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🧠 Search Atlas Master FAQ

Instant Answers and Best Practices

Updated today

Everything you need to know about using OTTO, QUEST, Hyperdrive, Local SEO, Reporting, and more.

This interactive FAQ is your go-to reference for resolving technical issues, understanding product features, and maximizing your SEO outcomes with Search Atlas.

You can:

✅ Troubleshoot common issues (quota, billing, site setup, etc.)

🚀 Learn how to use advanced tools like QUEST and Hyperdrive

🔍 Understand what each fix does and how to deploy it

🧰 Explore pro tips for agencies and multi-brand teams

🧠 Train your team faster with copy-ready, accurate answers

You can use the dropdowns below to explore answers by topic or product feature. Each answer is aligned with Fin's conversational intelligence, ensuring you get consistent help, whether via chat or docs.

How does OTTO SEO work, and is it safe to use for live sites?

OTTO SEO is an AI-powered SEO agent that applies technical and on-page enhancements via JavaScript overlays, without editing your CMS or theme files. Instead of modifying your site directly, OTTO uses a lightweight pixel (script tag) that dynamically injects improvements at runtime.

🛠️ What it optimizes:

  • Title and meta tags

  • Canonicalization

  • Structured data (schema)

  • Internal link architecture

  • Page-level on-page SEO signals

🧠 How it works:


Once you install the pixel and approve changes via the OTTO dashboard, fixes are automatically injected and rendered on the live site — visible in DevTools and the source code.

✅ Is it safe?


Yes. OTTO’s JavaScript is standards-compliant and crawlable by Googlebot. Sites using OTTO frequently report improvements in SEO audits, ranking distribution, and organic traffic within weeks.

🔗 Compatibility:


OTTO works seamlessly with WordPress, Shopify, Webflow, Framer, GoHighLevel, and most custom setups.

📌 Example:


OTTO can rewrite 120+ title tags across a WordPress site without backend access. All updates appear in <head> and are indexable.

⚠️ Edge Cases:

  • If JavaScript is blocked (by browser settings or plugins), changes may not render.

  • OTTO offers a static export option (“Deep Freeze”) for hard-coded deployment if needed.

How do I install the OTTO Pixel correctly?

The OTTO Pixel enables Search Atlas to apply SEO fixes to your live site dynamically. To install it, choose only one method depending on your platform:

✅ WordPress

  1. Go to Plugins → Add New

  2. Search "Search Atlas – OTTO SEO"

  3. Click Install → Activate

  4. The pixel will auto-activate — no code needed

✅ Shopify, Webflow, Framer, GoHighLevel, Others

  1. Go to your Search Atlas dashboard → OTTO & Audit → All Sites

  2. Copy your OTTO Pixel script

  3. Paste it before the </body> tag in your site’s global HTML template

  4. OR use Google Tag Manager → Custom HTML Tag → Paste the script

⚠️ Do not use multiple methods (plugin + script + GTM)

Doing so may cause duplicate rendering issues or prevent the pixel from firing correctly.

🔎 How to validate that the OTTO Pixel is working:

  • Open your site → Right-click → Inspect → Console

  • Look for “OTTO Pixel Detected” message

  • Use Google Tag Assistant or check pixel status in the Search Atlas dashboard

Note: Install OTTO using the WordPress plugin or by placing the script before </body> on non-WordPress platforms. Avoid duplicate methods.

How much does OTTO cost, and what does it include?

We offer several OTTO packages to fit your business needs:

  • Starter: $99/site/month – 500 AI points + 7.5 Hyperdrive credits

  • Basic: $85/site/month – 500 AI points + 7.5 Hyperdrive credits

  • Standard: $69/site/month – 2k–4.5k AI points + 7.5 credits

  • Premium: $59/site/month – 5k–12k AI points + 7.5 credits

  • Enterprise: Custom pricing – up to 24.5k AI points with volume discounts

🔧 Extras:

  • Additional AI generation: ~$0.03–$0.04 per point

  • Additional Hyperdrive: $99 for 100 credits

How much does OTTO Hyperdrive cost, and what is included?

🔋 Hyperdrive Credits

Hyperdrive credits are the fuel behind OTTO’s off-page SEO automation — included in all plans and available for purchase if you need more.

💰 Included by default:

Each OTTO SEO activation includes:

  • 7.5 Hyperdrive Credits per site, included in every plan (Starter, Growth, Pro, and Enterprise)

  • Credits renew monthly per activated site

🔁 Top-up options:

  • $99 for 100 extra credits (~$0.99 per credit)

  • Top-up pricing is consistent across tiers

  • Bulk and recurring add-ons available for higher volumes (especially 25+ sites) — contact Sales for Enterprise custom pricing

🚀 What Hyperdrive Credits Power:

  • Cloud Stacks (13 high-authority links per stack)

  • Press Release publishing

  • Citation creation for Local SEO

  • Backlink generation through trusted syndication networks

  • AI-optimized off-page strategies for domain authority

📌 Usage tip:


Each Cloud Stack = 20 credits. Press releases and citations vary by platform.

How do Search Atlas quotas and credits work (AI, Hyperdrive, OTTO)?

Search Atlas Credit & Quota System

Search Atlas uses a flexible quota and credit system to manage usage across AI content, large-scale automation, and OTTO SEO deployments. These quotas vary by plan and can be expanded on demand.

🧠 Breakdown by Feature

Feature

Credit Type

What It Powers

AI Content (Content Genius)

AI Credits

Meta descriptions, blog posts, outlines, and product pages

Hyperdrive

Hyperdrive Credits

CloudStack links, press releases, bulk AI content

OTTO SEO

OTTO Activations

Number of OTTO-enabled sites per account

🔁 When Do Quotas Reset?

  • Quotas reset monthly, based on your billing cycle

  • Usage is tracked per account or seat, depending on your plan

  • View your current usage: Account → Quota

🛒 Can You Purchase More Credits?

Yes — quotas are fully expandable via à la carte add-ons.

Examples:

  • “Add 20 more AI articles = $XX”

  • “Buy 100 more Hyperdrive credits = $99”

  • “Activate 1 more OTTO SEO site = from $59 to $99 depending on volume”

Bulk discounts are applied for OTTO SEO at higher tiers. Enterprise users can request custom pricing.

📌 Example Scenario: Growth Plan

A Growth user receives:

  • 15 GSC Site Projects

  • 10 Google Business Profile Projects

  • 2 OTTO SEO Site Activations

  • 7.5 Hyperdrive Credits per OTTO site (15 total if using both activations)

  • AI content quotas vary and can be extended

Note: Search Atlas uses monthly credits to manage AI writing, off-page automation, and OTTO deployments. Each plan includes base quotas, which can be expanded at any time.

How can I buy more OTTO Sites, Hyperdrive, Full Article, or AI Generation quotas?

Running low on AI points, Hyperdrive credits, or OTTO site slots? No worries — topping up is quick and flexible.

🧾 How to top up:

  1. Go to your OTTO dashboard

  2. Navigate to the “Quota & Usage” section

  3. Click “Add More” next to the resource you want (e.g., AI content, Hyperdrive, domains)

  4. Choose your top-up amount or recurring plan

  5. Confirm your payment — your quota updates instantly

📌 What you can buy:

  • AI Generation Points (for content, fixes, reports)

  • Hyperdrive Credits (citations, PRs, Cloud Stacks)

  • Additional OTTO Sites (add new domains or clients)

💡 Pro Tip: On Pro and Enterprise plans, you can set up auto-scaling so you never run out during a deployment or campaign.

How can I white‑label OTTO?

OTTO Pixel is white-labeled by default — no OTTO branding appears on your live site. With the Whitelabel Add-on, you can fully rebrand the Search Atlas platform to reflect your agency’s identity, perfect for delivering a seamless client experience.

🎨 Whitelabel capabilities:

  • Custom logo and favicon on all dashboard pages

  • Your own custom domain (e.g., seo.myagency.com)

  • Branded email notifications (e.g., reports, alerts, invites)

  • Secure client login with controlled, role-based access

⚙️ How to set it up:

  1. Ensure the Whitelabel add-on is active on your plan

  2. Go to Agency Settings → Branding

  3. Upload your agency logo and favicon

  4. Choose a subdomain and follow the DNS configuration instructions

  5. Customize login view and access roles for clients

💼 Use Cases:

  • Agency-branded dashboards for client trust

  • Private access for viewing GBP reports or OTTO deployments

  • Scalable multi-client environment under your brand

Note: Whitelabel lets you fully brand the dashboard, use your own subdomain, and offer secure client logins — available with the Pro plan + add-on.

How do quotas and credits work in Search Atlas?

💠 Search Atlas Resource Units

Search Atlas uses three types of resource units to power your workflows — each one designed for a specific area of the platform.

🧠 AI Credits

Used across Content Genius and related tools to generate:

  • SEO blog posts and outlines

  • Meta titles and descriptions

  • Product and category pages

  • Schema markup and image alt text

Each word or structured output consumes credits based on length and complexity. AI credits are included in all plans and can be topped up as needed.

⚡ Hyperdrive Credits

Used to power advanced off-page SEO and automation features, including:

  • CloudStack link networks (13 high-authority backlinks per stack)

  • Press release publishing

  • Local SEO citation building (NAP)

  • Bulk syndication automations

Each task has a fixed credit cost (e.g., 20 credits per Cloud Stack).
All plans include 7.5 Hyperdrive credits per OTTO site per month. Top-ups cost $99 for 100 credits, with volume discounts available starting at 25+ sites.

🌐 OTTO Activations

Control how many active domains are optimized with OTTO SEO.

  • 1 OTTO activation = 1 live site

  • Included activations vary by plan:

    • Starter: 1 site

    • Growth: 2 sites

    • Pro: 10 sites

Each activation unlocks:

  • Technical Site Audit + Auto Fixes

  • On-page SEO deployment via Pixel

  • GSC and GBP integration

  • Internal Linking AI

  • Content publishing tools

Activations are reusable — uninstall from one domain to reassign to another.

📌 Summary Table:

Resource Type

Powers...

Typical Use Case

AI Credits

Content creation (on-page SEO)

Drafting blogs, outlines, and product copy

Hyperdrive Credits

Off-page automation

Building links, publishing press releases

OTTO Activations

Website-level SEO management

Deploying fixes and audits per domain

When do quotas reset?

  • ♻️ How Credit Resets Work

    Your credits — including AI, Hyperdrive, and OTTO — reset on a regular cycle based on your plan and billing settings. Each billing cycle starts with a fresh quota.

  • 📅 Credit Reset Schedule

    Credits reset monthly based on your billing cycle date.

    This applies to:

    • AI Credits (Content Genius & writing tools)

    • Hyperdrive Credits (Cloud Stacks, press releases, citations)

    • Google Business Profile Actions (posts, Q&As, replies — where enabled)

  • 👥 Credit Tracking Model

    • Starter plan: Tracked per account

    • Growth and Pro plans: Tracked per user seat

    Each seat receives quota access according to its role and plan tier.

  • 📊 How to Check Usage

    1. Navigate to Account → Quota Dashboard

    2. View:

      • Remaining credits

      • Credit reset date

      • Recent usage history

    3. Add more credits as needed using the “Add More” button

  • 💡 Pro Tip

    Running recurring campaigns with Hyperdrive or Content Genius?
    Set a calendar reminder before your reset date to ensure continuous publishing and avoid automation gaps.

Can I buy more credits?

⚙️ Common On-Demand Upgrades

  • ➕ +20 AI Articles for extra content generation

  • ⚡ +100 Hyperdrive Credits for off-page SEO (Cloud Stacks, citations, press releases) — $99 flat rate

  • 🌐 +1 or more OTTO SEO Activations to optimize additional domains — starting at $59/site, with volume pricing

  • 🧾 Recurring top-ups (available on Growth, Pro, and Enterprise plans)

Note: Add-on pricing varies by usage tier. Discounts apply for 2–9, 10–24, and 25+ OTTO sites.

💡 When to Use Add-Ons

These upgrades are ideal if you:

  • Reach your quota mid-project

  • Launch a new SEO or content campaign

  • Onboard more client domains than usual

📍 How to Upgrade

  • Go to your Dashboard → Upgrade Panel

  • Or message us via in-app chat for guided expansion

🕒 Add-ons activate instantly once confirmed — no downtime or delays.

What consumes my credits?

📘 Understanding Credit Types in Search Atlas

Search Atlas uses three types of resource units to manage your workflows: AI Gen Points, Hyperdrive Credits, and OTTO Activations. Each one is included in your plan and can be expanded via top-ups.

🧠 AI Gen Points

Included per OTTO SEO site:

  • 500 AI Gen Points per site/month

  • Used for generating on-page content

  • Additional points available: 500 for $19

  • Volume discounts are available based on the number of sites

⚡ Hyperdrive Credits

Included per OTTO SEO site:

  • 7.5 Hyperdrive Credits per site/month

  • Used for off-page SEO automations, including:

    • Cloud Stacks (13 backlinks): 20 credits each

    • Press Releases

    • Citation building for local SEO

  • Top-ups: 100 credits for $99

  • Volume discounts available starting at 25+ sites

🌐 OTTO Activations

Each activation allows you to enable OTTO SEO on one domain.

  • Included per plan:

    • Starter: 1 site

    • Growth: 2 sites

    • Pro: 10 sites

  • Activations are reusable (can be uninstalled from one site and installed on another)

🔁 Quota & Billing Cycle

  • Credits reset monthly, according to your billing cycle

  • Credit usage is tracked:

    • Per account on Starter

    • Per seat on Growth and Pro

  • You can view and top up quotas directly in the Quota Dashboard

Is the 13 citations claim monthly or one-time?

☁️ What Is a Cloud Stack?

A Cloud Stack is an off-page SEO automation built by OTTO to boost your site's authority using trusted cloud platforms.

🔗 What’s Included in Each Cloud Stack

Each stack publishes 13 high-authority backlinks on platforms such as:

  • Amazon Web Services (AWS)

  • Microsoft Azure

  • Google Cloud

  • IBM Cloud

  • GitHub

Every link is:

  • Indexed and crawlable

  • Structured with branded or keyword-rich anchor text

  • Part of a layered off-page SEO strategy

⚡ Cost per Stack

  • 20 Hyperdrive credits per Cloud Stack

  • This covers:

    • AI-generated content

    • Link structuring

    • Cross-platform publication

📈 Usage Notes

  • You can create unlimited Cloud Stacks, based on your available Hyperdrive credits

  • Ideal for:

    • Local SEO

    • Brand authority

    • Topical signal building

  • Each stack uses a unique content shell — never duplicated across campaigns or domains

💡 Pro Tip

Maximize your off-page SEO by pairing Cloud Stacks with press releases — increase domain diversity and authority signals in tandem.

What is the difference between OTTO fixes and AI-generated content?

Search Atlas separates SEO automation into two core functions — OTTO Fixes and AI Content Creation, each serving a distinct purpose in your content strategy.

⚙️ What are OTTO Fixes?

  • Purpose: Improve existing site elements for SEO

  • What it does:

    • Optimizes titles, meta descriptions, H1s, and canonicals

    • Adds schema markup, alt text, internal links, and keywords

  • How it's applied:

    • Injected into your live site via the OTTO Pixel or plugin

    • Visible to both Google and users instantly

  • Example: Fixes 90 title tags across your site in seconds without changing your CMS

✍️ What is AI-Generated Content?

  • Purpose: Create new SEO-optimized content at scale

  • What it does:

    • Generates blog posts, product pages, landing pages, and press releases

    • Writes using AI models guided by SEO context, keywords, and tone

  • Where is it stored?

    • Accessible in the Content Assistant

    • Can be published to WordPress, exported, or scheduled

  • Scalable Tools:

    • Use Topical Maps, Hyperdrive, or Bulk Writers for mass content output

🧠 Summary:

  • OTTO = real-time technical SEO improvements to existing pages

  • AI Content = new, long-form content creation based on strategy and prompts

They are complementary. OTTO strengthens on-page elements, while Content Genius expands your site’s footprint with valuable new content.

Note: OTTO handles technical SEO fixes on live pages. Content Genius creates new articles, blogs, and SEO-driven pages using AI.

Can I manage multiple Google Business Profiles (GBPs)?

Yes! Search Atlas is designed to support multi-location GBP management — perfect for agencies or local businesses with multiple branches.

🔢 On the Growth plan, you can connect up to 10 GBPs.
📈 On the Pro plan, you can manage up to 25 GBPs under one dashboard.

📦 Core capabilities include:

  • Centralized scheduling of Google Posts across all locations

  • Bulk deployment of Q&As, updates, or business attributes

  • Unified inbox for managing and replying to reviews

  • Direct data syncing and field locking to prevent overwrites

  • Instant switching between locations inside the “GBP Galactic” dashboard

All GBPs you connect will be visible inside the dashboard, where you can filter, segment, and take batch actions across locations.

Note: You can manage multiple Google Business Profiles — 10 to 25 depending on your plan — and streamline operations using GBP Galactic.

Can I transfer an OTTO project to another account or domain?

Yes — Search Atlas allows you to transfer OTTO SEO projects across domains and accounts, making it ideal for agency-client handoffs or staging-to-live migrations.

🔁 You can transfer:

  • A project from a staging domain to a live domain

  • A project between two user accounts (e.g., from agency to client)

  • A project between subaccounts within an agency dashboard

🔧 How to do it:

  1. Go to the project’s Settings

  2. Click “Change Domain” to migrate SEO deployment to a new URL

  3. Use “Transfer Ownership” to move the project across accounts

⚠️ Key considerations:

  • All OTTO fixes will require revalidation on the new domain

  • The OTTO Pixel must be reinstalled on the new site

  • Do not freeze the site during the transfer process — it must be live and editable

Note: OTTO projects can be moved between accounts or domains. Use “Change Domain” for URL switches and “Transfer Ownership” for account changes.

What backup or safety measures are in place?

Yes — all changes made via OTTO are automatically saved and recoverable, even if the pixel temporarily goes offline.

🧠 How backup works:

  • Every fix you deploy (technical, content, schema, etc.) is stored in the OTTO dashboard

  • This includes both project-level and page-specific deployments

⚙️ Pixel technology & stability:

  • OTTO uses statically precalculated and cached data

  • Even if the pixel is briefly disconnected or blocked by a browser/plugin, your changes won’t be erased or lost

  • Once the pixel reconnects, changes are re-rendered instantly

💡 What if I uninstall the pixel?

  • If removed entirely, active fixes are also removed from the live site

  • Consider using Deep Freeze to preserve all deployed fixes without needing the live pixel

✅ You always maintain full control and can re-deploy any fix from your history.

How does reporting in OTTO work?

Yes — OTTO allows you to track and export a summary of all deployed work for reporting, transparency, or client review.

📤 Current export option:

  • From your OTTO dashboard, you can export a summary to Google Sheets

  • This includes:

    • Fix type and category

    • Deployment status

    • Pages affected

    • Timestamps

📊 Coming soon:

  • Full integration with Report Builder, allowing you to:

    • Combine OTTO activity with Site Audit, GBP, and Content reports

    • Add branding and structure

    • Automate recurring reports for clients or stakeholders

🔎 Where to find it:

  • Go to your project dashboard > Deployment Summary

  • Click “Export to Google Sheets”

💡 Great for agencies needing transparent reporting or internal QA workflows.

What happens if my client cancels OTTO or Search Atlas?

❓ What happens to SEO optimizations when a client cancels?

Most of the work OTTO delivers continues to live on — even after cancellation — as long as the right preservation steps are taken.

✅ Blog posts, landing pages, and CMS content remain published
✅ Backlinks, Cloud Stacks, and press releases stay active on the web
✅ Google Business Profile posts remain live (published via API)
✅ All OTTO-generated SEO data can be exported at any time

That’s because OTTO publishes much of its output directly into your CMS or onto the public web, where it remains independent of billing or plugin status.

For WordPress users: OTTO’s plugin is server-side. It does not rely on JavaScript injection. Optimizations are rendered at the HTML level, fully indexable, and independent from client-side scripts.

🔴 What may stop working without preservation

If the client cancels service and uninstalls OTTO without preserving their changes:

  • Dynamic SEO elements (titles, metas, speed fixes, schema) may stop appearing

  • Cloud Stack links may eventually expire if tied to a billing-based duration

  • On-page enhancements won't render unless frozen or exported

✅ How to preserve everything:

  1. Activate Deep Freeze before offboarding to lock in all on-site changes

  2. Export SEO data from the OTTO dashboard for manual deployment

How can I verify if OTTO fixes are deployed?

You can easily verify whether OTTO fixes are live on your site using built-in tools or browser inspection.

🧪 Three ways to check deployments:

  1. Search Atlas Chrome Extension

    • Use the extension to scan the page and see which fixes are active

    • View deployed schema, content blocks, and technical optimizations

  2. Browser Inspection (Chrome DevTools):

    • Open the Elements tab

    • Check for injected HTML from OTTO (e.g., schema markup in <head>, updated headings)

    • Verify the OTTO script is loading in the Network tab

  3. Support Team Assistance:

    • If you're unsure, message our team

    • We'll help confirm deployments and troubleshoot any rendering or caching issues

💡 Pro Tip: Changes made via OTTO are client-side rendered, so you won’t see them in your CMS but can always verify on the live site.

Why connect Google Search Console (GSC) or Google Business Profile (GBP)?

Connecting your Google Search Console (GSC) and Google Business Profile (GBP) unlocks deeper insights, smarter automation, and advanced local SEO capabilities in Search Atlas.

📊 Google Search Console (GSC) Integration


GSC powers content strategy and entity mapping by helping you:

  • 🧱 Pull in top-performing pages — used to prioritize audits and topical map creation

  • 🕵️‍♂️ Detect missing keywords — reveals gaps between current rankings and intent coverage

  • 🗺️ Auto-build topical maps — based on real user queries and entity relationships from GSC data

🎯 Perfect for content planning, AI article generation, and boosting semantic coverage.

📍 Google Business Profile (GBP) Integration
GBP allows you to automate and optimize your local SEO presence by enabling:

  • 📝 Publishing Q&As, review replies, and promotional posts directly from your dashboard

  • 🧭 Running local optimization tasks — such as NAP consistency, media updates, and service targeting

  • 📈 Monitoring visibility and engagement per profile

🔧 Great for multi-location businesses and agencies managing local presence at scale.

✅ You can connect one or both integrations at the project level — no data is overwritten, and you maintain full control over edits and publishing.

They’re not required, but they unlock deeper insights and features.

What happens if I remove the OTTO plugin or the pixel?

That's a great question — let me walk you through what happens and why OTTO is built this way.

1. First, the plugin is completely free. There’s no cost to install or keep the OTTO plugin on your site. You’re welcome to leave it active even if you're not currently using all its features.

2. If you’re using WordPress, the plugin works server-side, not through JavaScript injection. Unlike some platforms that rely on script-based SEO rendering, the OTTO WordPress plugin embeds optimizations directly into the HTML on your server. This ensures your changes appear even without pixel-based scripts.

3. The WordPress ecosystem is highly fragmented. There are many page builders (Elementor, Divi, WPBakery, SeedProd, Kadence, Beaver Builder) and SEO plugins (Yoast, RankMath, AIOSEO, SEOPress, The SEO Framework). Because each handles content differently, OTTO can’t push every SEO update (like alt text or content injections) directly into the CMS in every case. That’s why we’re building a native sync to transfer SEO titles and meta descriptions into supported plugins automatically.

4. Many of OTTO’s changes are permanent and independent. Updates to your Google Business Profile, backlinks, Cloud Stacks, and press releases remain live and unaffected. Content published to your CMS (blogs, landing pages) also stays intact.

5. If you want to uninstall the plugin or pixel but keep your SEO updates, you have two clean options:

- Activate Deep Freeze to retain the changes on-site permanently.

- Export your optimizations (meta tags, schema, etc.) to your CMS manually.

If neither is done, your on-site changes will stop rendering, similar to how other SEO plugins behave.

🚀 What’s Coming

We’re building a Cloudflare-based OTTO that won’t require a plugin or pixel — changes will be deployed at the network level. For WordPress, we’re adding support to sync SEO titles and metas into major SEO plugins like Yoast, RankMath, and more.

What is Deep Freeze, and how do I use it?

Deep Freeze is a feature that allows you to pause an OTTO project without losing your deployed SEO fixes. It’s ideal for situations where you need to pause billing but want to preserve your gains.

🧊 What Deep Freeze does:

  • Captures the current state of your live OTTO fixes

  • Stops the OTTO pixel from loading (no active script needed)

  • Keeps all deployed SEO content visible to Google and users

  • Prevents new edits until the site is “unfrozen”

🧩 When to use Deep Freeze:

  • A client cancels or pauses the service

  • You’re migrating to a new platform

  • You want to retain SEO wins without ongoing edits

  • You’re archiving a site but want public content intact

⚙️ How to activate it:

  1. Go to Project Settings of the OTTO site

  2. Click “Deep Freeze Site”

  3. Confirm the action

  4. You’ll see a countdown showing when your next freeze credit is available

📋 Rules & Limits:

  • You can freeze one site every 14 days

  • Available for Growth, Pro, and Legacy accounts

  • Once frozen:

    • No new AI fixes can be deployed

    • Pixel is no longer required or counted toward your quota

    • Unfreezing restores edit access

Note: Deep Freeze lets you preserve OTTO SEO changes without keeping the pixel active or continuing edits. Ideal for paused clients, migrations, or cancelation archiving.

What does it mean when OTTO is "enabled"?

The OTTO toggle switch controls whether your already deployed fixes are rendered live on your website — it’s not the same as deploying new fixes.

🟢 When OTTO is turned ON:

  • All fixes you’ve previously deployed (technical, content, schema, links) will begin rendering on the site

  • The OTTO Pixel becomes active and client-side rendering resumes

🔴 When OTTO is turned OFF:

  • Fixes remain saved in your dashboard

  • But nothing renders live — your site reverts to its pre-fix state (visually and structurally)

  • This can be useful for testing, staging, or temporary pauses

⚠️ Important clarification:

  • The toggle does not deploy fixes

  • It simply activates or deactivates rendering of fixes you've already deployed

🧠 Pro Tip: Always use “Deploy” to apply changes, then toggle ON to make them live.

How long does deployment take? Do fixes stay live?

  • OTTO offers flexible deployment options — whether you’re fixing one page or your entire site. The time it takes depends on the deployment method you use.

    ⚡ Single Fix Deployment:

    • Instantly pushed to your site

    • Ideal for testing or reviewing changes page by page

    • Changes are visible as soon as the page is refreshed

    📦 “Deploy All” (bulk deployment):

    • Deploys a batch of selected fixes across multiple pages

    • May take a few minutes to fully propagate, depending on:

      • The number of fixes

      • Your site's pixel load time

      • CDN or browser caching

    📍 Where to find status:

    • Deployment counters update in real time

    • You can track what’s been applied from the Deployment Log in the OTTO dashboard

    💡 Pro Tip: After a bulk deploy, clear your browser cache or use an incognito window to verify live rendering.

Fixes stay live as long as the OTTO Pixel is active and your subscription is valid.

How often does OTTO update with new fixes or issues?

OTTO continuously syncs with your Site Audit crawl schedule to detect and suggest new opportunities, but not all features refresh automatically.

📆 What updates with each crawl:

  • 🛠️ Technical issues (e.g., broken links, redirects, loading errors)

  • 🔗 Internal link suggestions (anchor updates, orphaned pages)

  • 🔍 Missing keywords (from content vs. ranking gaps)

These are refreshed every time your site is re-crawled, based on your configured schedule (daily, weekly, or manual).

🧠 What does not auto-refresh:

  • 🗺️ Topical Maps and Semantic Models

    • Generated using a snapshot of GSC + NLP data

    • Do not auto-update with new queries or rankings

    • To update, you must rebuild the Topical Map manually

📍 Where to manage crawl settings:

  • Go to Site Audit > Settings > Crawl Frequency

  • Choose how often OTTO checks for new technical or keyword insights

💡 Pro Tip: Set crawls weekly for dynamic sites, or monthly for stable ones.

Can OTTO work in languages other than English?

Yes — OTTO is fully compatible with multilingual websites, making it ideal for global SEO and international campaigns.

🗣️ Language flexibility:

  • Works with any language — including Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Japanese, and more

  • Supports RTL (right-to-left) languages like Arabic and Hebrew

  • Detects and processes locale-specific tags (e.g., hreflang) during audits and deployments

🧠 AI + NLP Compatibility:

  • AI-generated content (titles, metadata, articles) will reflect the language of your site

  • Fixes (technical, schema, headings) follow the structure regardless of language

  • Topical Maps can be generated per language or region if connected to GSC with regional data

📍 No plugin or extra settings needed — OTTO auto-detects the language from your site’s code and content

💡 Pro Tip: For best results, create one project per language or subdomain to keep audits, keyword gaps, and fixes targeted.

Can I track my Google Business Profile performance in Search Atlas?

Absolutely! With GBP connected, Search Atlas provides clear visibility into your local SEO impact, helping you monitor and improve your Google Business presence.

🔍 What metrics can I track?
Once connected, you’ll see:

  • 👁️ Profile Views – Number of users who see your listing

  • 📊 Engagement Rate – How many take actions (calls, clicks, directions)

  • 🗺️ Local Search Visibility – How often your business appears for relevant searches

  • 🔄 Post and Review Performance – Track which posts get the most engagement

  • 📍 Search Type Breakdown – Direct vs discovery vs branded search volume

🧭 Where to find it:

  • Go to Local SEO > GBP Insights tab

  • View insights per location or across all connected profiles

💡 Pro Tip: Combine this with GBP Automation to optimize posts and reply to reviews based on real performance data.

Can I manage multiple GBP locations?

Yes! OTTO’s integration with Google Business Profile (GBP) makes it easy to manage multi-location SEO and customer engagement — all from one place.

📍 What can I do with multiple locations?


With a centralized OTTO dashboard, you can:

  • ✍️ Schedule and publish GBP posts across several businesses

  • 💬 Reply to reviews quickly and consistently

  • ❓ Post Q&As to improve local rankings

  • 🛠️ Run location-based audits and deploy optimization fixes per store

  • 🔄 Sync business info (hours, services, media) by location

📂 Manage by location, brand, or region:

  • Assign access by team or client

  • Filter analytics and actions per site

  • Keep branding and strategy consistent across all profiles

💡 Perfect for: Agencies, franchises, or businesses with multiple storefronts

Are there any special steps to integrate GBP or GSC?

Connecting your GBP account is simple and unlocks a full suite of automation tools and analytics inside OTTO.

🚀 Steps to connect:

  1. Go to Local SEO > Connect GBP

  2. Click “Connect Google Account”

  3. Authorize access to your business listings

  4. OTTO will automatically sync your profile data and prepare it for optimization

🧠 Once connected, you can:

  • Post content and Q&As

  • Respond to reviews

  • Track performance (views, engagement, searches)

  • Automate location-specific optimizations

🛟 Need help?


Our support team can walk you through setup and troubleshoot connection issues if you need to.

💡 Pro Tip: Use one Google account that manages all your listings to simplify multi-location workflows.

How long does it take to AI-generate a landing page?

  1. Without images: ~1 minute

  2. With AI-generated images: ~5–7 minutes

How can I track backlink growth and authority improvements in Search Atlas?

Search Atlas offers robust backlink tracking tools to monitor growth, quality, and overall domain authority over time.

📊 Backlink Analyzer & Site Explorer

  • Access up-to-date metrics on your backlink profile, including total backlinks, referring domains, anchor texts, and link types (follow/nofollow) 

  • View Domain Power, a proprietary SEO authority score that combines link quality, organic traffic, and keyword rankings

  • Filter by domain authority, geolocation, link attributes, and more for granular insight 

📈 Historical Trends & Competitor Benchmarking

  • Track backlink acquisition and loss over time

  • Compare your profile against competitors to spot gaps and opportunities

📍 Regular Monitoring & Reporting

  • Export backlink data for outreach campaigns or content updates

  • Set up scheduled alerts or CSV exports to stay on top of new or lost links

✅ These tools help build a clear picture of your off-page SEO health — making it easy to optimize and report impact to clients.

🔗 Here’s how to monitor your link profile:

  1. Site Explorer

  • Check new vs lost backlinks

  • Analyze referring domains, domain authority, and trust metrics

  • See anchor text distribution and target pages

  1. Link Building Module (Cloud Stacks)

  • Track the live status of OTTO-syndicated backlinks

  • Monitor which links are indexed or pending

  • Export all generated URLs for manual audits or Google Search Console uploads

  1. Report Builder

  • Create monthly link performance summaries by client or project

  • Filter by campaign, date range, or link source type

  • Share downloadable reports with stakeholders or clients

📈 Use Cases:

  • Ongoing authority tracking across campaigns

  • Link quality audits for clients

  • Monitoring indexation and performance of Cloud Stack links

Note: Track link growth via Site Explorer, Cloud Stack deployment logs, and Report Builder. Export reports to analyze backlink health and SEO impact over time.

How do I build entity authority using Quest?

The SEO paradigm is shifting to AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) with LLMs generating billions of pieces of content. QUEST enables LLM visibility benchmarking, helping you optimize for AI-generated content ecosystems.:

  • If your content isn’t indexed in GPT, you won’t appear in AI-generated answers.

  • Influence what ChatGPT, Claude, and others say—at the source level.

    Use QUEST to:

    • Find out whether your domain, brand, or topics are visible in models like GPT.

    • Identify source documents that inform LLM-generated answers.

    • Launch targeted digital PR campaigns to modify those sources and increase brand mentions.

    🛠️ How to do it

    1. Go to Search Atlas and navigate to Content → QUEST.

    2. Enter a topic, brand, or keyword (e.g., “best cat treats”, “plant-based protein powder”).

    3. QUEST will:

      • Run your query across LLMs.

      • Extract the full AI answer.

      • Identify the source URLs informing that answer.

    4. Review the list of source documents.

    5. Click “Create Campaign” to:

      • Find contact info for authors, editors, or contributors.

      • Launch email or SMS outreach sequences.

      • Use prebuilt templates or custom messages.

        Interpretation Tips

      • Focus on recurring sources: If multiple LLM answers cite the exact domains, prioritize them.

      • Look for brand mentions vs. non-brand documents: Not all citations include your brand; identify relevant editorial angles.

      • Target contributors: QUEST helps you find not just site editors, but also guest authors with a wide presence.

      QUEST is deeply integrated with the Publisher Exchange and Digital PR tools in Search Atlas. You can cross-filter sites by:

      • LLM visibility

      • Inclusion in Google News

      • Indexation via Bing, Common Crawl, and others

      Use this to prioritize outreach where AI already shows semantic trust.

How do I cancel my Search Atlas plan or downgrade?

If you need to cancel or downgrade your Search Atlas plan, you can manage this directly from your dashboard.

🧾 Steps to cancel or downgrade:

  1. Go to your Account → Billing Settings

  2. Click “Manage Subscription”

  3. Choose to Cancel or Change Plan

💡 What happens after cancellation:

  • All active OTTO SEO fixes are removed unless you activate Deep Freeze

  • Access to features like AI Content, GBP management, and audit tools will end

  • Your data and projects are archived for 30 days in case you reactivate

🛡️ Optional continuity:


Suppose you’d like to preserve all OTTO SEO fixes after cancellation. In that case, you can switch to the Deep Freeze SEO Continuity plan — a one-time payment that keeps your deployed fixes live and indexable for up to 10 years, even without an active subscription.

Note: Cancel or downgrade from Billing Settings → Manage Subscription.

Use Deep Freeze to prevent loss of deployed OTTO fixes.

How do I track backlinks and authority growth over time?

Search Atlas provides multiple ways to track your backlink growth, link quality, and authority improvements over time.

🔗 Here’s how to monitor your link profile:

  1. Site Explorer

  • Check new vs lost backlinks

  • Analyze referring domains, domain authority, and trust metrics

  • See the anchor text distribution and target pages

  1. Link Building Module (Cloud Stacks)

  • Track the live status of OTTO-syndicated backlinks

  • Monitor which links are indexed or pending

  • Export all generated URLs for manual audits or Google Search Console uploads

  1. Report Builder

  • Create monthly link performance summaries by client or project

  • Filter by campaign, date range, or link source type

  • Share downloadable reports with stakeholders or clients

📈 Use Cases:

  • Ongoing authority tracking across campaigns

  • Link quality audits for clients

  • Monitoring indexation and performance of Cloud Stack links

Note: Track link growth via Site Explorer, Cloud Stack deployment logs, and Report Builder. Export reports to analyze backlink health and SEO impact over time.

Why don’t I see changes in my CMS or page source?

OTTO uses dynamic client-side rendering, which means all optimizations are applied in your users’ browsers — not directly in your CMS or static HTML.

🧠 How it works:

  • Once deployed, OTTO injects fixes via the client-side pixel, handling metadata, schema, headings, internal links, and more.

  • These changes are not visible in your CMS backend or source definitions — they live in the user view after loading.

📎 Why this matters:

  • It enables seamless compatibility across all hosting platforms.

  • You maintain full control of your CMS and hosting setup.

  • When OTTO is disabled or the pixel is removed, the changes are automatically removed.

💡 Pro Tip: To verify live changes, inspect the page in the browser’s Developer Tools (Elements tab) or use the Search Atlas Chrome Extension.

How does OTTO interact with other Search Atlas tools?

OTTO is tightly integrated into the Search Atlas ecosystem, enabling a seamless, unified workflow across SEO content, fixes, reporting, and local optimization.

📝 Content Assistant

  • Syncs articles generated in OTTO automatically

  • Lets you refine, export, or publish directly from one central workspace

🛠️ Site Audit

  • Feeds real-time technical issues into OTTO

  • Triggers smart fix suggestions (e.g. broken links, schema, meta tags)

  • You can deploy fixes directly from OTTO’s dashboard

📊 Report Builder

  • Includes OTTO task data in client reports

  • Supports filtering by fix type, timeframe, and module

  • Export as branded PDFs or dynamic share links

📍 Local SEO (GBP Integration)

  • Shares Google Business Profile connections with OTTO

  • Manage posts, reviews, and Q&A actions directly from the OTTO interface

🚫 Not currently integrated:

  • Site Explorer (competitor research)

  • GSC Performance (query/rank tracking)

  • Keyword Research tools

These exclusions are intentional to prevent data duplication and maintain a modular focus.

Site Explorer, GSC Performance, and Keywords are not integrated.

How do I launch a Google Ads campaign with OTTO PPC tools?

With OTTO PPC, launching a high-performing Google Ads campaign is fast and straightforward — no guesswork needed.

🔧 What’s included

  • Smart Google Ads generator (keywords + ad copy)

  • Landing page matcher to connect your SEO content

  • CPC estimator and projected ROI

📍 Steps to launch

  1. Open the OTTO PPC section in your dashboard

  2. Select the site or landing page

  3. Enter your campaign goal and budget

  4. Let OTTO generate your whole campaign

  5. Export directly to Google Ads

How can I check my current usage and quotas?

You can track all your active quotas and usage in real time from your account dashboard.

📍 Steps to check usage

  1. Go to Account > Usage

  2. View your quotas across all categories:

    • OTTO Fixes

    • AI Content Generation

    • Hyperdrive Credits

    • Google Business Profile Actions

📊 Real-time indicators show:

  • Remaining credits

  • Reset schedules

  • Top-up options (when available)

What happens when I exceed my quota?

When you reach your quota limit, the affected feature will pause automatically, and you’ll see a “quota exceeded” notification.

⚠️ What happens next?

  • New fixes, content, or actions stop temporarily

  • You’ll be prompted to add more credits or upgrade

  • Usage resets at the start of your next billing cycle

🧩 How to resolve it

  1. Go to Account > Usage > “Add More”

  2. Choose between a one-time top-up or recurring credits

  3. Or upgrade your plan for auto-scaling benefits

How do I update my payment method?

Updating your payment details is quick and secure from your account settings.

🧾 Steps to update your card

  1. Go to Account > Billing

  2. Click “Update Payment Method”

  3. Enter your new card details

  4. Confirm it as your default payment method

How do I reset my password or fix login issues?

Trouble logging in? No worries — here’s how to get back in:

🔄 To reset your password:

  1. Go to the login page

  2. Click “Forgot Password”

  3. Follow the link sent to your email

🔐 If you’re locked out due to 2FA:


Contact our support team and we’ll help unlock your account.

What are the first steps I should take after signing up?

🧭 4 easy steps to launch your success:

  1. Create a Project – Add your domain and choose OTTO SEO or Local SEO

  2. Install the OTTO Pixel – Use the WordPress plugin or embed the script manually (Use only one. Avoid duplicates)

  3. Run a Site Audit – Instantly uncover technical issues to fix

  4. Generate Content or Reports – Dive into Content Genius and Report Builder for quick wins

📺 For guided help, check out our Academy Quickstart video series.

How can I add team members to my account?

Need help managing projects? You can invite teammates to collaborate directly from your dashboard.

👤 Steps to add users:

  1. Go to Account > Users

  2. Click “Invite User”

  3. Choose a role: Admin, Editor, or Viewer

  4. Select which projects they can access

📌 Note: Each plan includes a limited number of seats. You can upgrade to unlock more.

How do I interpret Site Audit results?

Site Audit helps you quickly understand which site issues matter most — and how to fix them.

🎯 Color-coded issue types:

🔴 Red = Critical → Broken links, blocked pages, missing meta

🟠 Orange = Warning → Duplicate content, slow load time, schema issues

🔵 Blue = Suggestion → SEO scoring, UX, or CTR improvements

📘 Each issue includes:

  • Severity level

  • Estimated impact

  • Recommended action

You can choose to deploy the fix, review details, or dismiss it.

How do I export data or reports from Search Atlas?

Exporting your data is easy — each tool offers download options tailored to the content type.

📁 Export options by module:

  • Report Builder → PDF or shareable live link

  • Site Audit & Keywords → CSV file export

  • Content Assistant → Download AI-generated drafts as plain text or HTML

  • Link Builder Reports → CSV export for backlinks

🖱️ Look for the “Export” or “Download” button at the top-right corner of each module.

What’s the difference between OTTO on WordPress vs Shopify?

OTTO works across both platforms — the main difference is how you install it.

🟩 WordPress Setup

  • Use the official OTTO SEO plugin

  • Handles pixel install and updates automatically

  • Seamless setup in just a few clicks

🛍️ Shopify (or other CMS)

  • Manually paste the OTTO Pixel script into your theme code or via Google Tag Manager

  • Script placement depends on your theme’s structure

  • Requires a bit more manual setup, but works just as well

✅ Both platforms give you full OTTO functionality once installed.

How can I view invoices or receipts?

📄 Steps to view or download invoices:

  1. Go to Account > Billing > History

  2. Click on any transaction to view details

  3. Download the invoice or receipt (PDF)

📬 You’ll also receive a copy by email for every charge.

How do I compare plans or upgrade?

You can view all plan features and switch plans right from your dashboard.

📊 Plan overview:

  • Starter → Basic tools + 1 domain

  • Growth → Multi-domain, reports, Google Business tools

  • Pro → Full suite, multi-user access, PPC, white-label features

  • Enterprise → Unlimited domains, API access, SLA support

🔁 To upgrade your plan:

  1. Go to Account > Billing

  2. Click “Change Plan”

  3. Choose the plan that fits your needs

How do I verify a domain inside Search Atlas?

Before using SEO tools or deploying fixes, you’ll need to verify ownership of your domain.

🔒 Choose one of three verification methods:

  1. Upload the .html file to your root directory

  2. Add a DNS TXT record via your domain registrar

  3. Paste a meta tag into your site’s <head> section

Once verified, your site will be fully connected to your Search Atlas project.

Does Search Atlas offer API access? What are the limits?

Yes! API access is available for users on Pro and Enterprise plans.

🛠️ What you can do with the API:

  • Pull Site Audit and ranking data

  • Push AI-generated content directly to your CMS

  • Access link metrics and technical issue logs

  • Automate report generation across projects

📈 API limits:

  • Pro Plan → Up to 1,000 API calls per day

  • Enterprise Plan → 5,000+ daily calls, with support SLA

  • Rate limits may vary by endpoint

How do I integrate Search Atlas with Webflow or other custom sites?

You can easily install the OTTO Pixel on Webflow or any custom CMS — no plugin required.

🧩 Steps for Webflow integration:

  1. Open your Webflow project dashboard

  2. Go to Settings > Custom Code

  3. Paste the OTTO script just before </body>

  4. Save changes and publish your site

📝 Important tips:

  • Only insert the script once — avoid duplicate tags

  • OTTO uses client-side rendering, so the setup works without plugins

What’s the fastest way to create a high-performing landing page with AI?

You can build a fully optimized landing page in minutes using Hyperdrive’s AI builder.

🛠️ Steps to create:

  1. Go to Hyperdrive > New Page

  2. Enter your topic or product focus

  3. Let AI generate:

    • SEO-optimized layout (H1, subheaders, keywords)

    • Conversion-ready copy (hero, features, CTA)

  4. (Optional) Add AI-generated images for a full visual page

⏱️ Estimated time:

  • Text only: ~1 minute

  • With images: ~5–7 minutes

How can I automate SEO reports to send weekly?

You can schedule recurring reports from Report Builder to keep clients updated automatically.

🛠️ Steps to automate reports:

  1. Open Report Builder

  2. Click “Create Schedule”

  3. Choose your project, modules, and frequency

  4. Add one or more client email addresses

  5. Choose between PDF or a dynamic live link

📬 Reports will be delivered automatically based on your chosen schedule.

What’s the difference between GBP Automation and GBP Insights?

Both tools work together to power your Local SEO — but they serve different purposes.

⚙️ GBP Automation = Actions

  • Auto-publish posts, Q&A, and review replies

  • Sync business info and profile updates

📊 GBP Insights = Analytics

  • Track profile views, search impressions, and click activity

  • Monitor engagement trends over time

✅ You can enable both to automate updates and track performance in one place.

How does Search Atlas help with PPC (Google Ads)?

Search Atlas includes a built-in PPC module to help you launch and optimize Google Ads campaigns quickly and effectively.

📈 What’s included:

  • Google Ads campaign builder

  • AI-generated ad copy tailored to SEO and intent

  • Landing page optimization powered by OTTO

  • PPC analytics by keyword, ad group, and budget performance

You can generate full campaigns and export directly to Google Ads — no guesswork needed.

Can I manage multiple brands or sub-agencies in Search Atlas?

Yes! Pro and Enterprise plans are built for agencies and resellers managing multiple clients or sub-brands.

🧩 What you can do:

  • Fully whitelabel dashboards for each client or agency

  • Assign teams to specific brands or projects

  • Generate brand-specific reports with custom logos

  • Use separate subdomains for different agencies

  • Control branding and access at the project level

Perfect for agencies, resellers, and large multi-brand teams.

What’s the difference between project-wide and page-specific fixes in OTTO?

OTTO gives you flexible control over how fixes are applied — site-wide or per page.

🌐 Project-wide fixes
Apply across the entire domain and include:

  • Metadata templates

  • Schema markup

  • Speed enhancements

  • Backlink automation

📄 Page-specific fixes
Target individual issues like:

  • H1 duplication

  • Broken links

  • Missing keywords

  • Readability or UX suggestions

🛠️ How to apply fixes:

  • Deploy all fixes from a category

  • Fix only flagged pages

  • Apply manual tweaks page by page

What is a Topical Map, and why is it important for SEO?

A Topical Map is a content blueprint that helps you cover a subject in-depth and rank better in search engines.

🧠 Why it matters:

  • Organizes content into thematic clusters

  • Highlights keyword gaps and under-covered topics

  • Helps auto-generate SEO articles for full topical coverage

  • Strengthens internal linking between related pages

🔍 Search Atlas builds Topical Maps using KBT (Knowledge-Based Topics) — combining Google Search Console data with NLP to surface high-impact topics.

What’s the best way to optimize internal linking automatically?

You can automate smart, SEO-friendly internal linking directly through OTTO.

🧠 How it works:

  • Go to the OTTO > Internal Linking tab

  • OTTO suggests semantic anchor text based on page context

  • Links are created from high-authority to underperforming pages

  • Uses the OTTO Pixel to auto-insert links without changing your CMS

🛠️ Deploy links:

  • Per page, by section

  • Or bulk deploy across your site

What is Semantic Score and how is it calculated?

The Semantic Score is a proprietary metric used in Search Atlas to evaluate how well your content aligns with Google’s expectations for topical depth and semantic relevance.

📊 What goes into the score:

  • ✅ Topical Map Coverage → Checks if your content addresses key subtopics in the topical cluster

  • 🧩 Entity Co-occurrence → Looks for the presence of related entities commonly found in high-ranking pages

  • 🗝️ Keyword Spread & Variation → Measures how naturally and comprehensively your content uses primary and secondary keywords

  • 📐 Structure & Readability → Analyzes headers, paragraph flow, and formatting for user and crawler experience

⚙️ When it updates:

  • Every time you generate a new AI draft

  • When you apply a content fix or manually edit the article

  • After internal linking or entity suggestions are added

How do I view and manage all fixes applied by OTTO?

📜 Where to find it:

  • Go to OTTO > Fix History

🧾 What you’ll see:

  • A timestamped log of every deployed fix

  • The team member who triggered it

  • The page and category (e.g., technical, content, schema)

  • Options to redeploy, undo, or modify each fix

How can I use Site Explorer to analyze competitor ads and backlinks?

Site Explorer is your go-to tool for deep competitive research, helping you uncover exactly how and where your competitors are gaining traction online.

📢 Analyze Competitor PPC Campaigns

  • View live and recent Google Ads campaigns

  • See headlines, descriptions, and CTA styles

  • Estimate ad spend and targeting trends

  • Identify high-performing landing pages connected to those ads

🔗 Audit Competitor Backlinks

  • Access their top referring domains

  • Filter by link authority, domain type, or do-follow status

  • Spot outreach opportunities or link gaps in your profile

🧠 Uncover Content & Keyword Overlaps

  • Analyze content structure and top-ranking pages

  • Discover shared and exclusive keywords

  • Benchmark their semantic coverage against your Topical Maps

🎯 Use this intel to:

  • Build counter-campaigns with better ad messaging

  • Improve your backlink profile with proven domains

  • Strengthen your content with missing topics or angles

Can I track backlinks built via Cloud Stacks inside Search Atlas?

Yes — every Cloud Stack you generate is tracked in real time so you can monitor your backlink performance and deployment history.

📋 What’s logged for each Cloud Stack:

  • The target URL where the backlink points

  • The anchor text used

  • Live status (active or 404)

  • Date and time of deployment

  • Platform used (e.g., AWS, Azure, GitHub)

📍 Where to find this info:


Go to Authority > Link Log to see a complete list of deployed Cloud Stacks. You can filter by domain, status, or date to track performance and coverage.

Do you know if I can use Search Atlas for multilingual or international SEO?

Absolutely — Search Atlas is built to support multilingual strategies and international visibility at scale.

🗣️ Multilingual Capabilities:

  • Generate AI-powered content in multiple languages

  • Use Topical Maps tailored to regional search behavior

  • Create language-specific versions of landing pages, blog posts, and product pages

🌐 International SEO Features:

  • Add hreflang tags to target content to different language and region combinations properly

  • Manage localized Google Business Profiles (GBP) for multiple regions or locations

  • Set language and market preferences per project for accurate reporting and optimization

🔧 Use Cases:

  • Target U.S. and Latin American audiences with English and Spanish content

  • Optimize local presence for franchise or multi-location brands

  • Customize content campaigns by country-specific search behavior

How does Site Audit help me understand and fix SEO issues?

Site Audit gives you a comprehensive technical SEO health check, making it easy to spot, prioritize, and fix issues across your entire site.

📋 What Site Audit covers:

  • Performs an automated crawl like a search engine bot to analyze pages, metadata, site structure, load speed, schema, and content quality

  • Detects issues such as broken links, missing meta tags, duplicate content, schema problems, and slow-loading resources

🛠️ How to configure your audit:

  • Enter your domain and set the crawl depth and frequency (e.g., monthly or weekly)

  • Exclude any irrelevant sections like archives or admin pages for more efficient crawling

🚨 Alerts and monitoring:

  • Get real-time alerts when new issues are detected or performance declines

  • Track site health scores over time to measure improvements after fixes

📈 Integration with OTTO:

  • Issues flagged by Site Audit are directly fed into the OTTO module, where you can review and automatically deploy suggested fixes alongside step-by-step guides

🔧 Benefits for users:

  • Simplifies technical audits to uncover critical SEO issues efficiently

  • Helps non-technical users prioritize & fix problems without guesswork

  • Essential for agencies to generate actionable audit reports for clients

What are OTTO PPC Tools?

OTTO PPC Tools are a powerful module within Search Atlas Pro & Enterprise plans, designed to automate and optimize your Google Ads campaigns with AI and SEO intelligence.

🚀 Core Capabilities


OTTO PPC bridges the gap between organic SEO and paid advertising by offering:

  1. Ad Campaign Generator

    • Create complete ad sets from a landing page or topic

    • Includes multiple headlines, descriptions, sitelinks, and display paths

    • Aligned with keyword intent and on-page content

  2. Landing Page Matcher

    • Automatically matches the most relevant page on your site for the ad

    • Ensures congruence between search intent, ad copy, and destination

  3. CPC Estimator & ROI Projection

    • Calculates expected cost-per-click using historical keyword data

    • Estimates potential return on ad spend (ROAS) based on conversion type

🧠 How It Works: Step-by-Step

  1. Go to OTTO PPC in your dashboard

  2. Select the project or landing page you want to advertise

  3. Enter your campaign objective (e.g., lead gen, product promo)

  4. Set your budget or bid strategy

  5. Click “Generate Campaign” — the system produces:

    • Campaign name & structure

    • Keywords grouped by intent

    • Ad copy (headlines, descriptions, CTAs)

    • Landing page mapping

  6. Review and export the campaign to your Google Ads account

🎯 Who It's For

  • SEO agencies managing paid search for clients

  • E-commerce brands launching seasonal campaigns

  • Marketers needing fast, conversion-optimized PPC builds

  • Teams looking to align SEO + PPC messaging seamlessly

📈 Why It Matters

Traditional paid ads often underperform when they are disconnected from an organic strategy. OTTO PPC ensures:

✅ Ad copy is SEO-friendly and on-brand
✅ You reduce friction between click and conversion
✅ Campaigns are built faster, with more intelligent targeting

How do I use Local SEO Heatmaps to improve rankings?

Local SEO Heatmaps give you a visual SERP tracker for Google Maps and Local Pack results — showing exactly where your business ranks in your service area.

📍 What you’ll see:

  • Color-coded map with your rank position across ZIP codes or GPS points

  • Comparison to competitors in each location

  • Click-to-analyze each point for keyword, listing, and review data

🎯 How to act on it:

  • Use the Heatmap to spot underperforming areas

  • Deploy GBP posts, reviews, and Q&A to boost visibility

  • Trigger local content via OTTO (e.g., location pages, service pages)

📊 Syncs With:

  • GBP Insights: Pulls engagement + visibility metrics

  • Local Posts & Reviews: View what's published and still pending

  • Report Builder: Include Heatmaps in your monthly reports

🛠️ Steps:

  1. Go to Local SEO > Heatmaps

  2. Choose your target keyword and radius

  3. Review current rankings

  4. Apply actions directly from the heatmap interface

What’s the difference between Topical Maps and Keyword Gap tools?

While both tools help you plan smarter content, Topical Maps and Keyword Gaps serve very different SEO goals:

📚 Topical Maps = Content Depth + Entity Coverage

  • Built using NLP + GSC + KBT (Knowledge-Based Topics)

  • Designed to structure your content around entities and semantic relevance

  • Automatically suggests articles, internal links, and supporting content

  • Goal: Improve topical authority, not just keyword count

🧩 Keyword Gap Tool = Competitive Benchmarking

  • Compares your domain to top-ranking competitors

  • Shows keywords they rank for, but you don’t

  • Helps you identify opportunities to close ranking gaps

  • Goal: Win SERP visibility by covering missed intents

🔍 Use both together:

  1. Run Keyword Gap to see what content you're missing

  2. Use Topical Maps to structure that content semantically

  3. Deploy articles and links via OTTO for max impact

🛠️ Where to find:

  • Topical Maps → AI Content > Topic Clusters

  • Keyword Gap → Keywords > Gap Analysis

What is SCHOLAR, and how does it score AI content?

SCHOLAR (Semantic Content Heuristics for Objective Language Assessment & Readability) is the NLP scoring engine behind all AI-generated content in Search Atlas.

It evaluates not just keywords, but how well your content performs semantically in context, using Google’s language patterns, entity graphs, and readability metrics.

🧠 What SCHOLAR measures:

  1. Topical Coverage

    • Check alignment with your Topical Map or target entity

    • Rewards articles that address core + supporting topics

  2. Entity Co-occurrence

    • Verifies that the right-named entities (e.g., brands, locations, tools) appear naturally

    • Inspired by Google’s Knowledge Graph standards

  3. Keyword Spread + Synonym Use

    • Look for semantic variation, not just keyword repetition

    • Penalizes keyword stuffing or unnatural phrasing

  4. Readability + Structure

    • Evaluates sentence complexity, header hierarchy, and paragraph length

    • Optimized for UX, conversion, and Google’s Helpful Content System

  5. Anchor Distribution (for internal links)

    • Assess whether the anchor text is relevant, varied, and semantically justified

    • Used when articles are generated with internal linking enabled

📈 What your score means:

  • 90–100 (Excellent): Ready to publish, highly optimized

  • 70–89 (Good): Minor improvements suggested

  • 50–69 (Needs Work): Improve structure or keyword depth

  • Below 50: Rewrite or regenerate — lacks semantic alignment

🔧 Where to find SCHOLAR Scores:

  • In Content Genius > Drafts

  • Also visible in Report Builder and article exports

  • Automatically updated after each generation or edit

How does the AI Content Planner work with Topical Maps and Bulk Article Generation?

The AI Content Planner in Search Atlas connects your topical strategy with efficient, high-quality content production, including bulk article generation for entire silos or clusters.

📌 Planner + Topical Maps Workflow:

  1. Create or import a Topical Map

    • Based on keyword themes, entities, or GSC data

    • Organized by clusters and subtopics

  2. Open AI Content Planner

    • Automatically displays all articles suggested by the map

    • You can edit titles, assign writers, or generate with AI

  3. Select generation mode:

    • 🧠 One-click: AI writes full draft with headings, FAQs, and internal links

    • 📦 Bulk mode: Generate 5–100 articles in a single queue

    • 💬 Human-AI hybrid: Assign drafts to team members for manual writing

  4. Track status and SCHOLAR scores

    • Monitor progress from “Planned” → “Generated” → “Published”

    • Optimize low-performing drafts based on NLP feedback

⚙️ Optional automations:

  • Auto-insert internal links using OTTO’s pixel

  • Push content to WordPress or Webflow

  • Add metadata, schema, and OG tags automatically

📈 Ideal for:

  • Agencies needing full-topic coverage

  • Niche sites scaling content by 100s of pages

  • In-house teams working with AI + editors

What are Quantum News Network and Press Syndication options?

The Quantum News Network (QNN) is Search Atlas’s premium press release and content distribution engine, designed to boost brand visibility, E-E-A-T, and authoritative backlinks through high-domain media outlets.

📡 How it works:

  1. Create a press release

    • Use AI Content Genius or write manually

    • Include brand news, announcements, product launches, etc.

  2. Publish via QNN

    • Distribution to a curated network of 250+ outlets

    • Includes Google News, Bing, Yahoo, financial sites, and local news sites

    • Uses 10 Hyperdrive credits + optional dynamic distribution add-ons

  3. Track backlinks and syndication

    • View report in Authority > Link Log

    • See domains, live URLs, and the status of each publication

    • Most links are live for 6–12 months

📈 Why it matters:

  • Boosts Domain Authority and entity presence

  • Improves brand credibility and search trust

  • Enhances visibility for product launches and local SEO

🧠 Advanced tips:

  • Pair with Topical Maps to align PR content with SEO strategy

  • Use Anchor Variation to avoid link repetition penalties

  • Combine with Cloud Stacks for multi-layered backlink power

What is the SEO Metrics Dashboard and how should I use it?

The SEO Metrics Dashboard in Search Atlas provides a real-time overview of your entire project’s SEO performance across content, technical health, backlinks, local optimization, and AI activity.

📌 What’s included:

  1. Traffic + Visibility

    • Sessions, impressions, CTR, and GSC keyword growth

    • Weekly and monthly change deltas

    • Integrated with GSC (optional)

  2. Content Performance

    • Number of AI articles deployed

    • Topical Map coverage percentage

    • SCHOLAR Score average

  3. Fix Deployment Log

    • OTTO SEO fix history

    • Status: pending, deployed, failed

    • Click to view page or redeploy

  4. Authority Building

    • CloudStack links created

    • Press releases published

    • Referring domain growth (tracked weekly)

  5. Local SEO

    • GBP post count

    • Review replies and Q&As published

    • Local visibility score (from heatmaps)

🎯 How to use it:

  • Set project baselines and KPIs

  • Spot underperforming areas (e.g., content not indexed, links not active)

  • Share snapshots with clients via Report Builder

  • Combine with automations to maintain SEO momentum

🛠️ Where to find it:


Go to any Project > Dashboard tab (visible on Growth, Pro, and Enterprise plans)

What is CloudStack Architecture, and how does it help with backlink indexing?

CloudStack Architecture is a proprietary link-building framework used in Search Atlas to deploy contextual backlinks across high-authority domains, including AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, GitHub, and others, with built-in indexation pathways.

🔗 What makes it unique:

  • Each stack includes 13 links, spread across trusted cloud platforms

  • Each link embeds content enriched with semantic anchors + metadata

  • All URLs are verified live and re-checked for 404s

🧠 Indexation Layering Strategy:

  1. Primary Cloud Domains

    • Leverages Google-friendly CDNs and Git-based pages

    • Clean HTML, no scripts = fast crawling and renderability

  2. Secondary Syndication (Optional)

    • Amplify stack content through QNN or backlinks from other pages

    • Accelerates indexing with high signal frequency

  3. Interlinking Between Stacks

    • Smart internal linking between stacks strengthens crawlability

    • Helps build link pyramids and topic clusters

📈 Track Performance:

  • Go to Authority > Link Log

  • See link status, anchor, destination, and stack batch

  • Re-deploy failed stacks using “Rebuild” option

💸 Cost:


Each CloudStack = 20 Hyperdrive credits
Unlimited stacks allowed per site

What is Brand Monitor and how does it support E-E-A-T and brand mentions?

Brand Monitor in Search Atlas helps you track, validate, and amplify brand mentions across the web — a critical component of improving your site’s E-E-A-T signals in Google's ranking systems.

🔍 What it tracks:

  1. Brand + Domain Mentions

    • Monitors exact and partial brand names

    • Captures mentions on blogs, news sites, forums, and more

  2. Context + Sentiment

    • NLP-powered categorization of positive, neutral, or negative mentions

    • Context snippets provided for each hit

  3. Entity Graph Validation

    • Verifies if your brand is associated with topical or industry entities

    • Improves your Knowledge Panel or entity-level trust

📢 Use cases:

  • E-E-A-T Audit: Validate whether your brand is being cited as an expert source

  • Digital PR: Identify brand advocates or outreach targets

  • Reputation Recovery: Flag negative mentions and take corrective action

  • Backlink Opportunity: Turn unlinked mentions into active backlinks

🛠️ How to use:

  • Go to Brand Monitor in the dashboard

  • Enter brand name + variations

  • Set up notifications and filters

  • Export reports or integrate into Authority tracking workflows

💡 Pro Tip: Combine Brand Monitor with Press Syndication and CloudStack tools to reinforce branded content loops and drive faster indexing.

How do I create automated content silos using Topical Maps and Internal Linking?

Search Atlas lets you build powerful SEO silos by combining Topical Maps with OTTO’s Internal Linking engine — creating structured, semantically aligned link networks in just a few clicks.

🔧 Step-by-step:

  1. Create a Topical Map

    • Use GSC data or keyword clusters to auto-generate a map

    • Each node represents a core topic and its supporting articles

  2. Generate Articles via Content Planner

    • One-click or bulk create articles directly from the map

    • Ensure all content aligns with your chosen semantic structure

  3. Deploy Internal Linking

    • Go to OTTO > Internal Linking

    • Choose “Auto-Link by Map” to connect related pages

    • Anchors are chosen based on NLP scoring and topic coverage

🧠 What this creates:

  • A clean, Google-friendly silo structure

  • Smart use of anchor text, based on topic relevance

  • Balanced link equity from pillar to cluster pages

📈 Benefits:

  • Higher crawl depth and faster indexation

  • Improved semantic relevance and entity mapping

  • Boosts topical authority across your domain

📊 Track impact:

  • Use the Metrics Dashboard to monitor crawl paths, engagement, and organic lift

  • Re-optimize underperforming nodes based on SCHOLAR scores and click-through paths

What is the SCHOLAR Engine and how does it optimize my content?

The SCHOLAR Engine is Search Atlas’s proprietary AI model that scores your content the same way search engines evaluate relevance and authority.

It powers the Semantic Score, giving you real-time insight into how well your content meets SEO expectations — based on structure, meaning, and topical alignment.

🧪 How it works:

SCHOLAR analyzes each draft using advanced Natural Language Processing (NLP), entity extraction, and competitive SERP benchmarks. It checks for:

📚 Topical Coverage
Detects whether your content addresses all relevant subtopics, themes, and search intents based on your Topical Map.

🧠 Entity Density
Scores mentions of related brands, people, places, and industry-specific terms (based on Google's Knowledge Graph).

📐 Semantic Structure
Assesses title tags, H1–H3 hierarchy, internal links, and paragraph length for SEO readability.

🔁 Keyword Spread
Checks if your draft includes LSI terms, synonyms, and modifiers — not just the main keyword repeated.

🧷 UX Signals
Evaluates layout logic, transitions, and call-to-action placement to align with SEO and engagement best practices.

⚙️ Where SCHOLAR is used:

  • ✍️ Content Genius (AI article drafts)

  • 🗺️ Topical Maps (final score on mapped articles)

  • 🧩 Live Editor (post-generation refinements)

  • 🔍 Semantic Score Panel (real-time updates per change)

📈 How to improve your Semantic Score:

  1. 🧭 Start with a Topical Map to guide your structure

  2. 📝 Add supporting paragraphs under each H2

  3. 🔗 Include relevant internal links (OTTO recommends them!)

  4. 🗣️ Use natural language with real-world brand/entity mentions

  5. 📊 Insert FAQs, lists, or comparison tables to increase depth

What is Wildfire Exchange and how does it help with backlinks?

Wildfire Exchange is Search Atlas’s internal authority-sharing network that helps agencies and businesses scale backlinks safely and efficiently.

🔗 What it does:

  • Matches your content with link placement opportunities on other domains within the vetted Wildfire network

  • Creates contextual backlinks to your pages from relevant partners

  • Ensures links appear natural, with varied anchors and semantic relevance

  • Maintains strict domain vetting and non-compete filters to protect brand integrity

📈 Benefits:

  • Faster backlink growth at scale

  • Improved domain authority and topical trust

  • Control over categories, anchors, and destination pages

  • Fully integrated with Link Builder and Report Builder

🛠️ How to use:

  1. Navigate to Authority > Wildfire Exchange

  2. Select your target pages or keyword clusters

  3. Set rules for anchors, max links, and categories

  4. Review and approve or let the system auto-publish

What’s the difference between SEO and AREO in Search Atlas?

🔍 Traditional SEO vs. AREO

📊 SEO (Standard)

⚡ AREO (Search Atlas)

Focus on keywords, meta, tags

Focus on entity relationships, authority

Manual content & link building

AI + Hyperdrive automation

Page-level optimizations

Project-wide semantic strategy

Ranking by relevance

Ranking by relevance + trust + semantic scope

🌐 What is AREO?

AREO (Authority & Ranking Engine Optimization) is the evolved framework behind Search Atlas, built for how modern search works.

It combines:

  • 🧠 KBT + entity-based SEO

  • 🧬 Semantic score + internal linking automation

  • 📈 CloudStack backlinks from high-authority domains

  • 🔄 Cross-module integration for full-site alignment

🔁 Why it matters:

Search engines now rank pages based on:

  • Entity understanding

  • Topical coverage

  • Trust + authority (E-E-A-T)

  • Structured signals (schema, clusters)

AREO ensures your strategy aligns with these systems automatically, reducing reliance on manual guesswork.

How does Geo SEO work with OTTO?

🗺️ What is Geo SEO?

Geo SEO targets searchers by city, neighborhood, or region — without needing dozens of duplicate pages.

Search Atlas makes this scalable through dynamic optimization:

  • 📍 Injects location modifiers like "Tax Lawyer in Atlanta" into H1s, meta, and body

  • 🧭 Uses GBP data to align local signals with page content

  • 🔁 Runs bulk updates across services or blog pages from OTTO

  • 🧠 Leverages AI to make geo-modified content sound natural and rank-ready

🛠️ Where it works best:

  • City pages

  • Local services with national coverage

  • Franchise or multi-location businesses

  • GBP-optimized content (reviews, posts, Q&A)

🔒 Avoid duplicate content:

Every OTTO deployment utilizes semantic variation and entity mapping to prevent location keyword stuffing or boilerplate issues.

What is KBT and how does it power AI and Topical Maps?

🧠 What is KBT?

KBT (Knowledge-Based Topics) is the core semantic engine behind Search Atlas. It analyzes your site, industry, and keyword universe to generate topic clusters based on Google’s understanding of entities — not just raw keywords.

KBT draws from:

  • 🧠 Your connected GSC account (top pages + queries)

  • 📚 Competitor content and search rankings

  • 📈 NLP-based clustering and entity detection

  • 🗂️ Search Atlas's proprietary topic models across industries

🤖 How it powers the platform:

  • Topical Maps: KBT powers your auto-generated content hierarchy

  • Content Genius: Suggests headings, outlines, and semantic improvements

  • Semantic Score: Evaluates your content’s alignment with KBT structure

  • Internal Linking: Builds clusters around knowledge themes

🔁 Continuous Learning

KBT improves as you:

  • Connect more data sources (GSC, GBP)

  • Publish and deploy OTTO changes

  • Expand topic maps and content drafts

How can I use Search Atlas before launching a new site?

🧪 Pre-launch SEO, powered by AI

Even before your site is live to the public, you can prepare everything using Search Atlas:

  1. 🔍 Run a Site Audit

    • If your staging site is publicly accessible (no auth wall), use Site Audit to scan for technical issues.

    • Helps catch early problems like missing schema, slow load times, or broken links.

  2. 📋 Set up your Project in OTTO

    • Add your staging domain

    • Install the OTTO Pixel (can be removed before go-live)

    • Begin pre-deploying AI fixes

  3. 🗺️ Create a Topical Map

    • Use your brand’s seed keywords

    • AI builds silo structure and content suggestions

    • Ready to generate articles pre-launch

  4. 🧠 Use Content Genius

    • Draft metadata, headers, and articles in advance

    • Store and export for launch-ready content

  5. 🧊 Use Deep Freeze (optional)

    • Lock in AI-generated fixes even if the OTTO Pixel is disabled during dev

    • Export to HTML for permanent use

📌 Special Note:

  • If your staging URL is private, ask your dev team to temporarily open a preview or use a proxy for audit scans.

  • OTTO only renders changes on live, publicly reachable domains.

How does the AI use GSC data to improve keyword performance?

Connecting GSC to Search Atlas allows the platform to access your top-performing pages, queries, and click-through trends directly from Google — turning your actual performance data into optimization insights.

This enables AI tools like Topical Maps, Content Genius, and OTTO to work with your real search footprint, not just assumptions.

🤖 What does the AI do with GSC data?

Once connected, Search Atlas can:

🗺️ Generate Topical Maps
Uses your most-searched pages to auto-cluster related keywords into a silo structure.

📉 Detect Keyword Gaps
Finds high-impression, low-click keywords that your content doesn’t yet target.

✍️ Prioritize Drafting
Suggests article creation or optimization based on missed opportunity terms.

📈 Track Click/Impression Trends
Highlights downward or upward movements in keyword performance — and auto-suggests AI actions.

⚙️ Where it’s used:

  • Topical Maps creation

  • AI Suggestions panel inside Content Genius

  • OTTO Optimization Recommendations

  • Coming soon: GSC + Semantic Score Overlay

🔐 Security Note:

Your GSC data is read-only, used solely for content optimization, and never modified or shared.

What’s the difference between Content Genius and Bulk Writer

⚖️ Key Differences at a Glance:

Feature

Content Genius

Bulk Writer

🧠 Purpose

Manual, single-article generation

Mass content generation at scale

🎯 Control Level

High (edit structure, tone, schema)

Medium (structure guided by prompts)

🗺️ Topical Map Integration

Yes

Optional (can import map topics)

⚙️ AI Credits Used

1–20 credits per task

1 credit per article

📤 Output Volume

1 article at a time

Up to 100 articles in batch

📝 Ideal For

Agencies, editors, experts

Affiliate sites, multi-location pages, eCommerce

🧩 When to use each?

Use Content Genius when you want to:

  • Customize articles deeply (H1s, internal links, metadata)

  • Align with a Topical Map or optimize for Semantic Score

  • Create cornerstone or high-impact content

Use Bulk Writer when you need to:

  • Generate 20–100 SEO articles with speed

  • Scale pages across locations, products, or blog clusters

  • Feed content directly into publishing workflows or external CMSs

🛠 Output & Editing:

Both tools support:

  • Real-time editing

  • HTML download

  • Publishing via API (Pro+ plans)

Only Content Genius supports:

  • Live Semantic Score from SCHOLAR Engine

  • Internal linking & CTA optimization inside the draft

🤝 This FAQ was built with you in mind — whether you're a client, a support specialist, or part of our AI assistant team. It's your shared source of truth. Keep it bookmarked, and check back often for updates, tips, and newly added workflows. Together, we optimize smarter.

Related Articles
📘 Understanding the Different Types of Quotas in Search Atlas
📘 Understanding Credit Consumption in Search Atlas
🔧OTTO Setup, Functionality, and Deployment
💳 Plans, Credits, and Billing
🤖 SEO, AI Content, and Metrics
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