🔎 How the Deployment Scan Works
When you activate OTTO, Search Atlas checks whether the OTTO pixel is installed on your site. The scan loads and renders your pages the same way a real browser does, then looks for the pixel in that rendered output. A deployment is marked as live only when the pixel is confirmed during the scan. Scans run in the background on a schedule, so a recently started scan may be queued, deferred, or still in progress before any verdict appears.
🤔 Why a Visible Pixel May Not Be Detected
It is common for a developer to see the OTTO pixel in the live page source while the scan still shows no deployment. This does not always mean the pixel is missing. Common causes include:
- The scan has not finished yet. Deployment scans are queued and can take time to complete. While a scan is pending or in progress, no deployment verdict appears, even if the pixel is already live on your site.
- The pixel is deployed through Google Tag Manager (GTM) or another tag manager. Tag managers inject scripts after the initial page load. Because the scan evaluates the rendered page, a tag-manager deployment may not be recognized reliably. We recommend installing the OTTO pixel directly in the head section of your site instead.
- Delayed script loading. If the pixel loads late in the page lifecycle, it may fall outside the scan window and go undetected.
- Scan cooldowns. After a scan completes, there is a waiting period before a new scan can run, so recent changes to your site may not be reflected immediately.
🛠️ Steps to Resolve a Detection Issue
- Confirm the OTTO pixel snippet is placed directly in the head section of your site, not only inside GTM or another tag manager.
- Publish your changes and clear any server, plugin, or CDN caches so the scan sees the latest version of your pages.
- Allow time for the next scheduled scan to run and complete. If a scan appears stuck in progress for more than 24 hours, contact us so we can investigate your project.
- Check your URL scheme. Make sure your site, sitemap, and Search Atlas project all use the same protocol (https). A mismatch between http and https can produce false results in audit and sitemap checks.
🗺️ Where GSC Sitemap URLs Come From
When you connect Google Search Console, Search Atlas imports the URLs listed in your sitemap. These URLs power site audit and sitemap coverage checks. Because they are synced from Google Search Console, they cannot be edited or deleted directly inside Search Atlas. They always reflect whatever your sitemap contains at the time of the sync.
✏️ How to Edit or Remove a Sitemap URL
- Update the sitemap at the source, meaning in your CMS or wherever the sitemap file is generated, to add, change, or remove the URL slug.
- If you changed a slug permanently, set up a redirect from the old URL to the new one so you do not lose traffic or backlinks.
- Submit the updated sitemap in Google Search Console so Google registers the change.
- Return to Search Atlas and re-sync your Google Search Console connection, or wait for the next automatic sync, so your URL list reflects the updated sitemap.
After the sync completes, the outdated slug will stop appearing in your sitemap-based checks. If a page is still flagged as Not in XML Sitemap, verify that the sitemap entry and the live page use the exact same protocol and domain spelling, for example https with and without www are treated as different addresses.
💡 Tips to Avoid Future Discrepancies
- Install the OTTO pixel directly in your site template rather than through a tag manager.
- Keep your sitemap current whenever you publish, rename, or remove pages.
- Use one consistent URL format (https, with or without www) across your site, sitemap, and Search Atlas project.
- Allow one full scan cycle to pass before troubleshooting a fresh installation.
💬 Still Need Help?
If the scan continues to report no deployment after you have confirmed direct pixel installation and a full scan cycle, or if a Google Search Console URL will not update after a re-sync, our team can look into your project directly. 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.