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Google Proposes Micropayment System To Rescue Newspapers

Matt McGee on September 9, 2009 at 7:12 pm

Despite their frosty relationship, Google is proposing a micropayment system that could give the newspaper industry a way to charge for its online content. According to the Nieman Journalism Lab, the micropayment system will be based on Google Checkout and be available within a year “to both Google and non-Google properties.”

The NJL has posted an 8-page PDF that Google wrote in reply to an RFP from the Newspaper Association of America. “Google is uniquely positioned to help publishers create a scalable e-commerce system via our Checkout product,” the document says, “and also enable users to find this content via search — even if it’s behind a paywall.”

Micropayments are just part of Google’s overall plan to help newspapers make money from online content. Google’s proposal — its “vision of a premium content ecosystem” — include five key features that combine the Google’s e-commerce, search, and advertising platforms:

Single sign-on capability for users to access content and manage subscriptions
Ability for publishers to combine subscriptions from different titles together for one price
Ability for publishers to create multiple payment options and easily include/exclude content behind a paywall
Multiple tiers of access to search including 1) snippets only with “subscription” label, 2) access to preview pages and 3) “first click free” access
Advertising systems that offer highly relevant ads for users, such as interest-based advertising

While Google’s proposal includes a micropayment system that’s already in development, the company says it does “not believe” micropayments will catch on widely for buying online content. Instead, Google says, “we envision the typical scenario to be where a user pays a monthly fee for access to a wide-ranging package of premium content.”

Google’s relationship with the newspaper industry has been under the microscope this year, but the war of words goes back at least a couple years. Here are links to some of the coverage here on Search Engine Land and on Danny Sullivan’s personal blog:

About The Author

Matt McGee

Matt McGee joined Third Door Media as a writer/reporter/editor in September 2008. He served as Editor-In-Chief from January 2013 until his departure in July 2017. He can be found on Twitter at @MattMcGee.