Google updated its Search Central documentation with guidance for JavaScript-based paywalls in Search. The update appears on the Fix Search-related JavaScript Problems page and in the documentation updates changelog. The key directive: serve full content only after confirming a user's subscription status.
JavaScript paywalls and SEO
The guidance addresses paywalls that send the full article in the initial server response and then hide it with JavaScript. Google says this is not a reliable access control method and advises verifying subscription status before serving full content.
- Targets implementations that include full content in the server response, then hide it client-side.
- Notes that hiding content with JavaScript is not a dependable way to limit access.
- Recommends serving full content only after subscription status is confirmed.
- States the pattern makes it difficult for Google to automatically determine which content is paywalled.
- Presents the note as a consideration within the Crawling and indexing - JavaScript issues documentation, and records it in the updates changelog.
Background context
Google's existing paywalled content guidance recommends using structured data to indicate subscription access and mark restricted sections. It references the isAccessibleForFree property and hasPart markup to identify paywalled areas. When implemented correctly, this helps prevent paywalled setups from being treated as cloaking. The Fix search-related JavaScript problems page now adds considerations for JavaScript-based paywalls alongside other common rendering and indexing patterns, clarifying expected behavior for content gating in Search.
For details, see Google's Paywalled content guidance.
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