## **Overview**

OTTO SEO generates on-page recommendations and can automatically push approved changes to your CMS. Understanding when to enable or disable **Sync to CMS** — and following a structured review process before approval — protects your live site from unintended changes.

## **What Does Sync to CMS Do?**

When **Sync to CMS** is enabled, OTTO pushes approved recommendations directly to your connected CMS (for example, WordPress) in real time. This streamlines deployment but means changes go live as soon as they are approved.

When **Sync to CMS** is disabled:

- OTTO continues to generate and queue recommendations normally.
- No changes are written to your CMS, regardless of approval status inside the platform.
- You retain full control over when — and whether — any change reaches your live site.

Disabling Sync to CMS does **not** pause OTTO's analysis or stop new recommendations from appearing. It only breaks the automatic write connection to your CMS.

## **Best Practices for Managing SEO Changes**

- **Disable Sync to CMS during high-traffic periods** (product launches, campaigns, peak seasons) to prevent accidental live changes.
- **Review recommendations in batches** rather than approving individual items as they appear. Batch review gives you a complete picture of cumulative impact.
- **Filter recommendations by type, priority, and status** before approving anything, so you can assess changes systematically.
- **Check how pending recommendations affect individual URLs** before pushing changes live.
- **Document your baseline** — note current rankings, traffic, and Core Web Vitals before any batch approval so you can measure impact accurately.
- **Stage changes in small groups** — approve a limited set of recommendations at a time, then monitor performance before approving the next batch.

## **Safe OTTO Review Workflow (Step-by-Step)**

Follow this workflow every time you are ready to review and deploy a new batch of OTTO recommendations.

1. **Disable Sync to CMS.** Locate the Sync to CMS setting within the OTTO SEO section of the platform and turn it **off**. This ensures no changes reach your live site while you are reviewing.
2. **Refresh your recommendation queue.** Trigger a new scan or crawl from within the OTTO SEO section to make sure your recommendation queue reflects the current state of your site.
3. **Filter and review pending recommendations.** Use the available filters (such as status, type, and priority) to sort through recommendations before approving any. Focus on high-priority items first.
4. **Assess URL-level impact.** For each recommendation group you plan to approve, review how the changes will affect individual URLs before proceeding.
5. **Approve in small batches.** Enable Sync to CMS only when you are ready to push a controlled set of approved changes, then disable it again immediately after.
6. **Monitor performance.** After each batch goes live, track rankings, traffic, and Core Web Vitals before approving the next group.

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.