The NYT uses the prime real estate on its homepage to show off its free-to-air content. If it’s good enough for The NYT, it’s good enough for you.

The world’s most successful subscription publisher – The New York Times – regularly gives some of the most valuable real estate on its homepage to free articles, and, crucially, makes sure readers know they’re free.

Not every article needs to drive an immediate subscription. Nor is it going to. Making selected articles free-to-air helps publishers maximise reach around important, highly competitive stories.

It also gives subscription publishers a better chance of competing in Search against non-paywalled competitors. If engagement metrics are Google’s most important ranking factor (they almost certainly are), then the enhanced bounce rate and suppressed time on page associated with paywalling makes reaching a new audience more challenging.

And the problem with being a subscription brand is that, over time, you become known for having a paywall. As the cesspit of the internet evolves and the value exchange continues to erode, people will have to get used to paying for news.

But that creates a problem: even when you make an article free, readers might assume it’s paywalled.

Users won’t automatically know that an article is free. You have to tell them. Label your content. It will improve engagement and subsequent reach.

Live blogs are a great example. Many subscription publishers make them free because they’re exceptionally competitive in Search and act as an entry point for new audiences.

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