🧩 Overview
If the OTTO pixel shows Not Installed even after reinstalling the plugin and clearing your cache, the most common root cause is a missing or incorrectly entered API key in your WordPress plugin settings. This article walks you through the complete setup so your OTTO pixel verifies successfully.
🔍 Step 1: Locate Your OTTO API Key in Search Atlas
- Log in to your Search Atlas account.
- In the left sidebar, click OTTO SEO, then open SEO Automation. The URL will change to /seo-automation-v3.
- Open the OTTO dashboard for the website you are connecting.
- Click Settings or the pixel/installation section within OTTO.
- Copy the unique API key displayed for your site. Keep this tab open — you will paste the key into WordPress in the next steps.
⚙️ Step 2: Enter the API Key in Your WordPress Plugin Settings
- Log in to your WordPress admin panel (yoursite.com/wp-admin).
- In the left menu, go to Search Atlas → Settings.
- Locate the API Key field. This field is required and must not be left blank.
- Paste the Search Atlas API key you copied into this field.
- Paste the OTTO Pixel UUID.
- Click Save Changes.
Important: The API key is unique to each website. If you manage multiple sites, make sure you are using the correct key for the domain you are configuring.
🗑️ Step 3: Clear All Caches After Saving
Caching layers can prevent the pixel from being detected even when the plugin is configured correctly. After saving your API key, clear caches in this order:
- WordPress caching plugins — Go to your caching plugin (such as WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, or LiteSpeed Cache) and purge all caches.
- Hosting-level cache — Log in to your hosting control panel and clear any server-side or CDN cache. Refer to your host's documentation if needed.
- Browser cache — In your browser, press Ctrl + Shift + Delete (Windows) or Cmd + Shift + Delete (Mac), select cached images and files, and clear them.
🔄 Step 4: Trigger a Sync and Verify the Pixel
- Return to the OTTO dashboard in Search Atlas (click OTTO SEO in the left sidebar, then open SEO Automation).
- Click Verify Installation or Check Pixel Status for your site.
- Wait up to 2 minutes for the verification to complete. The status should change from Not Installed to Installed.
- If the status does not update after 2 minutes, click Re-check or refresh the page.
⚠️ Common Reasons the Pixel Still Shows Not Installed After Setup
- Wrong API key used — Double-check that the key in WordPress matches exactly what is shown in the OTTO dashboard for that specific domain.
- Plugin not activated — Confirm the MetaSync (SearchAtlas) plugin status shows Active in WordPress, not Inactive or Deactivated.
- Conflicting plugins — Security or firewall plugins (such as Wordfence) can block pixel scripts. Temporarily disable them to test, then whitelist the OTTO script if needed.
- Cache not fully cleared — If you use a CDN such as Cloudflare, purge the CDN cache in addition to your WordPress and hosting caches.
- API key field saved with extra spaces — When pasting your API key, ensure there are no leading or trailing spaces in the field before saving.
✅ Quick Checklist Before Contacting Support
- API key copied from the correct OTTO site dashboard and pasted into WordPress plugin settings
- Changes saved in WordPress
- WordPress caching plugin cache cleared
- Hosting and CDN cache cleared
- Browser cache cleared
- Pixel verification re-run in Search Atlas
- Plugin shows as Active in WordPress
If you have completed every step above and the pixel still shows Not Installed, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.