Google extended an olive branch to newspaper publishers yesterday by restricting the number of subscription-only articles freely accessible through its website.

Until now, web users have been able to see any online news story — even those hidden behind a website’s “paywall” and otherwise only available on subscription — by searching for it on Google and then clicking on the link.

In a concession designed to placate publishers increasingly critical of the search engine, users who click on more than five subscription-only articles per day may now be routed to a website payment or registration pages.

“Previously, each click from a user would be treated as free," Josh Cohen, Google’s senior business product manager, said. “Now, we’ve updated the program so that publishers can limit users to no more than five pages per day without registering or subscribing.”

Google said it had implemented the policy after recognising that newspapers were increasingly “considering charging for access” to their online content.

The company’s announcement was welcomed by the Financial Times, which runs a subscription-based website. It remains to be seen, however, whether Google’s concession will satisfy some of the more determined payroll advocates, who insist that search engines should pay for content.

David Elms, the head of media at KPMG, said that while the announcement would not make much practical difference, it was “an important psychological move by Google”. It “highlights that the move towards paid content and the creation of pay walls is gathering momentum,” he said.

Google’s decision comes days after Johnston Press, the most prolific newspaper publisher in Britain, begin charging readers for some of its online content. Similar plans are intended for News International titles such as The Times.

Rupert Murdoch, the chairman and chief executive of News Corporation, the parent company of The Times, has repeatedly accused Google of “stealing” content without paying for it. In a further concession, the search engine also said it would treat paid-for content as “free”, ranking them normally using Google’s algorithm but labelling them as “subscription” sites in Google News.

“The ranking of these articles will be subject to the same criteria as all sites in Google, whether paid or free,” Mr Cohen wrote on the company’s blog. “Paid content may not do as well as free options, but that is not a decision we make based on whether or not it’s free.

“It is simply based on the popularity of the content with users and other sites that link to it.”

• Google is talking to estate agents about a property website that lists homes alongside pictures from its Street View service. It already has a portal in Australia which lets agents display properties free of charge and a site is expected in Britain next year. Analysts said it might threaten newspapers and websites.

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