🧭 Overview
After installing the Otto Pixel on your website, Search Atlas needs to detect the pixel before it can activate SEO automation. If you see the message "Otto Pixel not found", the pixel may not be placed correctly, or the platform may need more time to verify the connection. This guide walks you through the most common causes and how to fix them. If the steps below do not resolve your issue, our support team can investigate directly — see the escalation note at the end of this article.
✅ Before You Start: Quick Checklist
Run through these checks before diving into detailed troubleshooting:
- The Otto Pixel code snippet has been added to every page of your website (or your site-wide header/footer template).
- The snippet is placed inside the
<head>tag of your HTML, not in the body or footer. - Your website is publicly accessible — not under construction, password-protected, or blocked by a firewall.
- You have saved and published any changes made to your site after adding the pixel.
- Sufficient time has passed since installation before checking connection status.
🛠️ Step-by-Step Troubleshooting
- Confirm the pixel is installed site-wide. The pixel must appear on every page, not just the homepage. If you use a CMS like WordPress, add the snippet to your theme's global header template or use a plugin that injects scripts site-wide.
- Check placement in the
<head>tag. Open your page source (right-click → View Page Source in your browser) and search for your Otto Pixel snippet. It should appear between the opening<head>and closing</head>tags. If it appears elsewhere, move it to the correct location and republish. - Clear your site's cache. Caching plugins or hosting-level caches can serve outdated page versions without the new pixel code. Clear all caches — including server cache, CDN cache (e.g., Cloudflare), and any WordPress caching plugins — then verify the pixel appears in the page source again.
- Disable conflicting plugins or scripts temporarily. Some security or performance plugins block third-party scripts. Temporarily disable them one at a time to identify if one is preventing the pixel from loading.
- Check for JavaScript errors. Open your browser's developer console (F12 → Console tab) and reload your page. Look for any JavaScript errors that may be stopping scripts from running. Resolve any errors shown, then retry the connection.
- Check your site's robots.txt and firewall settings. Make sure your robots.txt file and any firewall or security rules are not blocking Search Atlas from accessing your site or loading the pixel script.
🚨 If the Issue Persists: How to Escalate
If you have worked through all the steps above and the Otto Pixel still shows as not connected, this issue will need to be investigated by our support team. To help us resolve it as quickly as possible, please have the following ready before reaching out:
- The exact error message you are seeing in Search Atlas (e.g., "Otto Pixel not found").
- The URL of the website where the pixel was installed.
- The name of your OTTO project in Search Atlas.
- A screenshot or copy of your page source showing where the pixel snippet is (or is not) appearing.
- The date and time of when you first attempted installation.
- Details of any caching, security, or script-management plugins active on your site.
If you need further assistance, 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.