What they did
SearchPilot added internal links from each regional page to its six nearest neighbouring regional pages, roughly twelve extra links per page. They ran it as a controlled split test across about 8,000 US regional pages, with a control group getting no new links so the effect could be isolated from outside factors.
What they found
The pages that received the extra internal links saw a 7% uplift in organic traffic compared with the control group. The gain came from spreading existing internal link equity to geographically close pages rather than from any content change.
How much weight to give it
With around 8,000 pages split into control and variant, this is a well-powered controlled test, so the 7% lift is credible for this site. It backs the idea that thoughtful internal linking between related pages moves organic traffic.
What it doesn't prove
The site had thousands of near-identical regional pages with link equity to spare, which is the ideal setup for this kind of gain. A smaller site, or one without a dense set of similar pages, should not assume the same 7%.