The SEO Strategies Cyrus Shepard Discovered After Analyzing 23 Million Internal Links

Do you want to know the optimal number of internal links you should build to new pages? Or how about which anchor texts will get you the best results? In this episode of the Niche Pursuits podcast, long-time SEO expert Cyrus Shepard shares some very interesting answers to these questions you won't want to miss. His findings come from an in-depth study he did on the impact of internal linking on a website's ranking and traffic. He analyzed 1800 websites and 23 million internal links and found a positive correlation between internal links and Google traffic. But there's a catch. After a certain point, the relationship between internal links and traffic diminishes. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Be sure to get more content like this in the Niche Pursuits Newsletter Right Here: https://www.nichepursuits.com/newsletter ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Want a Faster and Easier Way to Build Internal Links? Get $15 off Link Whisper with Discount Code "Podcast" on the Checkout Screen: https://www.nichepursuits.com/linkwhisper ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So, how can you make the most of your internal links? Cyrus emphasizes the importance of controlling both popularity and relevance in internal linking. He shares insights on Page Rank Sculpting and advises starting with a plan and adding links as soon as possible to avoid playing catch-up later. He also believes updating old content and internal linking should be a continuous part of your site management process. Cyrus then shares tips on where to place internal links and the importance of varied anchor text. Plus, he shares his thoughts on keyword cannibalization and an example of how linking multiple pages together using keyword-rich cannibalization keywords improved the ranking of all pages. But internal linking isn't the only factor at play. Redirecting 404 pages with a 301 redirect to a highly relevant page is important. Plus, he recommends automation tools like Link Whisper to help find internal linking opportunities. In short, internal linking is an essential aspect of SEO, and this episode is packed with actionable tips to help improve your website's ranking and traffic. So, tune in now to learn more and start testing out these strategies on your own sites! Topics Cyrus Shepard Covers * Cyrus' experience at Moz * Running experiments * Quick SEO wins * Link popularity vs relevance * Importance of anchor text * Link position * Dangers of duplicate anchor text * Naked URLs * Avoiding cannibalization * Page sculpting tips * First link priority * The magic number for internal links * Inbound linking tips * Planning internal links with content creation * Related links position * Using images for internal links * 404s, 301s, etc. * In-text links Links & Resources * Zyppy - Where SEO Happens - https://zyppy.com/ * Cyrus Shepard on Twitter - https://twitter.com/CyrusShepard * Cyrus Shepard on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/cyrusshepard/ * Link Whisper - https://www.nichepursuits.com/iifk This Episode is Sponsored by Search Intelligence - https://search-intelligence.co.uk/ & Nichesites.com - https://www.nichesites.com/trial Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 05:05 - Cyrus’ Background 08:20 - His Internal Linking Study 12:20 - Key Findings 16:55 - Link Positioning 22:30 - Anchor Text Tips 28:30 - Page Rank Sculpting 34:40 - Inbound Linking Tips 46:40 - Images 49:25 - Cannibalization 54:00 - Redirect pages -You can learn more about me at and get additional website tips at: https://www.nichepursuits.com -You can learn about optimizing your site with internal links using a WordPress Plugin I created right here: https://www.linkwhisper.com -And finally, if you are interested in buying or selling content or affiliate websites, my partners and I may be interested here: https://www.nichepursuits.com/motioninvest Thanks for watching and please subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking here: https://www.nichepursuits.com/youtube