🔍 Overview
When OTTO SEO audits your site, it may recommend adding schema markup and flag empty image tags in your HTML. Two common questions arise: should OTTO schema overwrite or stack on top of your existing per-page schema? And where is the right place to remove empty image tags — in your HTML or inside OTTO? This article answers both questions clearly so you can deploy with confidence.
📋 How OTTO Schema Works With Existing Schema Markup
OTTO adds schema markup at the site or template level, but it is designed to complement, not replace, any unique per-page schema you have already built. Here is what you need to know:
- OTTO injects additional schema blocks — it does not overwrite or delete schema that already exists in your page source code.
- Multiple schema blocks on the same page are valid — Google and other search engines can read and process more than one JSON-LD block per page without conflict.
- Your custom per-page schema takes priority for unique data — if you have hand-crafted schema for specific products, events, or articles, that information is preserved exactly as you wrote it.
- Avoid duplicating the same schema type — for example, if you already have a fully populated Article schema on a blog post, do not activate OTTO's Article schema for that same page, as duplicate type blocks can create redundancy and may confuse validators.
The safest deployment strategy is to review which schema types OTTO plans to add before activating, and disable any type that already has a complete, custom implementation on that page. For all other pages or schema types you have not yet covered, let OTTO deploy freely.
🖼️ Understanding Empty Image Tags Flagged by OTTO
OTTO flags empty <img> tags — HTML image elements that have a blank or missing src attribute — because they can cause accessibility issues, slow page rendering, and trigger validation errors. These tags look something like this in your source code: <img src="" alt=""> or simply <img>.
Customers often ask whether they should remove these tags from the HTML directly or dismiss them inside OTTO. The answer depends on where the tag lives and whether you still need it.
✅ When to Remove the Tag From Your HTML
In most cases, removing the empty image tag from your HTML source is the correct fix. You should edit your HTML (or your CMS template, page builder, or theme file) when:
- The image tag is a leftover placeholder that serves no current purpose — for example, a slot that was never populated with an actual image.
- The tag appears inside a page builder or theme template that you can edit directly.
- The tag is generated by a plugin or widget you control and can update to stop outputting empty elements.
Removing the tag at the source means the issue is permanently resolved and will not reappear in future OTTO scans. This is the recommended approach for a clean, lasting fix.
⚙️ When to Dismiss the Flag Inside OTTO
There are situations where dismissing or ignoring the flag inside OTTO is the appropriate action rather than editing your HTML:
- The empty image tag is intentional and functional — for example, a placeholder element used by a JavaScript framework that populates it dynamically after page load.
- The tag is inside a third-party script or widget you cannot modify, and removing it would break functionality.
- Your development team has confirmed the tag is required for a specific layout or animation and its empty state is expected.
In these cases, mark the flag as ignored or acknowledged inside OTTO so it does not continue to appear as an open issue. This keeps your OTTO dashboard clean without making changes that could break your site.
🚀 Recommended Deployment Checklist
- Audit your existing schema — before activating OTTO schema, list which schema types are already present on your key page templates (homepage, product pages, blog posts, etc.).
- Disable duplicate schema types in OTTO — for any page that already has a fully populated schema type, turn off that specific type in OTTO's schema settings for those pages.
- Activate OTTO schema for uncovered pages and types — let OTTO handle all pages and schema types that you have not yet implemented manually.
- Validate after deployment — use Google's Rich Results Test or Schema.org Validator to confirm there are no conflicts or errors after OTTO deploys.
- Review empty image tag flags — for each flagged tag, check whether it is a genuine leftover placeholder (remove from HTML) or a required dynamic element (dismiss in OTTO).
- Re-scan after fixes — trigger a fresh OTTO scan to confirm resolved issues no longer appear in your audit report.
💡 Quick Reference Summary
- OTTO schema stacks on top of existing schema — it does not overwrite your custom markup.
- Avoid enabling the same schema type twice on pages where you already have a complete custom version.
- Remove empty image tags from your HTML whenever they are genuine placeholders with no active purpose.
- Dismiss the flag inside OTTO only when the empty tag is intentional and required for functionality.
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.