Troubleshooting: Other Issues

🔍 Fix 'Why This Ad Works' Error in Discover

🧩 What Is the 'Why This Ad Works' Feature? The Why This Ad Works feature appears inside the Discover section of Ad Studio. When you browse competitor or inspiration ads, you can click this option to get an AI-generated breakdown explaining what makes that specific ad effective — covering elements like copy, creative strategy, audience targeting signals, and more. ⚠️ Understanding the 'Couldn't Run That — Try Again' Error Some customers see a Couldn't run that — try again error message when clicking Why This Ad Works on ads in the Discover section. This error appears consistently across multiple ads rather than on just one, which indicates it is not caused by a single problematic ad. This issue has been identified as a bug affecting the AI analysis function within the Discover ad preview experience. Our engineering team has investigated and resolved the underlying cause. If you are still seeing this error, the steps below will help you get back on track. 🛠️ Steps to Resolve the Error 1. Refresh your browser. Close and reopen your browser tab, then navigate back to the Discover section inside Ad Studio. 2. Clear your browser cache. Cached data can sometimes cause features to behave unexpectedly. Clear your cache and cookies, then reload the platform. 3. Try a different browser. If the error persists, open Search Atlas in an alternative browser (for example, switch from Chrome to Firefox or Edge) to rule out a browser-specific conflict. 4. Try a different ad. Click Why This Ad Works on several different ads in Discover. If the feature works on some ads but not others, note which ads trigger the error. 5. Check for a platform update. The fix for this issue has been deployed. If you have had the platform open for a long time without refreshing, you may be running an older version. A full page refresh (Ctrl + Shift + R on Windows or Cmd + Shift + R on Mac) forces the latest version to load. 📍 How to Access the Discover Section If you are unsure where to find this feature, follow these steps: 1. Log in to your Search Atlas account. 2. Navigate to Ad Studio from the left sidebar. 3. Select Discover from the Ad Studio sub-navigation. 4. Browse the available ads and click on any ad card. 5. In the ad preview panel, click Why does this ad work? to trigger the AI analysis. 💡 What to Expect When It Works Correctly When the feature is functioning as expected, clicking Why does this ad work? will display an AI-generated explanation directly within the ad preview panel. The analysis typically covers: - The messaging strategy and tone used in the ad copy - Visual and creative elements that drive engagement - Audience relevance signals and emotional hooks - Structural or formatting choices that support performance This insight is designed to help you understand proven ad strategies so you can apply similar techniques to your own campaigns. 🔄 If the Error Continues If you have followed all the steps above and the Couldn't run that — try again error is still appearing, the issue may need to be reviewed by our team directly. Please note the browser you are using, any specific ads that trigger the error, and roughly when the problem started — this information will help us investigate faster. 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.

🔒 Fix Meta Security Restrictions

🔒 Why ad publishing is blocked A Meta security restriction is blocking ad publishing from Search Atlas. Search Atlas cannot publish ads while the restriction is active. ✅ Resolve the restriction in Meta 1. Sign in to the Meta account connected to your Search Atlas advertising account. 2. Review the security restriction and follow the instructions provided by Meta. 3. Wait for Meta to clear the restriction before trying to publish again. 🔄 Try publishing again 1. Return to Search Atlas after Meta clears the restriction. 2. Try publishing the campaign again. Repeated publishing attempts will not resolve a Meta security restriction. If the restriction remains, continue following Meta's instructions. 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.

🔍 Fix Atlas Brain Hallucinations and OTTO Ads Issues

🔍 What Is an Atlas Brain Hallucination? Atlas Brain is Search Atlas's AI assistant. Like all large language models, it can occasionally generate content that looks accurate but contains fabricated details — such as pages, reports, or campaign data that do not actually exist on your site. This is known as a hallucination. Common examples include: - A website redesign report referencing pages that were never created - Keyword or traffic data that does not match your actual analytics - Campaign summaries describing ad groups or assets that do not exist in your account Atlas Brain hallucinations are a known AI limitation. They do not reflect changes made to your site or ad accounts — no content is published, no pages are created, and no settings are changed without your explicit action. ⚙️ Why Your OTTO Ads Campaigns May Be Paused OTTO Ads campaigns can pause when the Google Ads account linked to OTTO becomes disconnected or mismatched. When the Google Ads account is no longer properly connected to OTTO, OTTO Ads will automatically pause affected campaigns to prevent uncontrolled spend. If your campaigns are paused, check whether your Google Ads account is still correctly connected to the platform. A mismatch or disconnection between the account linked in Search Atlas and your actual Google Ads account is the most common root cause. 💳 Are You Still Being Charged While Campaigns Are Paused? Your Search Atlas subscription fee covers access to the platform and its tools — it is not Google Ads spend. These are two separate charges: - Search Atlas subscription: Billed by Search Atlas on your regular billing cycle, regardless of whether campaigns are active or paused. - Google Ads spend: Billed directly by Google. When OTTO Ads campaigns are paused, Google stops serving those ads and you stop accruing ad spend with Google for those campaigns. You will not be charged Google Ads spend for paused campaigns. If you see unexpected charges on your Google Ads account, those originate from Google and should be reviewed in your Google Ads billing dashboard. 🛠️ How to Reconnect Your Google Ads Account To restore your OTTO Ads campaigns, ensure the correct Google Ads account is connected to the platform. Navigate to your account's integrations or connected accounts area and verify that the Google Ads account shown matches the account you intend to use with OTTO Ads. If the connection appears broken or points to the wrong account, disconnect it and reconnect the correct Google Ads account. Once the correct account is linked, your OTTO Ads campaigns should be able to resume. 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.

🔗 Fix Search Atlas Overriding Your Google Ads UTM Parameters

🔍 Overview Search Atlas includes an Auto-UTM Tagger feature that automatically appends UTM parameters to your Google Ads URLs. While this saves time for most campaigns, it can conflict with UTM parameters you have already set manually — causing your custom values to be overwritten or corrupted. This article explains why this happens, how to identify the issue, and the steps you can take to protect your custom tracking setup. ⚠️ Why This Happens There are two common root causes for UTM parameters being overridden in Google Ads: - Auto-UTM Tagger is enabled: When this feature is active, Search Atlas automatically injects UTM parameters (including utm_campaign) into your ad URLs. If you have already defined these parameters manually, the auto-tagger will overwrite them. - Malformed URL Prefix or ValueTrack parameters: In some cases, the Google Ads URL Prefix field may be populated by OTTO PPC with an incorrectly formatted value. This can corrupt the existing query string — especially if the first query parameter in your URL is not a UTM parameter. 🛠️ How to Stop Search Atlas from Overriding Your UTM Parameters 1. Disable the Auto-UTM Tagger for affected campaigns. Navigate to your campaign settings inside Search Atlas, locate the Auto-UTM Tagger toggle, and turn it off. This prevents Search Atlas from injecting or modifying any UTM values on those campaigns. 2. Review your Google Ads URL Prefix field. Go to the campaign or account settings in Google Ads and check the Tracking Template or Final URL Suffix field. Remove any values that were inserted by Search Atlas if they conflict with your existing UTM setup. 3. Verify the order of your query parameters. If your destination URL contains non-UTM query parameters before your UTM parameters (for example, ?ref=homepage&utm_campaign=spring), restructure the URL so that UTM parameters come first. This reduces the risk of corruption caused by the auto-tagger's parsing behaviour. 4. Re-enter your custom UTM values in Google Ads. After disabling the auto-tagger and cleaning up the URL Prefix, manually re-enter your utm_campaign, utm_source, utm_medium, and any other custom parameters directly in Google Ads to ensure they are preserved. 5. Publish and verify the change reached Google Ads. After saving your settings in Search Atlas, confirm the update was applied successfully inside Google Ads. Navigate to your campaign in the Google Ads interface and check that your custom UTM values appear correctly in the Final URL or Tracking Template. Do not rely solely on the success message in Search Atlas — always verify in Google Ads directly. ✅ Best Practices for UTM Management - Use either Search Atlas Auto-UTM Tagger or manual UTM parameters — do not use both at the same time for the same campaign. - If you manage campaigns for multiple clients or accounts, audit each account's URL Prefix field after enabling or disabling the auto-tagger. - When using OTTO PPC to generate landing page URLs, check that no unexpected tokens or keys have been appended to the destination URL before publishing. - Keep a record of your custom UTM parameter values outside of Search Atlas (for example, in a spreadsheet) so you can quickly restore them if they are ever overwritten. 💬 Need More Help? If you have followed the steps above and your UTM parameters are still being overridden, or if you are unsure which setting is causing the conflict, our team is ready 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.

🔄 Reassign a Google Ads Seat

🎯 Can I reuse a Google Ads seat? Yes. A Google Ads seat can be reassigned when you no longer need it for one client and want to use it for another. This is useful when preparing a pitch or campaign plan for a prospective client. 📝 Using a seat for a sales pitch You can use an available seat to prepare a plan for a prospect. If the prospect does not become a customer, the seat can be moved to a different client, subject to your plan’s available seat limit. - Keep the work in planning or draft mode while approval is pending. - Do not publish campaigns or make account changes without the client’s authorization. - Confirm that you are connecting to the correct Google Ads account before authorizing access. 🔁 Before reassigning the seat 1. Make sure the previous client no longer needs the seat. 2. Disconnect or remove the previous Google Ads connection if required. 3. Confirm that the seat is available for reassignment. 4. Connect the new client’s Google Ads account and verify the account details. ⚠️ Important account checks Reassigning a seat does not transfer ownership of a Google Ads account, campaigns, billing, or historical data. Always verify the client name, customer ID, and Google Ads account before connecting. Avoid approving or publishing changes until the correct client has authorized access. 💬 Need help reassigning a seat? If the seat remains linked to the previous client, appears unavailable, or connects to the wrong Google Ads account, do not publish changes. 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.

🚀 Fix Google Ads Publication Errors

🔍 Common Publication Error Causes Google Ads campaign publication fails when required fields are missing, policies are violated, or API settings are outdated. The most frequent causes include invalid start date format, policy violations in ad copy, incorrect targeting settings, and OAuth account mismatches. ⚙️ Verify Campaign Settings Before Publishing 1. Navigate to Left sidebar → Smart Ads → Campaign Hub. 2. Select the campaign showing the error. 3. Check that all required fields are complete: campaign name, budget, bidding strategy, target locations, and language. 4. Ensure the start date uses the correct format. Recent API updates require start_date_time instead of start_date. If you see a date-only field, update it to include time (YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS). 5. Confirm ad groups have at least one responsive search ad with headlines and descriptions that meet character limits. 6. Verify keywords are added to each ad group and match the targeted language. 🛡️ Check Google Ads Policy Compliance - Review ad copy for prohibited content: misleading claims, trademark misuse, adult content, or restricted products. - Ensure landing pages comply with Google's destination requirements — functional, relevant, and transparent. - Confirm ad extensions (sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets) follow policy guidelines. - Use the Campaign Audit tool at Left sidebar → Smart Ads → Campaign Audit to auto-detect policy issues before publishing. - 1. Go to Left sidebar → Smart Ads → Campaign Hub. 2. Click Refresh data to force a fresh sync with Google Ads. 3. If the issue persists, disconnect and reconnect your Google Ads account through the integration settings. 4. Verify the correct manager account (MCC) and client account are selected during reconnection. - 1. In Campaign Hub, click Create new campaign. 2. Set a daily budget of $5, one target location, one language, and a single ad group with one responsive search ad. 3. Use generic, policy-safe ad copy (e.g., "Quality Services | Free Consultation"). 4. Publish and monitor for errors.

Meta Ads — Known Issues & What's Coming

🔍 Overview This article covers two things: minor issues you might notice in Meta Ads today (plus how to work around them), and a preview of features currently in development. We keep this page updated so you always know what to expect. ⚠️ Known Issues These are real, minor issues we are actively working on. None of them block you from running campaigns. 🏷️ Brands — Incorrect Creative Type Label In the Creative Drive section of the Meta Ads group, a creative asset may occasionally display the wrong type label — for example, a video shown as Image. This is a cosmetic issue only and does not affect how the creative performs or publishes. A fix is in progress. Workaround: Open the creative to confirm its actual format. The content itself is correct — only the label may be wrong. 📊 Analytics — Temporary Number Mismatch with Meta Ads Manager In the Intelligence group's Analytics section, performance numbers may briefly differ from what you see in Meta Ads Manager. This happens when Meta applies rate-limiting on their side, which temporarily slows down our data sync. Workaround: No action needed. The sync catches up automatically, and numbers will align on their own. If a discrepancy persists for an extended period, reach out via live chat. ⏳ Launchpad — Insight Data Delay After Connecting a New Account Right after you connect a new Meta ad account, insight data in Analytics and other Intelligence views can take a few minutes to fully load. This is expected behavior during the initial sync. Workaround: Wait a few minutes and then refresh the page. If data still has not appeared after 10–15 minutes, contact us via live chat. 🚀 Coming Soon The following features are actively in development. We are not sharing specific release dates, but we want you to know what is on the way. 🧬 Ad DNA (Meta Ads Group — Creative Drive) Ad DNA will analyze your creative assets to surface which specific traits — such as visual style, copy patterns, or format — are actually driving performance. Instead of guessing what works, you will have data-backed insight into your top-performing creative characteristics. 🗺️ Funnel Map (Intelligence Group) Funnel Map will give you a page-by-page view of where users drop off in your conversion flow — helping you pinpoint exactly where to focus your optimization efforts. ⚙️ Optimization (Meta Ads Group — Launchpad) Optimization will provide AI-recommended actions on your existing campaigns, suggesting concrete steps to improve results without requiring you to start from scratch. 📬 Additional Routines Destinations (Intelligence Group — Routines) Routines currently delivers automated reports and alerts to Slack and email. Additional delivery destinations are in development so you can receive Routines output in more of the tools your team already uses. 💬 Need Help? If you experience anything not covered here, or if a known issue is affecting your work more than expected, our team is ready to help. Open the live chat and type human teammate to connect directly with a person on our support team.

🔗 Fix UTM Parameter Overrides in Google Ads

🔍 Overview If you've noticed that your utm_campaign or other UTM parameters are being changed or removed inside Google Ads, this is most likely caused by the OTTO PPC feature automatically applying a URL prefix or ValueTrack parameter to your campaigns. This article explains why it happens and how to fix it. ⚙️ Why This Happens OTTO PPC can automatically update the Account-level URL prefix in Google Ads to enable enhanced tracking. In some cases, this process may: - Overwrite existing UTM parameters you've set manually on your campaigns or ad groups. - Apply a malformed {ignore} ValueTrack parameter that breaks the URL prefix, causing tracking to fail or behave unexpectedly. - Conflict with UTM values already defined at the campaign, ad group, or ad level in Google Ads. Google Ads applies URL parameters in a specific order of precedence — account level, then campaign level, then ad group level, then ad level. When OTTO PPC writes to the account-level URL prefix, it can silently override more specific settings you've configured lower in that hierarchy. 🛠️ How to Fix the Override Follow these steps to resolve UTM parameter conflicts between Search Atlas and your Google Ads account. 1. Check your Account-level URL prefix in Google Ads. In Google Ads, go to Admin > Account Settings > Tracking and review the value in the Tracking template or Final URL suffix field. Look for any unexpected parameters or a malformed {ignore} tag inserted by OTTO PPC. 2. Remove or correct the malformed {ignore} parameter. If you see something like {ignore}?utm_source=… or a broken URL string, delete the malformed portion and restore your intended UTM parameters. Save the changes in Google Ads. 3. Review OTTO PPC tracking settings in Search Atlas. Inside Search Atlas, navigate to your OTTO PPC dashboard and locate the Tracking or URL Settings section. Verify what value OTTO is configured to push as the URL prefix. 4. Align your UTM parameters in one place. To avoid future conflicts, define your UTM parameters at a single level — either through OTTO PPC or directly in Google Ads, but not both. If you prefer to manage UTM parameters manually in Google Ads, disable or clear the URL prefix setting inside OTTO PPC. 5. Test your tracking URLs. After making changes, use the Google Ads URL Tester (found under Admin > Account Settings > Tracking) or a tool like Google Tag Assistant to confirm your final URLs are resolving correctly with the expected UTM values. ✅ Best Practices to Prevent Future Conflicts - Use one source of truth for UTM parameters. Decide whether OTTO PPC or your Google Ads account owns UTM tracking, and stick to one approach consistently. - Audit your URL prefix after enabling OTTO PPC. Whenever you activate or update OTTO PPC for an account, immediately verify that your account-level URL prefix in Google Ads still contains the correct parameters. - Avoid duplicate UTM keys across levels. If utm_campaign is set at the account level, do not also set it at the campaign or ad level — Google Ads will attempt to apply both, which can produce unexpected results. - Document your tracking setup. Keep a record of which UTM parameters are managed by Search Atlas versus Google Ads so that any team member can quickly diagnose future issues. 💡 Frequently Asked Questions Will disabling the OTTO PPC URL prefix break my conversion tracking? No. Conversion tracking in Google Ads relies on your Google tag or Google Click ID (gclid), not on UTM parameters. Removing the URL prefix only affects UTM-based reporting in tools like Google Analytics. Does Search Atlas automatically re-apply the URL prefix after I remove it? OTTO PPC may re-apply its URL prefix setting during its next optimization cycle. If this keeps happening, disable the URL prefix feature within OTTO PPC settings or contact support for guidance on permanently excluding it. My UTM parameters look correct in Search Atlas but wrong in Google Ads — why? There is often a sync delay between Search Atlas and Google Ads. Allow up to 24 hours for changes to propagate. If the issue persists after 24 hours, follow the steps in the How to Fix the Override section above. 🆘 Need More 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.