## **📋 Overview**

Universal Credits (UCs) are the currency used across Search Atlas to power features like OTTO SEO, site audits, keyword research, and more. If you've noticed a significant drop in your credit balance — or the numbers don't seem to add up — this article explains how credits are counted, where to check your usage, and what to do if something looks off.

## **🗓️ How the Monthly Credit Cycle Works**

Your Universal Credits reset on a fixed billing cycle date each month. For example, if your cycle runs from **August 17 to September 16**, any credits consumed during that window count toward that month's total. Credits do **not** carry over between cycles — unused credits expire at the end of each cycle, and your balance resets to your plan's monthly allocation.

Key things to know about your cycle:

- Your cycle start and end dates are tied to the date your plan was activated or last changed.
- Credits consumed are deducted in real time as you use platform features.
- Your balance reflects remaining credits for the **current cycle only**.

## **🔍 Where to Check Your Credit Balance and Usage**

To see your current Universal Credits balance and how many have been used this cycle, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your Search Atlas account.
2. Click your account name or avatar in the top-right corner to open account settings.
3. Navigate to the **Billing** section.
4. Look for the **Universal Credits** panel — it displays your total allocation, credits used this cycle, and remaining balance.

**Note:** If you see two different "used this cycle" figures on the Billing screen, this is a known display issue that our engineering team has addressed. The correct figure is the one shown in the main Universal Credits summary panel.

## **⚡ What Consumes Universal Credits**

A wide range of Search Atlas features draw from your Universal Credits pool. Common credit-consuming actions include:

- **OTTO SEO automations** — activating and running SEO tasks across your sites
- **Site Audits** — crawling pages and generating audit reports
- **Keyword Research** — running keyword lookups and SERP analyses
- **Content Generation** — using AI writing tools within the platform
- **Backlink and competitor analysis** — pulling data reports

If your balance dropped significantly — for example, from **750,000 to 400,000 credits** in a single cycle — a large site audit, a batch of OTTO automations running across multiple sites, or a high volume of content or research tasks are the most common causes.

## **🛠️ How to Audit Your Credit Consumption**

To understand exactly where your credits went during a specific period, follow these steps:

1. Go to the **Billing** section of your account settings.
2. Look for a **Usage History** or **Credit Log** option — this shows a breakdown of credit consumption by feature and date.
3. Filter the log by your cycle dates (e.g., Aug 17 – Sept 16) to isolate that period's activity.
4. Review the itemized list to identify which features or actions consumed the most credits.

If you manage multiple OTTO SEO sites, check **Left sidebar → OTTO SEO → All Sites** to see which sites are active. Active sites continuously run automations that consume credits. Sites listed under **Deep Frozen** do not consume credits while frozen.

## **⚠️ Common Reasons for Unexpected Credit Drops**

- **Multiple active OTTO sites:** Each active site runs ongoing SEO tasks. If you have several sites set to Active, credit usage compounds quickly.
- **Large site crawls:** Auditing a site with thousands of pages consumes credits per page crawled.
- **Plan changes mid-cycle:** Changing your plan during a billing cycle can sometimes affect how credits are tracked. If you changed plans recently, this may be a factor.
- **Team member activity:** If coworkers have access to your account, their actions also draw from the shared credit pool.
- **Display discrepancies:** In rare cases, the Billing screen may show inconsistent totals due to a known UI issue. The actual credits deducted from your account are accurate even when the display is temporarily out of sync.

## **💡 Tips to Manage Your Credits Effectively**

- Freeze OTTO sites you aren't actively optimizing — go to **Left sidebar → OTTO SEO → All Sites** and use the **Freeze sites** option to pause credit consumption.
- Schedule large site audits during periods when you have ample credits remaining.
- Review your usage log mid-cycle to catch unexpectedly high consumption early.
- If you regularly run out of credits before your cycle ends, consider upgrading your plan to a higher credit allocation.

## **🙋 Still Have Questions?**

If your credit balance still doesn't match what you'd expect after reviewing the steps above — or if you'd like our team to run a detailed itemized audit of your account's credit consumption — we're here to 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.