## **🧭 Overview**

When your OTTO Pixel shows a **Pending** status and the Search Atlas crawler reports the script as missing, the most common cause is mixing two different installation methods at the same time. You only need **one** installation method — using both simultaneously can cause verification conflicts that keep your pixel stuck in Pending.

## **📦 The Two Installation Methods Explained**

Search Atlas offers two ways to install the OTTO Pixel on your website. They are independent of each other, and you should choose only one based on your setup.

- **WordPress Plugin (Recommended for WordPress sites):** Install the official Search Atlas WordPress plugin. Once activated and connected to your account, the plugin automatically embeds the OTTO Pixel script across your site. No manual code placement is required.
- **Custom Pixel (Manual script installation):** Copy the OTTO Pixel script from your Search Atlas dashboard and paste it directly into your website's `<head>` section. This method works on any platform — WordPress, Shopify, custom HTML sites, or any CMS.

Both methods place the same pixel script on your site. Installing both can create duplicate or conflicting signals that prevent the crawler from verifying the pixel correctly.

## **✅ How to Resolve Pending Status**

If your pixel is stuck in Pending, follow these steps to correct the conflict.

1. **Identify which installation method you actually set up:**

   - If you installed the Search Atlas WordPress plugin — that is your installation method. Check whether you also manually pasted a pixel script into your theme, header, or tag manager, and remove the duplicate.
   - If you are not using the WordPress plugin — make sure the pixel script is pasted correctly into the `<head>` section of your site and that only one copy of the script exists.
2. **Ensure only one method is active at a time.** Remove any redundant installation so a single, clean copy of the pixel script is present on your site.
3. **Trigger a re-verification** from your OTTO Pixel settings in the Search Atlas dashboard after removing the duplicate installation.

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.