Skip to main content

🟢 Learn How to Inspect and Validate the Search Atlas OTTO Pixel Manually

Complete guide for verifying correct installation, diagnosing issues, and validating script integrity.

Updated this week

A correctly installed OTTO Pixel is essential for Search Atlas to crawl, detect, and optimize a website. If the pixel is missing, duplicated, altered by caching, or placed on the wrong domain, OTTO cannot engage or return reliable diagnostics.

This guide teaches you how to manually inspect and validate the pixel on any platform, WordPress, Shopify, Wix, Webflow, GHL, and custom-coded sites, using browser tools and OTTO’s built-in diagnostics.

🛠️ Step-by-Step: How to Validate the OTTO Pixel Manually

1. Run the official Diagnostic Scan (always do this first)

This confirms:

  • Pixel presence

  • Correct UUID

  • Duplicate installs

  • Engagement status

  • Partial installs

  • Improper placement

Go to:

AI SEO → All Sites → Choose the site you want to check

Scan

Run Diagnostics

You can scan:

  • The homepage

  • Any specific URL

  • Recently added pages

  • Subdomains

Important:


Diagnostics shows whether the pixel is detected.
It does not confirm whether the pixel fires — that requires manual inspection.

2. Open the website in a clean environment

To avoid login-based suppression or cached versions:

  • Use Incognito / Private Mode

  • Disable browser extensions

  • Access the site via the exact domain configured in Search Atlas:

    • https vs http

    • www vs non-www

    • correct subdomain

    • no staging URLs

OTTO cannot detect a pixel installed on a different variant.

3. Inspect the Pixel in DevTools (manual validation)

Open DevTools

Right-click → Inspect → open the Elements panel.

Search the page for OTTO code

Press:

  • CTRL + F (Windows)

  • CMD + F (Mac)

Search for:

sa-dynamic-optimization searchatlas data-uuid

You should find the Pixel in one of two places:

  • Inside the <head>

  • Or injected dynamically in the <body> on render

Both are valid depending on CMS.

4. Confirm the Pixel Structure (critical)

The OTTO Pixel always includes:

A. The Loader Script

<script id="sa-dynamic-optimization-loader"         data-uuid="YOUR_UUID"         src="https://cdn.searchatlas.com/otto/loader.min.js"         data-noptimize          data-cfasync="false"> </script>

Validate:

  • id="sa-dynamic-optimization-loader"

  • Correct UUID (must match the site’s project in Search Atlas)

  • CDN path intact

  • No corruption from minifiers

  • Attributes present:

    • data-noptimize

    • data-cfasync="false"

B. The Base64 script block (core logic)

SearchAtlas injects a Base64-encoded script that powers optimization.

You should see both:

  1. The loader

  2. The Base64 block

If either is missing → Partial Install.

5. Validate against dashboard metadata

Go to:

Search Atlas → AI SEO → All Sites → Select Site → Installation Guide → Script Installation → Choose your CMS (scroll down if necessary)

Confirm:

  • The UUID shown in the Installation Guide matches what you found in the HTML

  • Only one loader script exists

  • Diagnostic scan shows Correct Installation Method

If they differ → wrong script installed.

⚠️ Common Issues & What They Look Like

1. Wrong Domain Variant

Symptoms:

  • Pixel exists but diagnostics says “Not Installed”

  • Source shows pixel on www but OTTO expects non-www, or vice-versa

  • Pixel installed on staging site

Fix:
Install pixel on the exact domain variant configured in Search Atlas.

2. Duplicate Pixel

Symptoms:

  • Diagnostics: “Duplicate Installation Detected”

  • Two loaders found in source

  • One via plugin, one via GTM, one manually

Fix:
Choose one installation method only
Remove all others.

3. Caching Plugins Removing or Moving the Script

Look for:

  • Pixel missing on first load but appears after refresh

  • Pixel injected at end of <body>

  • Optimization plugins wrapping the script

Check for suppression flags:

  • data-noptimize

  • data-no-minify

  • data-cfasync="false"

  • data-wp-rocket-ignore

If missing → some plugins may be rewriting the pixel.

4. White-label or Multi-domain Mismatch

Check:

  • Does src= URL reflect the correct white-label CDN?

  • Does domain match the configured environment?

Wrong environment = OTTO cannot verify the pixel.

💡 Pro Tip

1. Always test while logged OUT

Some CMS suppress pixel for logged-in admins.

2. Clear all cache layers if anything looks wrong

Including:

  • Browser

  • WordPress cache plugins

  • Host cache (Kinsta, WP Engine, SiteGround)

  • CDN (Cloudflare → Purge Everything)

3. If using Cloudflare Security

Whitelist Search Atlas crawler:

  • Disable Bot Fight Mode

  • Disable Super Bot Fight Mode

4. Pixel should not be the very first script in <head> on some builders

(Webflow, Blocs, etc.) → move 3–5 lines down.

🎉 After completing validation

You should see:

  • Pixel correctly installed

  • Dashboard status switch to Engaged (green)

  • No diagnostic errors

  • OTTO optimization features fully active

Your site is now ready for full AI SEO automation.

Related Articles
🏷️ Run Real-Time Diagnostics to Validate Your OTTO Pixel Installation
⭐ OTTO Pixel Troubleshooting Guide
🔌Webflow OTTO Pixel Installation Guide
🔌Squarespace OTTO Pixel Installation Guide
🔌GoDaddy OTTO Pixel Installation Guide
Did this answer your question?