Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Around ten years ago when we introduced a policy called "First Click Free," it was hard to imagine that the always-on, multi-screen, multiple device world we now live in would change content consumption so much and so fast. The spirit of the First Click Free effort was—and still is—to help users get access to high quality news with a minimum of effort, while also ensuring that publishers with a paid subscription model get discovered in Google Search and via Google News.
In 2009, we updated the FCF policy to allow a limit of five articles per day, in order to protect publishers who felt some users were abusing the spirit of this policy. Recently we have heard from publishers about the need to revisit these policies to reflect the mobile, multiple device world. Today we are announcing a change to the FCF limit to allow a limit of three articles a day. This change will be valid on both Google Search and Google News.
Google wants to play its part in connecting users to quality news and in connecting publishers to users. We believe the FCF is important in helping achieve that goal, and we will periodically review and update these policies as needed so they continue to benefit users and publishers alike. We are listening and always welcome feedback.
Questions and answers about First Click Free
Q: Do the rest of the old guidelines still apply?
A: Yes, please check the
guidelines for Google News
as well as the
guidelines for Web Search
and the
associated blog post
for more information.
Q: Can I apply First Click Free to only a section of my site / only for Google News (or only
for Web Search)?
A: Sure! Just make sure that both Googlebot and users from the appropriate search results can view
the content as required. Keep in mind that showing Googlebot the full content of a page while
showing users a registration page would be considered
cloaking.
Q: Do I have to sign up to use First Click Free?
A: Please
let us know
about your decision to use First Click Free if you are using it for Google News. There's no need
to inform us of the First Click Free status for Google Web Search.
Q: What is the preferred way to count a user's accesses?
A: Since there are many different site architectures, we believe it's best to leave this up to the
publisher to decide.
Please see our related blog post for more information on First Click Free for Google News.