Most Google+ users in the real estate field don't realize how important an introduction to a post is. If they did, our time lines would have looked very different.
Introductions serve two purposes:
1. They get other G+ users to consider and decide whether to read and react to a post. That usually takes a second or two. So making the right impression at the start is critical.
2. Google uses them to pick up keywords or key phrases to rank a post in its search results.
So what is the best way to write an introduction? Think of an introduction as having two components. The first is a title of about 4 to 8 words. It serves to entice people to continue reading on one hand, while giving Google a primary source of keywords or key phrases on the other. It is similar in nature to Title Tags on your webpages. The second component which is similar to the Description Tag of your webpages, serves to give a more meaningful description of your linked article and to get people interested enough to click your link. Google gleans the description for more keywords and most probably tries to create a context for your post.
I have assembled a list of best practices steps which should give people a better understanding on how to SEO their posts.
1. Bold format the title of your posts to give them prominence. Bold titles draws more attention from readers and I have heard that Google takes into account that bold formatted text is more important.
2. If you want people to visit your linked blog or article, don't write long descriptions. Two to four sentences should do it. You don't want people to read your description and feel like they have read your blog article.
3. Make sure your title and description relates closely to your posted article. Confusion promotes distrust and is a social media hazard.
4. Don't stuff your description with keywords. Based on Google's past behavior keyword stuffing can cost you dearly. Also, readers don't want to continue reading spammy posts.
5. Don't hash tag the words in the contents of your introduction. That confuses people and makes it hard to read and comprehend quickly. We are not on Twitter where the number of characters used are constrained.
6. Don't use more than four to five hash tags at the end of your description. Otherwise, you'll make your post look spammy to readers and to Google. I know I shy away from spammy looking posts.
7. Always end your description with a question or a thought provoking comment. This stimulates peoples thinking and encourages interaction.
Please understand that this is only one SEO component that may affect a post's ranking in Google search. The other component is the quality and quantity of interactions with a post.
If I have missed something or you disagree, please feel free to let me know. Good luck and happy postings.
Here are more of my other related posts on improving your presence on Google+:
