🔍 Overview
OTTO SEO is a site-wide automation tool. It is not possible to deploy OTTO exclusively to a single subdirectory, such as /pl/, /de/, or any other language path on a multilingual site. This is a platform-level constraint, not a configuration gap — no combination of settings will change this behaviour.
This article explains why this limitation exists, clears up outdated guidance that may reference unavailable interface elements, and outlines the correct approach to safely test OTTO on one language version of your site.
⚠️ About Outdated Guidance
Previous versions of Search Atlas documentation and AI responses referenced interface options such as URL Exclusions, Crawl Settings, and Site Settings as ways to limit OTTO's scope. These UI elements are no longer present in the current platform interface. Any guidance pointing to those controls is outdated and should be disregarded. The steps in this article reflect the verified Search Atlas interface as of August 2026.
🚫 Why OTTO Cannot Be Scoped to a Subdirectory
When you activate OTTO on a domain, it operates across the entire connected domain by design. This ensures that technical SEO fixes, schema deployments, and content recommendations are applied consistently and do not create conflicts between different sections of the same site. Restricting OTTO to a subdirectory path such as /pl/ is not supported because:
- OTTO links to a root domain or subdomain, not a URL path.
- Partial activation can produce conflicting signals across language versions.
- Crawl and automation logic is tied to the domain-level project, not individual URL patterns.
✅ Correct Approach: Isolate Testing Using a Separate OTTO Project
The only supported method to isolate OTTO activity to a single language version is to use that language version as a dedicated subdomain and connect it as its own OTTO project. If your site already uses subdomains per language (for example, pl.example.com), you can connect that subdomain directly. If your site uses subdirectories (for example, example.com/pl/), you will need to evaluate whether a subdomain structure is feasible before OTTO can be scoped to that language version.
- Go to Left sidebar → OTTO SEO → All Sites (SEO Automation) (URL: /seo-automation-v3).
- Click Create in the top toolbar to start a new OTTO project.
- When prompted for the domain, enter the subdomain for the language you want to test — for example, pl.example.com.
- Complete the project setup. This new project will operate entirely independently from any OTTO project connected to your root domain or other language subdomains.
- Activate OTTO on this project only. Your root domain and other language versions remain unaffected.
This approach gives you a clean, isolated environment to evaluate OTTO's impact on one language version before rolling out to additional domains or subdomains.
🌍 If Your Site Uses Subdirectories, Not Subdomains
If your multilingual site is structured with subdirectories (example.com/pl/, example.com/de/) rather than subdomains, OTTO cannot be isolated to any one of those paths. In this situation, your options are:
- Test on a staging environment: Set up a staging subdomain that mirrors your target language version and connect OTTO to that staging subdomain for evaluation.
- Full-site activation: Activate OTTO on the root domain understanding that it will operate across all language subdirectories. Review OTTO's recommended actions carefully before approving any bulk changes.
- Migrate to a subdomain structure: If long-term per-language control is a priority, consider restructuring the multilingual architecture to use subdomains. This is a broader technical decision that falls outside the scope of OTTO configuration.
📋 Current OTTO SEO Navigation Reference
Use the following confirmed navigation paths when working with OTTO projects in the current interface:
- OTTO SEO dashboard: Left sidebar → OTTO SEO → All Sites (SEO Automation) | URL: /seo-automation-v3
- Create a new OTTO project: OTTO SEO dashboard → click Create
- View active projects: OTTO SEO → All Sites (SEO Automation) → Active 4 filter
- Freeze or manage sites: OTTO SEO dashboard → select a site → click Freeze sites
If you do not see the OTTO SEO option in your left sidebar, your account plan may not include OTTO access. Contact support via the method below to confirm your plan entitlements.
💬 Need Help?
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.