...need to sign up, or even worse pay, to read the article or post? It happens all too often.

Don't get me wrong, I understand that content providers need to control information access to service business models and revenue goals, but it creates a bad experience for the searchers.

Google have released a new program subscription based content publishers called "First Click Free". The project aims to improve the searchers experience and in turn potentially enhance sign-ups for publishers.

According to the release post, the 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.

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