I find it very annoying as a web user to search the whole web, find what looks like a desired result, and then end up being on a log-in-page. These pages have just one aim in mind ‘Give me money, else go away!’ I always move away from such a page because I know that I can find that information on other websites as well.

Now, Google has something for those websites who are willing to go for a subscription model. It’s called “First Click Free”

In order to help users find and access content that may require registration or a subscription, Google offers an option to web and news publishers called “First Click Free.”

Important Goals of First Click Free are:

1. To include highly relevant content in Google’s search index. This provides a better experience for Google users who may not have known that content existed.
2. To provide a promotion and discovery opportunity for publishers with restricted content.” – Google

Guidelines from Google.

“Webmasters wishing to implement First Click Free should follow these guidelines:

• All users who click a Google search result to arrive at your site should be allowed to see the full text of the content they’re trying to access.
• The page displayed to all users who visit from Google must be identical to the content that is shown to Googlebot.
• If a user clicks to a multi-page article, the user must be able to view the entire article. To allow this, you could display all of the content on a single page—you would need to do this for both Googlebot and for users. Alternately, you could use cookies to make sure that a user can visit each page of a multi-page article before being asked for registration or payment.”

Some of the orthodox owners of websites may be reluctant to display their web content for free; however it will definitely boost up their popularity and SEO campaign performance. Also, sharing information will make the World Wide Web a better place to surf in.