Google to help limit access to free content
Google is to allow publishers to set a daily limit on the number of articles readers can access for free through its search engine.
It follows criticism from media companies, including News Corp’s Rupert Murdoch, who has threatened to make its content unfindable to users on Google. Murdoch has been said to be in discussions with Microsoft to exclusively list content from its news sites on the Bing search engine.
Although Google’s First Click Free service previously existed, it has now updated it to allow publishers to set users a five click per day limit before a pay or registration wall drops.
In a posting on the Google News blog, business product manager Josh Cohen, said:
i thought this had always existed – it’s just something the site owners turn on on their end.
Hi larry,
It’s a story my colleague is currently writing in a bit more detail (lengthier version to appear on this page shortly).
But my first take is that the key difference is that rather than each and every time a reader lands via Google on First Click Free they can see that page for free, in the future a pay or subscription would drop after viewing five pieces of content in a day, if that’s what the publisher chooses.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
Is there a workaround, by perhaps deleting cookies, or would you just have to create multiple Google Accounts?
Looks like Newscorp are trying their hardest to cut off their nose to spite their face.
Paywalls simply don’t work, and I see this hybrid scheme failing to entice readers to buy their way over to the other side of the wall (where the proverbial grass is um, also brown).
This plan to limit the number of “free” page impressions only limits the potential reach of their advertisers.