10x Content

Overview

10x content is a content strategy concept that calls for producing work ten times better than whatever currently sits atop the search results for a given keyword or topic. Rand Fishkin—Moz co-founder and now SparkToro's CEO—introduced the idea in a 2015 Whiteboard Friday titled "Why Good Unique Content Needs to Die." His central argument was that merely "good, unique" content is no longer enough: rather than matching the top competitors, you have to create something decisively superior to them. As Fishkin put it, don't aim to be as good as the top ten results—ask how you can make something ten times better than what they're doing.

The concept isn't limited to blog posts. It applies to any format, whether that's a landing page, an infographic, a video, a podcast, or an interactive tool. It stems from a simple realization: in an environment already saturated with content, earning search rankings requires output that is so clearly superior that neither search engines nor users can ignore it.

Criteria for 10x Content

The conditions Rand Fishkin laid out for 10x content are as follows.

• UX and design: Delivers a uniquely positive user experience through interface, visuals, layout, typography, and patterns.
• Depth and comprehensiveness: Stands well apart from other results on similar topics in scope and detail, answering the question comprehensively.
• Trustworthiness: Is high-quality, credible, and useful, demonstrating authority through clearly sourced information.
• Originality and emotional resonance: As genuinely original content, it is impressive in some way and provokes an emotional response from users.

How to Create It

The practical production approach outlined by Ahrefs and Search Engine Land is as follows; sources are listed in the references section below.

• Analyze competing content: Thoroughly study the top-ranking content for your target topic to understand what drives its success and where gaps and room for improvement remain.
• Establish authority: Build trust by adding author bios, firsthand experience, expert interviews, and research statistics or first-party data.
• Add depth: Through better research, multiple angles, and concrete steps and examples, answer the follow-up questions competitors leave untouched.
• Optimize UX: Refine clear structure, jump links, the mobile experience, page speed, and readability.
• Prioritize quality: Put quality ahead of scalability. If content is easy to mass-produce, it probably isn't at the 10x level.
• Earn backlinks naturally: When quality is high, other creators link to it on their own, so backlinks follow naturally.

Execution Checklist

• Have you read the current top ten results for the target keyword yourself and mapped their strengths and gaps in a table?
• Have you covered the follow-up questions and related queries that competing content leaves unanswered?
• Have you established trust through at least one of author authority, first-party data, or expert citation?
• Have you secured originality through a distinctive perspective or firsthand experience?
• Do original diagrams, screenshots, or interactive elements aid understanding?
• Have you checked mobile readability, page speed, and structure (headings and jump links)?
• Do you have a plan to maintain freshness through periodic updates?

References and Sources

• SparkToro — 121 Examples of 10X Content (by Rand Fishkin)
• Ahrefs SEO Glossary — What is 10x Content?
• Search Engine Land — What is 10x content? How to create content that ranks