🧩 Why This Happens
When you delete a header optimization in Search Atlas — such as an OTTO-managed header tag — the change is saved on the platform side. However, your website or browser may still be serving a cached version of the page, which means the old header value continues to appear on the frontend even though it has been removed from your settings.
This is a standard caching behavior and is not a bug in Search Atlas. Clearing the relevant caches will resolve the issue in most cases.
🗺️ Where to Find Header Optimizations
Header optimizations managed by OTTO or applied manually can be found within Search Atlas. Before clearing any cache, confirm the deletion was saved successfully by revisiting the relevant section of the platform and verifying the header optimization no longer appears in your settings.
✅ Step 1 — Confirm the Deletion in Search Atlas
- Navigate to the section of Search Atlas where you made the change.
- Locate the page or section where the header optimization was applied.
- Confirm the OTTO tag or custom header value is no longer listed.
- If the optimization is still present, delete it again and save your changes before proceeding.
🌐 Step 2 — Clear Your Browser Cache
Your browser stores copies of web pages to load them faster. This cached version may still display the old header value after deletion.
- Open your browser settings (usually accessible via the menu in the top-right corner).
- Navigate to Privacy and Security or Clear Browsing Data.
- Select Cached images and files (and optionally cookies if the issue persists).
- Set the time range to All time to ensure no old data remains.
- Click Clear data and then reload your website in a new tab.
Quick shortcut: On most browsers, pressing Ctrl + Shift + Delete (Windows) or Cmd + Shift + Delete (Mac) opens the clear cache dialog directly.
🖥️ Step 3 — Clear Your Website Server Cache
If clearing the browser cache does not resolve the issue, your web server or hosting provider may be caching the page at the server level. The steps for this vary depending on your setup:
- WordPress with a caching plugin (e.g., WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, LiteSpeed Cache): Log in to your WordPress dashboard, go to the plugin settings, and select Clear All Cache or Purge Cache.
- Cloudflare or other CDN: Log in to your Cloudflare dashboard, navigate to the Caching section, and select Purge Everything or purge the specific URL where the header change was made.
- Other hosting providers: Refer to your hosting provider's documentation for instructions on purging or clearing the server-side page cache.
🔁 Step 4 — Verify the Fix
- After clearing all relevant caches, open your website in a new browser tab or an incognito/private window.
- Inspect the page header using your browser's developer tools (right-click → Inspect → Elements) to confirm the old header value is no longer present.
- If the old header value still appears, repeat the cache-clearing steps for any additional caching layers (e.g., a secondary CDN or server-side object cache).
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.