Subscription publishers have long used Google search engine as a main source of organic traffic for their audience development efforts. Now Google has announced Subscribe with Google, which goes a step further by making it easier for users to subscribe to premium content
Google’s relationship with content publishers has the opportunity to become stronger with the search giant’s introduction of Subscribe with Google.
For years we have provided audience development strategies for building organic audience through Google. Now Google is offering publishers more options for multiplatform publishing. This comes at a time when publishers have been reconsidering their relationship with Facebook as the social network’s content changes have led to a narrower organic reach.
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Today we’re looking at how Subscribe with Google works, according to its initial release from Google News Initiative. “Subscribe with Google lets you buy a subscription, using your Google account, on participating news sites. Select the publisher offer you’d like to buy, click “Subscribe,” and you’re done. You’ll automatically be signed in to the site, and you can pay–securely and privately—with any credit card you’ve used with Google in the past. From then on, you can then use “Sign In with Google” to access the publisher’s products, but Google does the billing, keeps your payment method secure, and makes it easy for you to manage your subscriptions all in one place.”
The article continues with examples of the initial publishers who have helped with the launch of Subscribe with Google, and it also shares the process that takes place after users subscribe. “After subscribing, you’ll be able to access your subscription content whenever you’re signed in to your Google account. No more irritating paywalls popping up when you’ve already paid, and no more struggling to stay logged in when you switch from laptop to mobile device.”
The Google News Initiative also shares its intention for helping improve the entire subscription process, even for existing subscriptions. “how can we help you get access to the subscriptions you already bought? Our goal is to make news subscriptions work better regardless of who you bought your subscription from. So Subscribe with Google will also allow you to link subscriptions purchased directly from publishers to your Google account—with the same benefits of easier and more persistent access.”
In some ways, it seems that Google is combining organic audience development initiatives in accordance to Subscribe with Google. As the Google blog points out, “we’ll also highlight those sources across Google surfaces, beginning with a dedicated module on Search. When you search for a news topic for which your subscribed publication has relevant results, we’ll showcase these so they’re easy for you to see and access—without disrupting search ranking for the rest of the page.”
Have you made Google a significant part of your organic audience development strategies? Do you want to sell more subscriptions through a multiplatform approach? If you’d like to discuss how we can help you increase your audience, revenue and profits, please reach out to schedule a no obligation chat with a member of our consulting team.
