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🛠️ WordPress Plugin Troubleshooting Guide

Fix OTTO Not Installing, OTTO Not Detected, Invalid Token, Missing UUID, Caching Issues & More.

Updated this week

The Search Atlas WordPress Plugin is the most reliable and recommended installation method for OTTO. It automatically handles:

  • API key configuration

  • Plugin authentication

  • OTTO Pixel UUID injection

  • Server-Side Rendering (SSR)

  • OTTO communication with your site

But if OTTO still shows “Not Installed”, “Disabled”, or “Pixel Not Detected” after installing the plugin, this guide provides a complete step-by-step workflow to fix it.

⭐ When to Use This Guide

Use this troubleshooting workflow when:

  • You installed the Search Atlas WordPress Plugin

  • BUT OTTO shows:

    • “OTTO Not Detected”

    • “Your script is using an incorrect UUID”

    • “Duplicate Installation Detected”

    • “OTTO is disengaged”

    • Missing deployed fixes / no crawl data

Do not use this guide if your installation method is manual script, GTM, Shopify, GHL, etc.

🛠️ 1. Confirm the Plugin Is Installed Correctly

✔ Step 1 — Plugin must be active

WordPress → Plugins
Search for: Search Atlas SEO – Premier SEO Plugin
Status must be: Active

✔ Step 2 — Verify Authentication

WordPress → Search Atlas → Settings → General

You must see:

  • Green banner: Authentication Successful

  • Search Atlas API Key: auto-filled

  • Plugin Auth Token: auto-filled

  • OTTO Pixel UUID: auto-filled

If any field is blank → click Connect to Search Atlas and complete authentication again.

🗺️ 2. Verify OTTO Pixel Settings (Critical)

Go to:


​WordPress Admin → Search Atlas → Settings → General Configuration

Confirm:

✔ OTTO Pixel UUID is populated automatically

If blank → click Connect to Search Atlas again.

✔ Enable OTTO Server-Side Rendering — ON

This allows OTTO to deploy SEO fixes using SSR.
Toggle: ON

✔ Disable OTTO for Logged-in Users — OFF

This must be OFF during troubleshooting.

If turned ON, OTTO won’t load for you while logged in → causing false negatives.

✔ Enable Schema (optional)

✔ Enable Meta Description (optional)

⚠️ Do NOT add any OTTO Pixel script manually to your theme, header.php, or GTM


If the plugin is active, no manual pixel is needed.

✅ 3. Confirm the Pixel Actually Loads (No Cache Interference)

✔ Step 1 — Log out of WordPress

The Pixel does not load for logged-in users if the toggle is enabled.

✔ Step 2 — Open your homepage

Right-click → View Page Source

Search (Ctrl+F / Cmd+F) for:

sa-dynamic-optimization

If you do NOT find it → continue below.

⚠️ 4. Whitelist the Search Atlas Crawler

If your firewall blocks the crawler, OTTO will show “Not Installed” even if everything is perfect.

Cloudflare

Dashboard → Security → Bots
Turn OFF:

  • Bot Fight Mode

  • Super Bot Fight Mode

WordFence

WordPress Admin → WordFence → Firewall → Options
Set:
​Web Application Firewall Status → Disabled (temporary)

Stop Bad Bots

WP Admin → Block Bad Bots → Settings
Disable “Block All Bots”
OR add to whitelist:

Search Atlas Bot (https://www.searchatlas.com/)

Blackhole for Bad Bots

Add to Whitelist:

Search Atlas Bot (https://www.searchatlas.com/)

Shield Security

WP Admin → Shield → IP Rules → User Agent Rules
Whitelist:

Search Atlas Bot (https://www.searchatlas.com/)

🔵 5. Clear ALL WordPress Caches (Important)

Caching is the #1 cause of:

  • Pixel not detected

  • Wrong UUID

  • Duplicate detection

  • Missing OTTO deploys

✔ Browser Cache

Hard refresh:

  • Windows: Ctrl + Shift + R

  • Mac: Cmd + Shift + R

✔ Built-in Search Atlas Cache Purge

WordPress → Search Atlas → Settings → Advanced → Error Logs

Click: Clear All Cache Plugins

This clears:

  • WP Rocket

  • LiteSpeed

  • W3 Total Cache

  • SiteGround Optimizer

  • All other detected plugins

✔ Theme/Builder Cache

If using Elementor, Divi, Kadence, Bricks, Oxygen, WPBakery:
Clear CSS/JS caches.

✔ Hosting Cache

Purge from your provider if applicable:

  • WP Engine

  • Kinsta

  • SiteGround

  • Bluehost

  • GoDaddy

  • Hostinger

✔ CDN Cache (Cloudflare, Sucuri)

Purge Everything.

🔍 6. Run Diagnostic Scan (Mandatory Step)

After plugin installation + cache purge:

Path:

Search Atlas Dashboard → AI SEO → All Sites → (your site) → Scan → Run Diagnostics

The system will check:

  • Pixel detected

  • Correct UUID

  • No duplicates

  • SSR functioning

  • Plugin communication OK

Wait 3–5 minutes after clearing cache before scanning!

❌ 7. Common Plugin Errors & How to Fix Them

❌ Error: “Incorrect site token”

Fix:

You authenticated the wrong Search Atlas account/site.

  1. Go to WordPress → Search Atlas → Settings

  2. Click Disconnect (tiny link below Auth Token)

  3. Click Connect to Search Atlas again

  4. Log into the correct SA account

  5. Reload the page

❌ Error: Plugin + Pixel Conflict

Cause:

You installed:

  • WordPress Plugin
    ​AND

  • Manual Pixel in <head>
    or

  • GTM Pixel

This creates duplicates.

Fix:

You must choose ONE method:

If using the Plugin (recommended):

Delete ALL manual scripts:

Found in:

  • header.php

  • functions.php

  • Elementor Custom Code

  • Code Snippets plugin

  • GTM Custom HTML tags

Then clear all caches → run Diagnostics.

❌ Error: OTTO Still Says “Not Installed”

Fix checklist:

✔ Wait 3–5 minutes
✔ Clear all caches again
✔ Log out of WP and visit homepage
✔ Run Diagnostics again

If still failing → reinstall plugin:

  1. Deactivate → Delete plugin

  2. Reinstall Search Atlas plugin

  3. Authenticate

  4. Clear caches

  5. Run Diagnostics

This resets corrupted plugin states.

🧩 8. Deep Troubleshooting (Advanced)

If OTTO still does not detect the plugin:

✔ Step 1 — Confirm OTTO SSR is ON

WordPress Admin → Search Atlas → Settings →

Toggle Enable OTTO Server-Side Rendering → ON

✔ Step 2 — Confirm “Disable OTTO for Logged-in Users” is OFF

✔ Step 3 — View Page Source

Right-click → View Source
CTRL+F → search:

sa-dynamic-optimization

You should see ONE script only.

✔ Step 4 — Check for Duplicates (GTM, header.php, Snippets)

Remove any manual installations.

✔ Step 5 — Re-authenticate plugin

Sometimes tokens expire:

Click Refresh Token


If still incorrect → click Connect to Search Atlas again.

🟢 9. How to Know Everything Is Working

When fixed, your Diagnostic Scan will show:

✔ Pixel Detected
✔ Correct Installation Method
✔ No duplicate pixels
✔ OTTO Enabled
✔ Deploys Verified

And your site row in AI SEO → All Sites will show:

🟢 Engaged

With all troubleshooting steps completed—authentication verified, caching cleared, conflicts removed, and diagnostics re-run—your Search Atlas WordPress Plugin should now be fully synchronized and recognized by OTTO. Once connected, the plugin becomes the single, authoritative integration point between your WordPress site and the Search Atlas AI engine, ensuring accurate pixel detection, stable communication, and seamless deployment of OTTO’s automated SEO improvements. If issues persist beyond this point, it indicates a deeper configuration or environment-specific condition, and our team is ready to review it manually. Just reach out and we’ll take it from here.

🙋 Need a human to review your site?

If after all steps OTTO is still not detected:

Just type:


​Human Teammate while you are in our live chat

We’ll manually inspect your:

  • plugin configuration

  • page source

  • site caching

  • server/CDN settings

and resolve it for you.

Related Articles
⭐ OTTO Pixel Troubleshooting Guide
🚫 Duplicate OTTO Pixel: How to Find, Fix, and Prevent Multiple Installations
📦 How to Clear Cache in WordPress for the Search Atlas Plugin
🔌 WordPress Plugin Installation Guide
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