Death of the Skyscraper: Why Information Gain Wins in GEO

The Skyscraper Technique is losing its edge. For years, SEO pros relied on a simple formula: find top-ranking content, make it longer and more comprehensive, then watch the rankings roll in. But in 2025, that playbook is breaking down.

Google's "Information Gain" patent and modern AI answer engines have changed the rules. They're not looking for longer content anymore—they're hunting for different content. Content that adds something new to the conversation. Content that fills knowledge gaps rather than echoing what's already out there.

If your strategy is still "write more," you're fighting yesterday's battle. AI engines compress redundant information into background noise. To get cited, you need to stand out from the dataset, not blend into it.

What is Information Gain in SEO?

Information Gain measures the unique value your content adds compared to what already exists on a topic.

The concept comes from Google's patent for "Contextual Estimation of Link Information Gain." Instead of rewarding comprehensiveness, it rewards novelty. This fundamentally changes what "good content" means.

Traditional SEO encouraged creating "Consensus Content"—analyzing the top 10 results and combining them into one mega-guide. That worked when humans clicked through blue links. But AI answer engines work differently.

Think of AI models as compression engines. When 1,000 articles repeat the same definition of "SEO," the AI treats it as common knowledge—a single data point in its training. To earn a citation, you need to provide something the model hasn't seen before: a new data point, a counter-narrative, or a unique expert perspective.

The Key Shift

Old SEO (Skyscraper): "Cover everything competitors covered, plus more."

New GEO (Information Gain): "Provide the one fact or angle missing from the dataset."

Why the Skyscraper Technique Failed in the AI Era

The Skyscraper Technique prioritized "completeness" over "efficiency," creating content saturation that AI engines actively filter out.

1. The Content Saturation Problem

When everyone uses the same SEO tools to reverse-engineer the same competitors, the web becomes homogenous. AI engines building answers need diverse sources to construct robust responses. If your content is 90% identical to existing sources, the AI has no incentive to cite you over the original authority.

You become part of the redundant background, not a unique signal.

2. Token Efficiency and Context Windows

AI models operate within "context windows"—the limit of text they can process at once. Processing long, padded content is computationally expensive and increases the risk of hallucination or degraded accuracy.

AI engines prefer: Concise, fact-dense inputs (high information-to-token ratio)

Skyscraper reality: Verbose, padded content (low information-to-token ratio)

The Bottom Line

A 500-word article with unique data is more likely to be cited than a 5,000-word guide rehashing the same points everyone else makes. Generative engines favor structured, succinct information over narrative fluff.

How to Optimize for Information Gain

To achieve Information Gain, inject proprietary data, contrarian perspectives, or direct expert experience that doesn't exist in the AI's general training data.

1. Proprietary Data & Original Research

The strongest form of Information Gain is data only you possess.

Instead of: "SEO is changing."

Write: "Analysis of 50,000 queries shows that 88% of brands are invisible in AI answers."

Why it works: The AI cannot hallucinate specific numbers. It must cite the source to provide the answer.

2. Experience-Based Nuance (E-E-A-T)

Generic advice is a commodity. Personal experience is a differentiator.

Use "I" and "we" statements backed by specific case studies.

Example: "In our testing with enterprise clients, we found that removing generic introductions increased citation rates by 15%."

3. Citation-Ready Formatting

Even unique information gets ignored if AI can't parse it easily.

Structure your insights for immediate ingestion:

• Tables for comparative data (SEO vs. GEO metrics)

• Bullet points for features and lists

• Bold statements for core definitions and claims

• Short paragraphs (2-3 sentences max) for each distinct idea

How to Operationalize Information Gain

Identifying knowledge gaps at scale is the hard part. Traditional SEO tools show you keyword volume, but they don't reveal what's missing from the conversation.

This is where tools like Deca change the approach. Instead of helping you mimic top-ranking pages, Deca helps you find the specific questions that aren't being answered adequately.

Target Prompt Discovery: Deca analyzes conversational intent to find "sub-prompts" where users are looking for specific, nuanced answers that current content doesn't address.

Entity Density Scoring: Rather than keyword stuffing, Deca ensures your content is rich in specific entities (names, places, concepts, data) that AI models use to map knowledge.

Unified Workflow: Deca's multi-agent system structures your unique insights into formats ready for immediate ingestion by answer engines.

With Deca, you're no longer competing for space—you're competing for value.

Conclusion

The era of building "taller" content is over. Now, it's all about building smarter content.

To win in GEO, stop repeating the consensus and start filling knowledge gaps. Focus on Information Gain—providing the unique data, fresh perspectives, and expert experiences that AI engines are desperate to find.

The question isn't "How can I write more?" anymore. It's "What can I say that no one else is saying?"

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FAQs

What is the Skyscraper Technique?

The Skyscraper Technique is a traditional SEO strategy where content creators identify top-performing content and create a "taller" (longer, more comprehensive) version to steal backlinks and rankings.

Does Google really measure Information Gain?

Yes. Google filed a patent for "Contextual Estimation of Link Information Gain" in 2018 (granted in 2022), which describes a system for scoring documents based on the new information they provide relative to a user's previous reads.

How do I know if my content has Information Gain?

Ask yourself: "If an AI read the top 10 results for this topic, would it learn anything new from my article?" If the answer is no, you have zero Information Gain.

Why do AI engines prefer concise content?

AI models have limited context windows and processing power. They favor information-dense content because it's easier to parse, cheaper to process, and less prone to errors than long, unstructured text.

Is long-form content dead?

Not entirely, but "length for length's sake" is dead. Long-form content is only valuable if every section provides unique value. If you're padding word counts to hit a target, you're hurting your GEO performance.

Can Deca help me find unique topics?

Yes. Deca's Persona Analysis and Target Prompt agents identify specific user questions and intent gaps that traditional keyword tools overlook, helping you create content with high Information Gain.

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References

• Google Patent: Contextual Estimation of Link Information Gain

• Search Engine Land: What is Information Gain in SEO?

• Clearscope: Information Gain in SEO

• Backlinko: The Skyscraper Technique

• Deca: Brand Research & GEO Methodology