Martech: Martech is Marketing Logo
  • Topics
    Transformation
    Operations
    Data
    Experience
    Performance
    Management
    Special Reports
    All Topics
  • Conference
  • Webinars
  • Intelligence Reports
  • White Papers
  • What is MarTech
    Mission
    Team
    Newsletter
    Search Engine Land
    Third Door Media

Processing...Please wait.

MarTech » Digital Transformation » Google News Initiative kicks off with Subscribe With Google, other efforts

Google News Initiative kicks off with Subscribe With Google, other efforts

Subscribers will see articles from their subscribed publications higher in the search results and be logged in to those publications across devices.

Ginny Marvin on March 20, 2018 at 11:38 am

Google News Initiative event held in New York City, March 20, 2018

Google’s plans to help support publishers’ subscription businesses came into clearer focus on Tuesday at an event in New York City.

The company is launching a wider framework for working with publishers, called the Google News Initiative. It builds on several of the projects the company announced last fall. Google’s Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler outlined the three key objectives of the Google News Initiative (GNI) at the event and in a blog post:

  • Elevate and strengthen quality journalism.
  • Evolve business models to drive sustainable growth.
  • Empower news organizations through technological innovation.

Google also said it would put $300 million toward supporting quality journalism and combating misinformation and fake news over the next three years.

Subscribe With Google

Subscribe With Google is a linchpin in that second objective to foster sustainable business models for publishers. The aim is to make it as easy as possible for users to subscribe — particularly on mobile.

Google account holders who have payment information on file in their accounts can purchase subscriptions with a couple of clicks. The user’s Google credentials are then used as their login information for their subscriptions. Subscriber information will be turned over to publishers.

Google has been testing this with several publishers, including The Washington Post, which demoed their two-click Subscribe With Google process at the event.

Once a reader signs up with or links their Google account to their subscription, they’ll be signed in automatically whenever they are signed in to Google.

“We think that having to log in once can improve the user experiences in a small but important way,” said Bonita Stewart, VP of global partnerships.

With Subscribe With Google, those who already subscribe to publications will see content from those publications higher in Google search results when they share their subscription status with Google. Stewart was careful to note that the ranking algorithm isn’t changing, but that news results from subscribed publications will be inserted in the results subscribers see.

Google will take some revenue share from subscriptions, but reiterated statements last fall that it will just be covering costs, not looking to subscriptions as a revenue driver.

Propensity to Subscribe

A new Propensity to Subscribe signal is in development now with several partners.

Using machine learning, Google aims to help publishers reach site visitors who are likely to subscribe. For publishers using DoubleClick for Publishers, Google will algorithmically determine when to serve a subscription offer on a publisher’s site rather than an ad. Propensity to Subscribe could be rolled out to more publications later this year.

To help identify new prospective audiences, Google also plans to use publishers’ audience data to build lookalike audiences, allowing them to target people who are most likely to subscribe.

New Google Analytics-based Dashboard for publishers

Additionally, a new News Consumer Insights Dashboard, built on top of Google Analytics, features user engagement data to help publishers understand what is resonating with users and leverage those insights to build readership.

Last fall, Google announced it was ending its First Click Free program and replacing it with Flexible Sampling. The change means publishers can choose whether and when to show a paywall or subscription prompt to visitors coming from Google Search. Under First Click Free, publishers had to allow searchers to access at least three paywalled articles per day for free or be subjected to showing lower in the search results.


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily MarTech. Staff authors are listed here.


New on MarTech

    Martech failure? 50% say loyalty programs don’t offer much value

    5 tips for building customer trust during the supply chain crisis

    Everything you should know about evaluating your competitor’s backlink profile

    Webinar: Transform your content operations with DAM

    10 rules for successful metaverse marketing

About The Author

Ginny Marvin
Ginny Marvin was formerly Third Door Media’s Editor-in-Chief, running the day-to-day editorial operations across all publications and overseeing paid media coverage. Ginny Marvin wrote about paid digital advertising and analytics news and trends for Search Engine Land, Marketing Land and MarTech Today. With more than 15 years of marketing experience, Ginny has held both in-house and agency management positions. She can be found on Twitter as @ginnymarvin.

Related Topics

Digital TransformationPerformance Marketing

Get the daily newsletter digital marketers rely on.

Processing...Please wait.

See terms.

ATTEND OUR EVENTS

June 7, 2022: Master Classes

September 28-29, 2022: Fall

Start Discovering Now: Spring

Learn More About Our MarTech Events

June 14-15, 2022: SMX Advanced (virtual)

November 14-15, 2022: SMX Next (virtual)

March 8-9, 2022: Master Classes (virtual)

Learn More About Our SMX Events

Webinars

Data-Driven Answers to Achieve Omnichannel Success

Is Your Marketing Stack Ready for Omnichannel CX?

Outrank in Organic Search with These 5 Core Tactics

See More Webinars

Intelligence Reports

Enterprise SEO Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Identity Resolution Platforms

Email Marketing Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Sales Enablement Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Digital Experience Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Call Analytics Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

See More Intelligence Reports

White Papers

Reputation Management For Healthcare Organizations

Unlock the App Marketing Potential of QR Codes

Realising the power of virtual events for demand generation

The Progressive Marketer’s Ultimate Events Strategy 2022 Worksheet

CMO Guide: How to Plan Smart and Pivot Fast

See More Whitepapers

Receive daily marketing news & analysis.

Processing...Please wait.

Topics

  • Transformation
  • Operations
  • Data
  • Experience
  • Performance
  • Management
  • All Topics
  • Home

Our Events

  • MarTech
  • Search Marketing Expo - SMX

About

  • What is MarTech
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Marketing Opportunities
  • Staff

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • RSS

© 2022 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved.