Dive Brief: 

• Google's latest test venture will help publishers monetize sites without ads. 
• The paywall alternative, dubbed Contributor, allows visitors to pay $1 to $3 monthly subscription fees to view sites without ads. 
• For the trial run launched Thursday, 10 publisher partners will utilize Contributor including Mashable, The Onion, Urban Dictionary, and Imgur. 

Dive Insight: 

Ad blockers—of which Contributor is among—have existed for some time, but this is one of the first instances of publishers agreeing to use that type of tool. The key is that publishers can still monetarily benefit from Contributor, unlike other ad blockers on the market. This could be a real solution to revenue problems publishers have been facing. The low price point might encourage more users to pay for subscriptions versus using ad-filled sites.