Why First-Person Writing Now Boosts Your Search Rankings

Why First-Person Writing is Now a Search Ranking Strategy

The Long Campaign for First Person

For years I’ve been asking (begging, to be more accurate) lawyers to write in the first person. To very little success. “I just don’t want to make it about me,” was a common, if erroneous, reaction. Some thought it would sound unprofessional.

The New Reason: Search Ranking Power

Now, however, I can tell drop the ‘it’s solid writing’ with an Alice’s Restaurant chorus of reasons why and just go with this: first person narrative is a crucial search ranking strategy.

Google’s AI-driven search doesn’t just reward original, creative content. It rewards personalized content. That means first-person stories are no longer just engaging; they are how you get found.

Reddit, Quora, and the Algorithm’s Taste for “I”

Google AI searches almost always pull up Reddit and Quora ‘articles’ high in search results. That’s not because Google likes the platforms or that they are recognized as thought or information leaders. It’s because everything on them is written in the first person — real people talking about real experiences in their own voices. The algorithm reads that as authentic. Readers do too.

Three Things First-Person Writing Does for Search and Readers

First-person writing does three things search loves and people respond to:

It signals authenticity.
It uses natural human rhythm.
It answers questions/explains things/relays experiences the way people do.

You Don’t Have to Be the “I”

I anticipate that some resistance may remain. Consider this: you don’t have to be the “I” in the story. If a client, colleague, friend, anyone tells you their story and you relay it as they told it to you get to write it in the first person. Just preface the story with a variation on: “A colleague in New England just shared this story . . .”

AI Can’t Fake It

Ai can’t fake first person. First-person writing carries the lived experience, the detail, the stakes. Whether the “I” is yours or borrowed, it’s what makes a reader stay, remember, and respond. And now Google AI search is noticing.

Why It Works, According to AI Itself

Here’s why: Google “wants content that is unique, helpful, and satisfies real human intent—not SEO-tilted fluff. That means authentic, first-person, original writing isn’t just style—it’s strategy.” This according to Chat GPT Pro 4.5.