Your introduction is the highest-leverage paragraph you will write. A searcher who lands on your article gives it seconds to prove it holds their answer; fail, and they return to the results — taking your engagement signals with them. This guide covers the intro patterns that work, the ones that quietly kill good articles, and a simple structure you can reuse. It is part of how to write articles that rank.
- A searcher gives your introduction seconds to prove the page holds their answer; fail, and they return to the results.
- The reusable structure is Answer, Problem, Map: give the answer, name the problem it solves, then map what the article covers.
- The patterns that kill articles: throat-clearing history lessons, dictionary openings, and promises the article never keeps.
- Test any intro in sixty seconds: could a skimmer extract the article's whole argument from it alone?
The job of an introduction
An introduction must do three things, fast:
- Confirm: "You are in the right place — this page is about exactly your problem."
- Deliver an instalment: give a real piece of the answer immediately, proving the rest is worth reading.
- Promise honestly: state what the article covers and who it is for — no clickbait inflation you cannot cash.
Everything else — the charming anecdote, the history of the subject, the dictionary definition — is optional, and usually harmful before these three jobs are done.
A structure that works: Answer, Problem, Map
- Answer (1–3 sentences): the direct answer or core conclusion, up front. Yes, even in a long guide — especially in a long guide.
- Problem (2–4 sentences): name the reader's specific situation and why the obvious approaches fail; this is where they feel understood.
- Map (1–2 sentences): what this article does about it, and who should (and should not) read on.
Compare the introductions across this site: each of our spokes opens with a "lede" paragraph doing exactly this — confirm, deliver, map — because we hold our own advice to it.
Patterns that kill articles
- The history lesson: "Since the dawn of time, humans have…" The searcher asked a question, not for a documentary.
- The dictionary open: defining the term the searcher already used. If the query is the definition, answer it in one line and move on.
- The throat-clear: "In today's fast-paced digital world, it's more important than ever to…" — filler that signals generic content to humans and algorithms alike.
- The buried answer: a solid guide whose actual answer starts at paragraph nine. Readers (and Google's quality systems, which observe satisfaction signals) rarely wait that long.
- The over-promise: titles and intros promising secrets or guarantees the article cannot deliver destroy trust and inflate bounce rates.
Worked example
Weak: "SEO is a very important part of digital marketing. Many people write articles but don't get traffic. There are many reasons for this. In this article we will explore some of them."
Stronger: "If your article is published but invisible, the cause is almost always one of five things — and the first one takes two minutes to check. This guide walks through all five in the order you should fix them, starting with whether Google has indexed the page at all."
The stronger version confirms the topic, delivers an instalment (five causes; the first is quick), and maps the article (all five, in fix order). It also creates a reason to continue: the reader wants the list.
Length and voice
Most effective introductions run 100–200 words for guides. Write them last, when you know exactly what the article delivers — intros written first drift into promises the draft never kept. Keep sentences short, use the reader's own vocabulary (lift phrasing from the query and its "People Also Ask" variants), and cut any sentence that could open any other article on the internet.
Sources (5)
Google's people-first content guidance emphasises answering readers' questions directly (developers.google.com/search/docs); the Answer–Problem–Map structure is this site's own editorial standard, labelled as such.
- Google Search Central — Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content
- Google Search Central — SEO Starter Guide
- Google Search Central — Google Search Essentials
- Google Search Central — Link best practices for Google
- Google Search Central Blog — Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content
Introductions for returning readers and skimmers
Not every visitor reads linearly. Many land mid-article from a heading link, skim backwards to the introduction to orient themselves, then jump to the section they need. A good intro therefore also works as a summary of record: the article's conclusion, scope, and audience stated compactly enough that a skimmer can extract the whole argument from it alone. This is why the Answer–Problem–Map pattern scales from 800-word answers to 4,000-word guides — at every length it doubles as the abstract a busy reader deserves. Write the intro a skimmer would thank you for, and searchers arriving from Google will feel the difference in the first screenful.
Testing your intro in sixty seconds
Read only your first three sentences and ask: could a stranger state (a) what question this page answers, (b) one true thing they have already learned, and (c) why the rest is worth their time? If any answer is no, the intro is not finished. This test catches the buried answer, the throat-clear, and the over-promise in one pass — and it is brutal enough that most first drafts fail it, ours included. That is the point of a test.
Introductions for different article types
The pattern bends by format. Roundups: open with who the list serves and the selection rule, then the top pick for the commonest case. Tutorials: open with the outcome and the total effort ("by the end of this page your tap will be fixed; you need one tool you probably own"). Diagnostics: open with the reassurance that the problem is findable, then the first test. Reviews: open with the verdict in miniature — who should buy, who should skip — because comparison shoppers are the least patient readers on the internet. In every case the Answer–Problem–Map skeleton survives; only the instalment changes.
Rewrite drill: fix a stranger's intro
Skill grows fastest on other people's text. Take any article in your niche whose introduction loses you — you will find one in minutes — and rewrite its first three sentences to the Answer–Problem–Map pattern, without reading further than its headings. Then read the article and check whether your rewrite promised what it delivers. The drill trains the exact judgement your own drafts need, at zero ego cost, and it takes ten minutes. Do it monthly; your own introductions will quietly change within a quarter.
The last word on first words
Introductions are where your respect for the reader is most visible, because they are where you choose between serving them and performing for them. Choose service — the answer first, the problem named, the map drawn — and the performance takes care of itself.
Frequently asked questions
Should the introduction contain my target keyword?
Naturally, yes — the intro should state the topic plainly, which usually includes the query's core phrase. Write it for the confirmation job, not for keyword placement, and it will be there.
How do I write intros for product roundups or reviews?
Lead with the verdict criteria: who the roundup is for, how items were chosen, and the top pick for the most common case. Readers comparing options want orientation, not atmosphere.
Is a personal story ever a good intro?
A short, relevant one can establish experience — after the answer instalment, not instead of it. One or two sentences of 'when this happened on my site' builds more trust than a page of credentials.
How long is too long for an introduction?
When it delays the first real content beyond roughly the first screenful, it is too long. Guides over ~250 words of intro usually contain a history lesson that belongs later or nowhere.
Should I rewrite intros on old articles?
Yes — intro rewrites are among the cheapest refreshes with the largest effect, because they change the first impression for every future visitor. See our article refresh guide.
Rewrite your weakest introduction with Answer, Problem, Map before you write another new article. It is the highest-leverage paragraph you own, and it takes twenty minutes.
Which of your introductions would fail the sixty-second skimmer test — and what is its first sentence right now?
