You are correct, Google requires that you let users see the first click for free if you want to index content behind a paywall. [1] Since this is billed as an

You are correct, Google requires that you let users see the first click for free if you want to index content behind a paywall. [1] Since this is billed as an "experiment" I'm guessing that WSJ is just testing the waters. If they roll it out to everyone, they will have to serve only snippets to Google or risk getting delisted. [1] https://support.google.com/news/publisher/answer/40543?hl=en https://support.google.com/news/publisher/answer/40543?hl=en