📋 Overview
When you place a link-building order through Publisher Exchange, Search Atlas matches your order to a publisher who will place your link on their site. In most cases, orders are fulfilled smoothly and on schedule. However, sometimes a publisher becomes unavailable after your order is placed, which can cause unexpected delays.
This article explains why delays happen, what Search Atlas does automatically to resolve them, and what you can do in the meantime.
🔍 Why Orders Get Delayed
Delays are almost always caused by one of the following situations:
- Publisher unavailability: The publisher assigned to your order is temporarily unable to fulfil it — for example, due to editorial backlogs, site changes, or account issues on their end.
- Publisher rejection: The publisher reviewed your order and declined to post the link. This is different from unavailability and is handled through a separate review flow.
- Platform matching lag: In rare cases, an order may not be immediately linked to an active publisher after placement, causing it to sit in a pending state longer than expected.
⚙️ What Search Atlas Does Automatically
You do not need to take action for most delayed orders. Search Atlas has automated processes in place to catch and resolve these situations:
- Orders that remain in a pending state for 3 or more days without publisher activity are automatically flagged and routed through our pending-action resolution flow.
- Orders that remain unpublished for 7 or more days after creation are escalated internally for manual review.
- If a publisher is confirmed unavailable, Search Atlas will reassign your order to an alternative publisher so fulfilment can continue without you needing to reorder or lose your place in the queue.
The reassignment process happens in the background. You will see the order status update in your dashboard once a new publisher has been confirmed.
📊 How to Check Your Order Status
You can monitor the current status of all your link orders at any time:
- Click your avatar in the top-right corner of the platform.
- Select App Ecosystem from the menu.
- Open the Publisher Exchange tab.
- Review the status column next to each order. Statuses such as Pending or In Progress indicate the order is still being processed.
If an order has been pending for more than 7 days and you have not received any update, it is a good time to reach out to our team directly (see below).
💡 What You Should Know
- Delays do not mean your order has been cancelled. Unless you receive an explicit cancellation notice, your order remains active.
- You will not be charged twice if an order is reassigned to a different publisher.
- Typical fulfilment timelines can vary by publisher. Some orders may take a few days; others may take a few weeks depending on editorial schedules.
- If you see a status labelled Publication Unavailable, this means the original publisher could not fulfil the order and Search Atlas is sourcing an alternative. No action is needed from you.
🛠️ What To Do If Your Order Is Still Stuck
If your order has been pending for more than 7 days and you have not seen any status change or received communication, please contact our support team. 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.
When you reach out, please have the following ready to help us resolve your case faster:
- Your order ID or the URL of the target page you submitted
- The date you placed the order
- A screenshot of the current order status if available