I am working on an online gaming platform where the games / content are restricted and only available to people in certain countries. USA is not allowed, while canada is allowed. If i browse to the site (to the home page or any page) as a USA visitor i presently arrive at the site and get redirected to a resticted location page with the following message: RESTRICTED LOCATION Due to licensing restrictions, we can't currently offer our services in your location. We're working hard to expand our reach, so stay tuned for updates! I want google to crawl and index the site so its pages are available in the SERP. Because users from certain countires are blocked to the site i don't want to get penalised for cloacking. Would the following be acceptable: Unlike what the company is presently doing the user would NOT get redirected to the restricted page, but stay on the page they are visiting except the screen would be blacked out with a restricted message. Google could crawl the site as per normal, but the restricted message would only appear for human visitors from restricted countries if visiting that page. I was told to use paywall scheme but in webmaster world i was told this would not be good for publicly viewable pages for people who are not location restricted. I appreciate you thoughts.
It is not recommended to use a paywall scheme for publicly viewable pages for users who are not location-restricted. Instead, consider displaying a blacked-out screen with a restricted message for restricted visitors, while allowing Google to crawl and index the site normally. This approach will help prevent penalties for cloaking and ensure the site's pages are available in search engine results for users in allowed locations. Stay transparent with your restrictions and update users on any changes in availability.
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