Google is overhauling its search engine to help paywalled news sites attract visitors

The company has announced a few significant changes to its search algorithms that is sure to make news publishers whose content is behind paywalls very happy, reports Bloomberg.  The biggest change comes with Google eliminating its “first click free” program, which listed articles higher in search results if publishers were willing to offer some paywalled stories for free. Now Google will index all paywalled news sites in search results and allow publishers to decide on how many articles they make viewable for free through Google’s links. Previously Google demoted paywalled sites in search results if the offered little or no free content.  The changes could help major publishers like the U.K.’s Times and the U.S.’s New York Times, both of which have paywalls, attract new readers–and hopefully turn them into paying subscribers.