Like all search engines, Google relies on crawlers that map out websites and index them. This is how it retrieves and displays the most relevant results to each search query.Its main goal is to provide the best possible search experience for users, which means it somewhat acts as a filter of value and relevance.Bearing that in mind, Google doesn’t see the point in sending users to a website where the content that matches the query is unreachable, i.e. hidden behind the paywall. This is why some newsrooms initially struggled with mixed SEO results.As Google explained on their official blog:“Our evaluations have shown that users who are not familiar with the high-quality content behind a paywall often turn to other sites offering free content. It is difficult to justify a subscription if one doesn’t already know how valuable the content is, and in fact, our experiments have shown that a portion of users shies away from subscription sites.”Eventually, Google withdrew its First Click Free policy and published technical guidelines and best practices so that any publisher that relies on subscriptions can make sure their website is visible in search. For more information on SEO and paywalls, see here.