No Hard Paywall

TL;DR

There’s a technical or content issue reducing how well your page can be crawled, understood, or cited. Follow the steps below to diagnose the cause, apply the fix, and verify the result. Finish by running an Oversearch AI Page Optimizer scan.

Why this matters

Access and crawlability are prerequisites. If crawlers can’t fetch or parse your content, rankings and citations become unreliable, and LLMs may fail to extract answers.

Where this shows up in Oversearch

In Oversearch, open AI Page Optimizer and run a scan for the affected page. Then open Benchmark Breakdown to see evidence, and use the View guide link to jump back here when needed.

Will a paywall prevent Google from indexing my content?

A hard paywall that blocks crawlers from seeing any content will prevent Google from indexing the substantive text of the page.

Google can still index the page URL and metadata, but without access to the content, the page cannot rank for content-specific queries. Soft paywalls that show partial content are treated differently.

• Hard paywalls (100% blocked) → Google indexes only the title and meta description.
• Soft paywalls (partial content visible) → Google indexes the visible portion.
• Metered paywalls (free for first N visits) → Google sees full content if the crawler is not rate-limited.
• Use structured data (isAccessibleForFree: false) to signal paywalled content properly.

If you use Oversearch, open AI Page Optimizer → Benchmark Breakdown to see whether paywall detection triggered.

What’s the difference between hard paywall and soft paywall?

A hard paywall blocks all content until the user pays or logs in. A soft paywall shows some content (lead paragraphs, summaries) and restricts the rest.

For SEO and AI citability, the distinction matters enormously. Soft paywalls let crawlers see enough content to index and rank the page. Hard paywalls give crawlers nothing to work with.

• Hard paywall: No content visible without authentication → minimal indexing.
• Soft paywall: Lead content visible, rest blurred/truncated → partial indexing.
• Metered paywall: Full content visible up to a view limit → full indexing for crawlers.
• If you must use a hard paywall, provide a meaningful abstract or summary in the visible HTML.

If you use Oversearch, open AI Page Optimizer → Benchmark Breakdown to check content accessibility.

How do crawlers see my content if it requires login?

Standard crawlers do not log in. If content requires authentication, crawlers see only what an anonymous visitor sees — typically a login form or paywall message.

Some publishers use “First Click Free” or metered access to show content to users arriving from search. Google’s Flexible Sampling guidelines describe how to implement this without cloaking penalties.

• Crawlers cannot authenticate — they see only public-facing HTML.
• Metered access or lead paragraphs give crawlers enough content to index.
• Do not serve different content to Googlebot vs. users (that is cloaking).
• Use <meta name="robots" content="noindex"> on pages you do not want indexed at all.

If you use Oversearch, open AI Page Optimizer → Benchmark Breakdown to verify what content is accessible to crawlers.

Can AI systems cite content behind a login?

No. AI systems that browse the web cannot authenticate, so content behind a login is invisible to them and cannot be cited.

If you want AI-generated answers to reference your content, the substantive information must be accessible without authentication. This does not mean giving away everything — a detailed summary or abstract is often sufficient.

• AI browse tools (ChatGPT, Perplexity) behave like anonymous visitors.
• Provide a meaningful, indexable summary even for paywalled pages.
• Use structured data to indicate access restrictions (isAccessibleForFree).
• Consider an llms.txt file to guide AI systems to your best public content.

If you use Oversearch, open AI Page Optimizer → Benchmark Breakdown to see whether your content is extractable.

Common root causes

• Template-level configuration mismatch or conflicting signals.

How to detect

• In Oversearch AI Page Optimizer, open the scan for this URL and review the Benchmark Breakdown evidence.
• Verify the signal outside Oversearch with at least one method: fetch the HTML with curl -L, check response headers, or use a crawler/URL inspection.
• Confirm you’re testing the exact canonical URL (final URL after redirects), not a variant.

How to fix

Understand how paywalls affect indexing (see: Will a paywall prevent Google from indexing my content?) and whether AI systems can access your content (see: Can AI systems cite content behind a login?). Then follow the steps below.

1. Apply the fix recommended by your scan and validate with Oversearch.

Verify the fix

• Run an Oversearch AI Page Optimizer scan for the same URL and confirm the benchmark is now passing.
• Confirm the page is 200 OK and the primary content is present in initial HTML.
• Validate with an external tool (crawler, URL inspection, Lighthouse) to avoid false positives.

Prevention

• Add automated checks for robots/noindex/canonical on deploy.
• Keep a single, documented preferred URL policy (host/protocol/trailing slash).
• After releases, spot-check Oversearch AI Page Optimizer on critical templates.

FAQ

How do I make paywalled content indexable without giving it away?

Show a meaningful lead-in (2-3 substantive paragraphs) before the paywall. This gives crawlers enough to index while protecting the full content. Use schema markup to indicate the page is not fully free. When in doubt, show enough for a reader to decide whether to subscribe.

Should I block subscription pages with noindex?

Only noindex pages that have no unique content worth indexing (e.g., pure login forms, checkout pages). If the page has a substantive summary, leave it indexable. When in doubt, index pages with content value and noindex pure utility pages.

How do I avoid cloaking when showing limited content to bots?

Show the exact same content to bots and users. Use metered access or soft paywalls that show the same lead content to everyone. Never serve full content to Googlebot while restricting users. When in doubt, test as an anonymous user — that is what crawlers see.

Does Google penalize metered paywalls?

No. Google supports metered paywalls through Flexible Sampling. As long as crawlers can see the full content on some visits, the page can be fully indexed. When in doubt, ensure your metered paywall does not rate-limit Googlebot.

Should I use schema to indicate paywalled content?

Yes. Use CreativeWork with isAccessibleForFree: false and hasPart to mark which sections are behind the paywall. This helps Google display the correct access indicators in search results. When in doubt, add the schema and validate with Google’s Rich Results Test.

Can AI systems summarize content they cannot fully access?

AI systems can only summarize what they see in the HTML. If the paywall hides the substantive content, AI summaries will be based only on the visible lead-in. When in doubt, provide a substantial free summary so AI systems have enough to work with.