Report: Google To Enter Premium Search Realm

Why am I not surprised? I expect to hear a round of “Anything you can do I can do better” any minute now. Yahoo went public with its premium search service two weeks ago, albeit on a small scale. Now comes word from BetaNews that Google is working on its own option — “a premium service that will open up mainstream access to the ‘Deep Web,’ allowing webmasters with restricted or subscription content to let in Google and provide the masses with free previews.”
Some of this seems to be a variation of the tactics now used at Google News, where some registration-required sites allow one “free” link and then require registration. Insert subscription and you get the idea. Google’s test sites are under a strict NDA while Yahoo Search Subscription participants are in the open.

Related: New Yahoo Search Goes Behind Subscription Walls

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