📌 What this hold means
A pending payment hold means part of your publisher balance is paused and is not included in the next payout. Search Atlas places this hold when one or more articles tied to earned placements are unavailable. Unavailable usually means the page does not load, returns an error, was removed, is no longer public, or no longer shows the agreed placement.
The rest of your eligible balance can still be paid on the normal schedule. Only the amount linked to unavailable articles stays on hold until those pages are available again or the placement is reviewed.
🔍 Why articles trigger a hold
Payouts depend on the article remaining live so the placement can be verified. A hold is applied when our checks cannot confirm the article. Common causes include:
- The article URL returns a 404 or another error.
- The page was unpublished, deleted, or set to private.
- The site is down, blocked, or behind a login.
- The URL changed and the old link no longer works.
- The placement content was removed from the page.
The hold is not a rejected invoice and it is not a permanent loss of earnings. It protects both you and the advertiser until the article can be verified.
📊 How to see held amounts and article URLs
Open your publisher payments or earnings area in Search Atlas. Look for a pending or on-hold balance, separate from your available balance. Each held line should show:
- The article title and full URL.
- The amount currently on hold for that article.
- The status, such as unavailable or pending review.
- The date the hold was applied, when shown.
Add the individual held lines to confirm the exact total on hold. Available balance is what can be paid now. Pending or on-hold balance is waiting on article availability. If a URL is missing from the list, do not guess a replacement. Use the original placement URL shown in your account.
🛠️ How to release the hold
Restore each affected article, then allow time for the next availability check.
- Open the held item and copy the article URL.
- Confirm the page loads publicly without a login.
- If the link is broken, republish the article at that URL or restore the original page.
- Confirm the placement content is still present on the page.
- Leave the URL unchanged. Replacing it with a different page does not clear the hold by itself.
- Recheck your payments area after the next review cycle for a status change from on hold to available.
Once the article is verified as available, the held amount moves to your available balance and is included in a future payout according to your normal payout rules. Minimum payout thresholds still apply.
💡 What we cannot send by request alone
Pending amounts are calculated from live placement records, so a general message asking to send all pending payments cannot release a hold. Payment is sent only for amounts that are available. Article URLs and the exact held total are shown on the held lines in your payments area. Those figures can change if an article is restored or if a new check fails.
Keep the original URLs live, avoid unpublishing paid articles, and review held items before your payout date so delays are easier to prevent.
💬 When to contact support
Contact support if an article is confirmed live but the hold remains, if a URL or amount looks wrong, or if you cannot find the held lines in your account. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be instantly connected with a member of our team.
When you chat, share the article URLs you believe are affected and the on-hold total you see. That helps the team match the placement records and confirm the exact amount currently on hold.