize the user interface complexity and to maximize the content hidden behind it.

3. Where Can It Be Applied?

When building a connection between two systems, it is wise to create low coupling and high cohesion. In our previous case, we were trying to link the information system to the user system. We could have made five smaller articles (=5 connections to the user system), but the best way would be to create one extensive article (= one connection to the user system). Here are more concrete examples:

• Stock market: The direct actions of any investor in the stock market are to buy and sell. The actions interface is simple because only two options are provided. The content is the total sum of actions of all users. The market moves every second and is very dynamic. The content complexity caused by simple actions (buy and sell) is massive. This design makes the game easy to enter but hard to master.
• Chess: Chess only has six types of pieces, but there are more than 500 patterns of chess pieces. Only six actual actions can create immense content possibilities. Again, here we see the minimal user interface but huge content or complexity caused by simple steps.
• League of legends game: A good game such as league of legends only provides four buttons to press for the users. When pressed at a different time, the same button can mean different things. Character actions are used for attacking, mobility, or defense. Like the stock market or chess, timing plays a huge role. The variety of playstyles created by these four simple actions is the game's content.
• Programming Libraries: A profound programming language library in any language provides an easy interface and hides all the complexity behind the interfaces. The user using the interface will not need to know how a particular function works, but he will still get the expected results. Sound libraries are, for example, Python libraries or JQuery, where users can use a simple line to calculate a very complex logic. The actual complexity is hidden in the library from the user.
• Apple iPhone design: iPhone provides only limited customization options, but each function is sophisticated enough to cover all the daily usage. This design makes the iPhone one of the most accessible phones to use and makes it popular due to its simplicity.

4. Why Does It Exist?

• Best User experience: It exists because it maximizes the consumer’s experience. No matter if you are writing an article, creating a PowerPoint presentation, or formalizing other information, minimizing the user interface complexity and maximizing the content hidden behind it is a good design guideline.
• Less is more: It exists because it is convenient. The lower the entry barrier for any audience, the more people will be able to access it. This accessibility increases the value of the content behind it. The more people use it, the more value it has.
• Quantity gives Option: It is always better to provide more information on a topic than less information. The audience has the choice to skip the less important part. If the content quantity is low, then the reader does not have much choice but regard all information available.

5. How Do I Benefit From It?

• Do: Create long articles, all-in-one guides, and ultimate guides on any topic by adding all aspects of it together. This provides the highest value to the content consumer because everything is at one place.
• Don’t: Do not force yourself to write long content, if the content quality itself is bad. Ensure a good quality level first, and then produce as much as possible on the same quality standard.