Troubleshooting

The information in this document can help troubleshoot issues that you might encounter while you implement Subscription Linking.

Tip: Open the JavaScript console and look for error messages from the swg.js client library. This can help you identify potential issues in your implementation.

Subscription Linking prompt stuck on loading screen

Error example:

Figure 1. Subscription Linking prompt doesn't load.

To resolve this issue, check the following:

• Make sure that you add the origins of the pages, including testing subdomains, as additional URLs in the publication settings of Publisher Center.
• For Extended Access or Reader Revenue Manager Enterprise implementations, make sure that you add the origins of the pages, including testing subdomains, to the authorized JavaScript origins of the OAuth 2.0 Client you configured for such implementation. This needs to be done in Google Cloud Console.

Note: If you've recently added the origins, it can take up to an hour before such origins can access the swg.js client library.

Account couldn't be linked

Error example:

Figure 2. Account couldn't be linked issue.

To resolve this issue, check the following:

• Make sure to accept the Terms of Service for Subscription Linking in the Publisher Center. To do so, go to the Subscription Linking settings and click sign the subscription linking terms of service.
• If the Google Account has already been linked, you'll get an error message when you reattempt to link the subscription. You must unlink the subscription, through the subscriptions page in Google Account, before you repeat the client-side integration test.

Permissions error when calling the Subscription Linking API

Error example:

Code	403
Message	'readerrevenuesubscriptionlinking.readerEntitlements.update' denied on resource '//readerrevenuesubscriptionlinking.googleapis.com/publications/example.com/readers/10078823/entitlements' (or it may not exist)."

To resolve this issue, check the following:

• Make sure that you use the same GCP project as specified in the Subscription Linking settings.
• Make sure that Subscription Linking API is enabled in your GCP project.
• In GCP IAM, make sure that the service account has the role, Subscription Linking Admin.
• If you use the REST API, make sure that you use the Publication ID you provided in the Subscription Linking configuration. For example, if your Publication ID is example.com, then the request URL must contain it.
  • ✅ Use only the configured Publication ID: publications/example.com/readers/10078823/entitlements
  • ❌ Don't use Publication ID other than the one specified in Subscription Linking configuration:publications/example-staging.com/readers/10078823/entitlements
  • ❌ Don't include the publication product in the request: publications/example.com:premium/readers/10078823/entitlements

Invalid argument error when updating the entitlement

Error example:

Message

Error: Request contains an invalid argument

To resolve this issue, check the following:

• Make sure that you provide the entitlements object in the correct format. See this example.
• Make sure that product_id is in the format of publication_id:product.
  • ✅ Valid example: "product_id":"example.com:basic"
  • ❌ Invalid example: "product_id":"example.com"

Not seeing articles highlighted in the search results

To resolve this issue, check the following:

• Make sure to add the structured data to all your articles. Use the Rich Results Test to validate your structured data.
• Make sure that you put a valid productID in the structured data that corresponds to a set of Product IDs you use to update reader's entitlement.
• Use a rich result report for "subscribed content" in Search Console to see any issues related to your structured data.

Note: There are ranking factors involved when we display the From Your Subscriptions feature. This means it isn't always guaranteed that you see your news article for any given search term.