1. Does the Intro Match the Point in the Sales Cycle? — Identify buyer journey phase and match content.
2. The Intro Must Have a Hook — educator w/ facts, fear factor, or funny/entertaining.
3. The Intro Must Tease the Main Content — pitch what they'll learn to keep them reading to the CTAs.
4. The Intro Must Establish Trust & Authority — show expertise/accomplishments on the topic.
5. The Intro Must Explain Your Method — explain ranking criteria if reviewing multiple products; don't parrot others.
6. Get Straight to the Point — don't write like a novel.
7. Don't Make the Intro Too Long — only as long as needed to hook the reader.
8. Don't Include Outbound Links in the Intro — only goal is to get them reading further (exception: monetized links).
9. Bonus: make sure these rules apply to articles you internally link to.