Troubleshooting: Press Release Issues

⚡ Fix Digital PR Inbox Syncing Delays and Missing Emails

🛠️ Fix Press Release Link Popup Positioning

🔗 What causes the popup issue? When you add or edit a hyperlink in a press release, the link window may appear partially off-screen. This can happen when the editor is scrolled, the browser window is resized, or the browser zoom level is changed. 📍 Open the press release editor 1. Open Authority from the left sidebar. 2. Select PR Distribution. 3. Choose New Release or Resume to open an existing draft. 🛠️ Try these quick fixes 1. Scroll the editor back to the section containing the text you want to link. 2. Move the page slightly upward or downward so the editor toolbar is visible. 3. Reduce your browser zoom to 90% or 80%, then try opening the link tool again. 4. Maximise the browser window and make sure your device display is not using an unusually large scaling setting. 5. Close and reopen the press release editor, then retry the link tool. 6. If the popup still opens off-screen, refresh the page and reopen the draft from Resume. ✏️ Add the hyperlink 1. Highlight the words you want to link. 2. Select the link or URL tool in the editor toolbar. 3. Enter or paste the destination URL into the popup. 4. Apply or save the link, then confirm that the linked text displays correctly. ✅ Check your link before publishing - Confirm the URL starts with https:// when required. - Check that the link opens the intended page. - Review the surrounding text for formatting issues. - Save the draft before leaving the editor. 💬 Need more help? If the hyperlink popup remains unusable after these steps, note your browser, screen size, zoom level, and the actions that caused the issue. 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.

💵 Understanding Partial Refunds for Failed Press Releases

If you paid for a Swedish press release distribution and received only a partial refund after the publication failed, the refund requires review to confirm what happened and whether the amount is correct. 💡 Why You May Have Received a Partial Refund A failed Swedish press release may result in a partial refund rather than a full refund. The available information does not confirm the exact calculation or which parts of the distribution were affected, so support must review the specific release and order. 🔍 What to Prepare for a Refund Review To help the team investigate your partial refund, have the following information ready: - The press release title - Your order ID, if available - The date the release was submitted - The partial refund amount you received - Any error message or failure details shown when the release failed Include these details when requesting a review so the team can check the failed Swedish press release and confirm the refund. 💳 Refund Review The exact refund amount and any available next steps depend on the details of your order. Support can review whether the partial refund was applied correctly and explain the outcome for the failed release. 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.

🛠️ Troubleshoot PR Distribution and CloudStacks Issues

🔍 Overview If you are experiencing issues with PR Distribution or CloudStacks in Search Atlas, this guide walks you through the most common problems and how to resolve them quickly. Follow the steps below before reaching out to support. ⚙️ Common PR Distribution Issues and Fixes PR Distribution allows you to publish and syndicate press releases across a network of sites. If something is not working as expected, try the following steps: 1. Check your submission status. Navigate to your PR Distribution dashboard and confirm whether your press release shows a status of Pending, Processing, or Failed. A Pending status means it is queued and will process shortly. 2. Review your content for compliance. Press releases that contain prohibited content, broken links, or formatting errors may be rejected. Re-read the content guidelines and ensure your release meets all requirements before resubmitting. 3. Verify your account credits or plan limits. Press release distribution draws from your shared Hyperdrive Credits (HDC) balance — if that balance is exhausted, new submissions will be blocked. Go to the account menu (person icon, top-right) → Billing → Plans & Top-ups to check your current Hyperdrive Credits usage and balance. 4. Clear your browser cache and retry. Occasionally, stale cache data can cause submission forms to behave unexpectedly. Clear your cache, refresh the page, and attempt your submission again. 5. Check for platform status updates. If multiple submissions are failing at the same time, there may be a temporary service disruption. Check the Search Atlas status page or the in-app notification banner for updates. ☁️ Common CloudStacks Issues and Fixes CloudStacks is a powerful link-building feature that creates a network of cloud-based properties pointing to your target URLs. Here are the most common issues and how to address them: 1. Stack not building or stuck in progress. If your CloudStack has been stuck in the Building state for more than 24 hours, first check whether your target URL is accessible and returns a 200 status code. Broken or redirected URLs can stall the build process. 2. Properties not indexed. Newly created cloud properties can take several days to be indexed by search engines. This is normal behaviour. Allow 5–10 business days before expecting indexation results. 3. Incorrect target URL submitted. If you submitted the wrong URL for a CloudStack, contact support immediately. Depending on the build stage, the team may be able to update the target URL before the stack is fully deployed. 4. Stack shows as complete but links are not visible. Confirm you are viewing the correct project in your dashboard. Use the filter or search function to locate the specific stack by name or date created. If the stack report appears blank, try refreshing the page or switching browsers. 5. Duplicate stack submission. Submitting the same URL multiple times does not always improve results and may affect your link profile. Review your active stacks before creating a new one for the same target URL. 🔗 Issues Affecting Both PR Distribution and CloudStacks If you are experiencing problems with both features at the same time, the issue is likely related to one of the following: - Account or billing issue. A lapsed subscription or failed payment can restrict access to multiple features simultaneously. Go to the account menu (person icon, top-right) → Billing to verify your subscription status and update your payment method if needed. - Browser or device compatibility. Both features require a modern browser. Ensure you are using the latest version of Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Safari. Disable browser extensions that may interfere with the platform, such as ad blockers or script blockers. - Session or login issue. Log out of your Search Atlas account, clear your cookies, and log back in. This resolves many unexpected UI or submission errors. - API or integration conflict. If you are using the Search Atlas API or a third-party integration, verify that your API key is valid and that your requests are formatted correctly according to the latest API documentation. 📋 Before You Contact Support To help our team resolve your issue as quickly as possible, gather the following information before starting a chat: - The name or ID of the affected PR submission or CloudStack - The target URL associated with the issue - A description of what you expected to happen versus what actually happened - Any error messages you saw on screen - The date and time you first noticed the issue 💬 Still Need Help? If the steps above did not resolve your issue, our support team is ready to assist. 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.

📰 Authority Building — PR Distribution

This article covers: - press release submission - distribution workflow errors - company profile configuration - AI-generated PR content - outlet reporting - distribution credits - and post-submission limitations. Authority Building distribution workflows involve: - validation systems - asynchronous distribution queues - external publisher synchronization - and outlet-specific formatting pipelines. Because multiple systems participate in the distribution process, delays or validation failures may occur before a press release reaches publication status. ⚠️ Error 1: "Submit for Distribution" button is greyed out What's happening The distribution system requires all mandatory fields before submission becomes available. Even one incomplete or invalid field prevents activation of the submission button. Steps to try 1. Open the press release editor in a supported browser (Chrome is recommended) and review all sections carefully. 2. Confirm all required fields are completed: - Headline - Body - Summary - Company Name - Publish Date - Publish Time. 3. Ensure the press release body meets the editor's minimum word count (confirm the current minimum against the in-app validation message). 4. Confirm the summary is within the editor's word cap (confirm the current cap against the in-app validation message). 5. Check for validation warnings highlighted in red. 6. Verify the distribution date is not in the past. 7. Remove unsupported special characters from fields if validation still fails. 8. Save the draft and refresh the page. 9. Contact support if the submission button remains disabled despite all fields being completed. Important Notes - Hidden validation errors are often caused by formatting issues such as unsupported characters, stray HTML, or trailing whitespace. - Saving the draft usually refreshes validation states. ⚠️ Error 2: Press release submitted but status stays on "Processing" for more than 2 hours What's happening The backend distribution system may have encountered: - silent validation failures - queue delays - or incomplete company profile data. The press release remains in a pending state until validation succeeds. Steps to try 1. Go to: Left Sidebar → Authority Building → PR Distribution → [your PR] → Status 2. Refresh the status page after several minutes. 3. Click Retry Distribution if available. 4. Review your company profile completely. 5. Ensure all required company fields are populated: - company name - address - phone - website - country code. 6. Verify the summary is within the editor's word cap. 7. Confirm there are no placeholder values left in the PR. 8. Avoid duplicate submissions while processing is active. 9. Wait several additional queue cycles during high-traffic periods. 10. Contact support if processing remains active longer than 2 hours. Important Notes - Backend validation failures are not always surfaced immediately. - Retry Distribution often clears transient queue issues. ⚠️ Error 3: Distribution report shows 0 outlets after 24 hours What's happening A press release may have been submitted successfully but never actually distributed. "Submitted" status does not always mean: - distributed - published - or syndicated. Steps to try 1. Open the distribution status page. 2. Verify the status shows: - Distributed - Published - or Completed. 3. If the status only says Submitted, the PR likely never entered the distribution network. 4. Refresh the distribution report after several hours. 5. Confirm your company profile passed validation. 6. Check whether the PR was rejected silently. 7. Retry the distribution if available. 8. Avoid editing the PR repeatedly while distribution is pending. 9. Contact support for manual push verification. 10. Request a distribution audit if no outlets appear after 24 hours. Important Notes - Outlet reports populate asynchronously. - Initial reports may appear incomplete during the first several hours. ⚠️ Error 4: PR generated by AI has content I did not approve What's happening AI-generated PR content quality depends heavily on: - prompt specificity - company profile quality - and contextual business information. Vague inputs produce: - generic - inaccurate - or off-brand content. Steps to try 1. Always review AI-generated content before submission. 2. Edit any inaccurate sections manually. 3. Use Regenerate Section instead of regenerating the entire PR. 4. Add more detailed: - product information - announcement details - audience context - and brand positioning. 5. Avoid short prompts like: "write a press release." 6. Include: - what happened - why it matters - who it affects - and business context. 7. Update your Brand Vault information for better personalization. 8. Generate shorter sections first if results are inconsistent. 9. Save revisions before distribution. 10. Treat AI-generated PRs as first drafts, not final publications. Important Notes - More context produces dramatically better output quality. - Human review should always occur before distribution. ⚠️ Error 5: My company profile is not appearing in the distribution form dropdown What's happening Only fully saved company profiles appear in the PR distribution selector. Incomplete profiles may fail silently. Steps to try 1. Go to: Local → GBP Projects (GBP Projects) 2. Click Connect GBP Account if no profile exists. 3. Complete all required fields. 4. Save the profile completely. 5. Refresh the distribution form and reopen the company profile dropdown. 6. Wait several seconds for the list to refresh. 7. Confirm validation passed on every required field. 8. Contact support if the profile still does not appear after saving. Important Notes - Only fully validated company profiles surface in the selector. - Incomplete profiles may not display validation errors immediately. ⚠️ Error 6: Press release stuck in "Pending" or "Publishing" status What's happening A known visual glitch (referenced internally as AB-1006, marked resolved) can display a press release as "Pending" or "Publishing" even when the PR has actually been rejected by one or more distributors. In confirmed-rejection cases, HDC credits are refundable. Steps to try 1. Open the PR distribution status page and confirm the displayed status. 2. Allow 5–7 business days from submission for a publication link to appear. 3. If no publication link appears within 5–7 business days, contact support and reference the "stuck in Pending/Publishing" behavior (AB-1006). 4. Ask support to verify backend status — the PR may have been rejected by distributors even though the UI still shows it as publishing. 5. If rejection is confirmed, request a credit refund. 6. Avoid resubmitting the same PR while the status is still under investigation. Important Notes - AB-1006 is a known and resolved issue; edge cases may still require backend intervention by support. - HDC credits are refundable on confirmed rejection. Approximate credit cost per PR by tier: Street Insider 35, Digital Journal 30, News & Media 20, Local & National 15. - Do not wait several weeks before escalating — 5–7 business days with no publication link is the recommended threshold. ⚠️ Error 7: Distribution fails due to a temporary API outage or proxy authentication error (407) What's happening Transient backend failures can block distribution, including: - temporary API downtime - proxy authentication errors (e.g. 407 Auth failed) - and image-fetching failures from Brand Vault or Google Cloud Storage. These are server-side issues and are typically resolved without any customer action. Steps to try 1. Wait several minutes and retry submission once. 2. Check whether assets in Brand Vault load correctly in a separate tab. 3. Avoid repeatedly resubmitting while an outage is active — duplicate attempts will not bypass the failure. 4. Contact support if the error persists, and include the exact error text (for example, the 407 message or the failed image URL). Important Notes - These errors are usually resolved server-side; no customer action is required beyond a short wait and a single retry. - Persistent failures should be reported to support rather than retried indefinitely. ⚠️ Error 8: Logo or image upload fails with a "fetching image size" error What's happening Logo or image uploads can fail during PR submission with errors such as "fetching image size." When the error persists after resizing, reformatting, and trying a different browser, the root cause is usually a temporary backend or image-service outage — not a problem with the file itself. Steps to try 1. Confirm the image meets the documented format and size requirements (e.g. JPG or PNG, within the allowed dimensions). 2. Re-upload the image once. 3. Try uploading from a different supported browser. 4. If the error persists after these steps, stop retrying and contact support — repeated uploads will not resolve a backend outage. 5. Share the exact error text and the asset filename with support to speed up investigation. Important Notes - Persistent image errors are usually a sign of a temporary API outage rather than a user-side issue. - Once the file is confirmed to meet requirements, escalate to support instead of continuing to retry. ⚠️ Error 9: My press release was rejected by an outlet — what happens to my credits and notifications? What's happening When a distributor rejects a press release, the in-app status does not always visually update. A rejected PR can continue to display as "Pending" or "Publishing," which makes silent rejections difficult to identify from the UI alone. Steps to try 1. Wait 5–7 business days from submission for a publication link to appear. 2. If no link appears in that window, contact support and ask them to verify rejection status via the backend. 3. If support confirms a rejection, request a refund of the HDC credits consumed by the rejected distribution. 4. Review the rejection reason (when provided) before resubmitting, so the next draft can be adjusted accordingly. Important Notes - HDC credits are refundable on confirmed rejection. Approximate credit cost per PR by tier: Street Insider 35, Digital Journal 30, News & Media 20, Local & National 15. - A "Publishing" status alone is not proof of acceptance — backend verification by support is the reliable signal. - Escalate after 5–7 business days without a publication link rather than waiting several weeks.

📰 Fix Press Release Publishing with Hyperdrive Credits

🔍 Why You Can't Publish Your Press Release If you've uploaded a valid image and filled out all required fields but still can't publish your press release, the most common reason is a lack of Hyperdrive credits. Press release distribution in Search Atlas is powered by Hyperdrive, and each submission consumes a set number of credits from your account balance. This means the publishing button may remain inactive or return an error even when your content and image are correctly formatted — the system simply cannot proceed without enough credits available. 💳 What Are Hyperdrive Credits? Hyperdrive credits are the currency used to power premium content distribution features inside Search Atlas, including press release publishing. Credits are separate from your main subscription and must be purchased as needed or as part of a credit bundle. - Each press release submission deducts a fixed number of Hyperdrive credits from your balance. - Credits purchased as a one-time top-up do not expire and roll over until used, but Hyperdrive credits included in your plan (and any recurring monthly top-up) reset at each quota cycle and do not carry over. - Your current credit balance is always visible under Avatar → Billing → Plans & Top-ups (Billing). 🛒 How to Purchase Hyperdrive Credits 1. Log in to your Search Atlas account. 2. Locate the Hyperdrive Credits counter in the header area, near Open features menu. 3. Click Top Up next to Hyperdrive Credits under Avatar → Billing → Plans & Top-ups (Billing). 4. Select the credit package that fits your needs — larger bundles offer a lower cost per credit. 5. Complete the checkout using your saved payment method or enter new billing details. 6. Your credit balance will update immediately after the transaction is confirmed. 🚀 Publishing Your Press Release After Purchasing Credits 1. Return to the Press Releases section inside Search Atlas. 2. Open the draft you were working on, or create a new submission. 3. Confirm your image meets the required format and minimum dimensions shown on the upload screen. 4. Review all required fields — headline, body copy, contact details, and category. 5. Click Publish. The system will deduct the required credits and submit your press release for distribution. If the publish button is still unavailable after purchasing credits, try refreshing the page to allow your updated balance to load correctly. ✅ Quick Checklist Before Publishing - Credits available: Confirm your Hyperdrive balance covers the cost of one press release submission. - Image uploaded: Your image must meet the platform's format and size requirements (check the tooltip next to the upload field). - All required fields completed: Headline, body, contact information, and category must all be filled in. - Account in good standing: Ensure your Search Atlas subscription is active and your billing details are up to date. ❓ Still Seeing an Error? If you've purchased credits and your press release still won't publish, there may be an issue with your image file, a temporary platform error, or an account-level restriction. 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.

💳 PR Distribution Hyperdrive Credits Insufficient Balance Error

🔍 What This Error Actually Means When you try to submit a press release and see the message 'payment information needs to be updated', your first instinct may be to check your credit card or billing details. However, in most cases your payment method is perfectly fine. This error message is misleading. It is almost always triggered by an insufficient Hyperdrive credit balance — not a billing or payment issue. Your subscription can be fully active and your card completely valid, yet the error will still appear if you do not have enough Hyperdrive credits to cover the cost of your selected distribution. 📦 What Are Hyperdrive Credits? Hyperdrive credits are the in-platform currency used to submit press releases through the PR Distribution tool in Search Atlas. Each submission requires a minimum number of credits depending on the distribution tier and the number of outlets selected. - Credits are separate from your subscription billing. - You must have enough credits before you submit — the system does not automatically charge your card to top up your balance. - The minimum credit requirement varies by distribution package. For example, a standard submission may require 23 or more credits. ⚠️ Why the Error Message Is Confusing The platform surfaces a generic payment-related error when a submission cannot be processed due to insufficient credits. This is a known display issue. The underlying cause is a low or empty Hyperdrive credit balance, not a problem with your saved payment method. Steps like clearing your browser cache, re-entering your credit card, or contacting your bank will not resolve this error. The only fix is to ensure your Hyperdrive credit balance meets or exceeds the minimum required for your submission. ✅ How to Check Your Hyperdrive Credit Balance 1. Log in to your Search Atlas account. 2. Navigate to the PR Distribution tool from the left-hand menu. 3. Look for your Hyperdrive Credits balance, displayed in the top section of the PR Distribution dashboard. 4. Note your current balance and compare it to the credit requirement shown for your selected distribution package. 🛒 How to Add More Hyperdrive Credits 1. Click your Avatar → Billing → Plans & Top-ups (Billing), then click the Top Up button next to HyperDrive Credits. 2. Select the credit package that meets or exceeds the amount required for your press release submission. 3. Complete the purchase using your saved payment method. 4. Once the credits are added to your account, return to your press release draft and resubmit. Your credit balance updates immediately after a successful purchase, so you can resubmit your press release right away. 📋 Quick Troubleshooting Reference - Error appears even though card is valid: Check your Hyperdrive credit balance first — this is the most common cause. - Submission fails partway through: Your credit balance may have dropped below the minimum mid-session. Refresh the page and recheck your balance. - Not sure how many credits your submission requires: The credit cost is displayed on the submission review screen before you confirm. You can also check the pricing breakdown in the PR Distribution settings. - Credits were deducted but submission did not go through: Do not resubmit before contacting support, as you may be charged twice. Use the chat widget described below. 💡 Tips to Avoid This Error in the Future - Check your Hyperdrive credit balance before drafting a new press release, especially if you have submitted recently. - Keep a buffer of credits in your account if you submit press releases regularly. - Review the credit cost for each distribution tier before selecting your package so you are never caught short at the submission stage. 🙋 Still Need Help? If you have confirmed your credit balance is sufficient but the error persists, or if credits were deducted without a successful submission, please reach out. 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 PR Distribution Hyperdrive Credits Insufficient Error

What Is This Error? When you attempt to submit a press release through PR Distribution, you may see an error message such as "Payment information needs to be updated" or a notification that your credits are insufficient — even if your credit card is valid and your subscription is active. This error does not always mean your payment method has a problem. In many cases, it is related to your Hyperdrive credits balance or account configuration. Why Does This Happen? The error can appear for a variety of reasons related to your Hyperdrive credits or account status. Because the error message references payment information, it can be confusing — but the underlying cause is often a credits or account issue rather than a problem with your card. What to Do Because the exact cause and resolution of this error depends on your specific account configuration, our support team will need to review your account directly to identify what is blocking your submission and apply the correct fix. To help our team resolve this as quickly as possible, please have the following ready when you reach out: - The exact error message you are seeing (copy it word for word if possible). - The name of the press release project or draft you are trying to submit. - The date and approximate time the error occurred. - Any screenshots of the error, if available. 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. Additional Notes Credits are separate from subscription billing. The system does not automatically charge your card to top up your balance. The minimum credit requirement varies by distribution package (e.g. a standard submission may require 23+ credits). Steps like clearing cache or re-entering your card will NOT resolve this — only ensuring sufficient credit balance will.

📣 Check Your Press Release & Digital PR Distribution Status

📋 Overview When you submit a Press Release or Digital PR campaign through the Authority Building section of Search Atlas, you can track exactly where your content has been published — and see any refund details if a channel was unable to complete distribution. 🔍 How to Check Your Distribution Status 1. Log in to your Search Atlas account. 2. Navigate to the Authority Building section from the main left-hand menu. 3. Select Press Releases or Digital PR, depending on the campaign type you submitted. 4. Locate the campaign you want to review and click on it to open the detail view. 5. Scroll to the Distribution Status section to see a breakdown of each publication channel. 📡 Understanding Per-Channel Publication Status Each distribution channel in your campaign will display one of the following statuses: - Published — Your content was successfully distributed and is live on that channel. - Pending — Distribution is still in progress for this channel. Allow additional time for it to update. - Failed — The channel was unable to publish your content. See the refund section below for next steps. 💰 Refunds for Failed Channels If one or more distribution channels fail to publish your content, Search Atlas will issue a partial refund corresponding to the value of the failed channel(s). You can view the refund amount directly within the campaign's detail view under the Refund Summary section. Refunds are applied back to your Search Atlas account credits automatically — no additional action is required on your part. 💬 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.

🛠️ Fix Press Release Project Selection via Brand Vault

Why Your Press Release Defaults to the Wrong Project The Press Release tool does not include a standalone project selector on its own page. Instead, it pulls your active project from Brand Vault. If you see an unexpected project name, it means that project is currently set as your active Brand Vault profile. Updating your active Brand Vault profile is the correct way to change which project appears in Press Release. This also applies to your Google Business Profile (GBP) project selection within Press Release. What You Will Need Before You Start - At least two projects already created inside Search Atlas - A Brand Vault profile set up for each project you want to use in Press Release - Sufficient access rights to your Search Atlas workspace How to Switch Your Active Project in Brand Vault 1. Log in to Search Atlas and navigate to Authority (Press Releases) in the left sidebar. 2. Review the list of your saved brand profiles. 3. Locate the profile that matches the project you want to use in Press Release. 4. Within Brand Vault, set that profile as your active profile using the options available in the Brand Vault interface. 5. Navigate to Authority (Press Releases) in the left sidebar. 6. Confirm the project name now reflects the correct project. If it does not update immediately, refresh your browser tab and check again. How to Set Up a Brand Vault Profile for a New Project If the project you need does not yet have a Brand Vault profile, you must create one before it can be selected in Press Release. This also applies if you want to associate a specific Google Business Profile (GBP) with a project in Press Release. 1. Go to Brand Vault and look for the option to create a new brand profile. 2. Select the correct project and fill in your brand details as prompted. 3. Save the new profile. 4. Follow the steps in the previous section to set this new profile as your active profile. Using Press Release After Switching Your Active Profile Once the correct Brand Vault profile is active, Press Release will reflect that project. If you manage multiple clients or projects, remember to return to Brand Vault and switch the active profile each time you want to generate a press release for a different project. Troubleshooting Common Issues - The project name still shows the old project after switching: Refresh your browser tab and navigate back to Authority (Press Releases). Browser cache can sometimes display stale data. - You cannot find the option to change the active profile or the Brand Vault setup is not behaving as expected: Our support team can review your account configuration and walk you through the correct steps for your workspace. 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 a Stuck Press Release and Request a Refund

🔍 Why Is My Press Release Stuck? Press releases can occasionally stall due to distribution partner delays, content review holds, or a technical issue during submission. If your press release has been pending for an extended period — including cases of several months — this requires immediate review by our support team. Common reasons a press release may not publish include: - The content was flagged during editorial review by the distribution partner - Missing or incomplete submission details (headline, contact info, or body content) - A technical error that prevented the order from being sent to the distributor - A temporary hold placed on the account ✅ Steps to Take Right Now 1. Check your order status — Log in to Search Atlas and locate your press release order. Confirm the current status shown on the order. 2. Gather your order details — Note the press release title, submission date, and any confirmation number or order ID. You will need these when contacting support. 3. Contact our support team immediately — A press release that has not published after an extended period qualifies for escalation. Our team can investigate the distribution status directly with our partner network. 💳 How to Request a Refund If your press release has not been published and a significant amount of time has passed, you may be eligible for a refund. Refunds are handled on a case-by-case basis by our support team. To request a refund: 1. Contact our support team using the chat widget described below. 2. Provide your order ID, the submission date, and confirm that the press release has not been published. 3. Our team will verify the order status and, if eligible, initiate the refund process on your behalf. ❌ How to Cancel Your Account If you would like to cancel your Search Atlas subscription in addition to requesting a refund, please contact our support team directly. A team member will assist you with processing both the refund and the account cancellation. When reaching out, please have the following ready: - Your account email address - The press release title and submission date - Confirmation that the press release was never published 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 Brand Vault Projects in Press Release

Overview When you open the Press Release section and try to select a project, Search Atlas pulls the available options from your Brand Vault and its connected Google Business Profile (GBP) locations. If your desired project does not appear in the dropdown — or the selector defaults to the wrong project — it almost always means the Brand Vault has not been fully configured or the GBP location has not yet been linked. This article explains the general relationship between Brand Vault setup and the Press Release GBP project selector, and tells you what to have ready when reaching out to support. How the GBP Project Selector Works The Press Release section does not draw from a general list of all your Search Atlas projects. Instead, it reads only from projects that have a Brand Vault entry with at least one linked GBP location. This means: - Creating a project in Search Atlas is not enough on its own. - You must also create a Brand Vault entry for that project. - The Brand Vault entry must have a GBP location associated with it. - Once the Brand Vault entry is properly configured, the project should become available in the Press Release selector. What to Check First Before escalating, verify the following in your account: - Confirm that a Brand Vault entry exists for the project you want to use in Press Release. - Confirm that a Google Business Profile location has been connected to that Brand Vault entry. - Try navigating away from the Press Release section and returning to it, or perform a hard browser refresh, to rule out a display issue. If you have checked all of the above and the project still does not appear, the issue will need to be investigated by our support team. When Escalating to Support Because Brand Vault configuration and GBP linking involve account-specific settings, our team may need to review your setup directly. To help us resolve this as quickly as possible, please have the following ready: - The exact name of the project or brand that is not appearing in the Press Release selector. - Whether a Brand Vault entry exists for that brand and whether a GBP location has been added to it. - Any error messages you see when attempting to link a GBP location or access the selector. - The approximate time you first noticed the issue. 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 Insufficient Credits When Publishing Press Releases

🔍 Why This Error Appears Seeing an Insufficient Credits error when you have credits available can be confusing. This error does not always mean your account is out of credits overall — it may mean that the credits available on your account are not the type required for press release publishing. 📊 Understanding Credit Types Search Atlas may use different credit types for different content and features. Having credits in your account does not automatically mean those credits are the type required for press release publishing, so it is worth checking which credit type your account holds -- and how it applies to press releases -- before attempting to publish. 🛠️ What to Do When You See This Error Because the source of this error varies by account, the most reliable path to resolution is to reach out via the support chat widget. When you do, please have the following ready so the team can investigate and resolve your issue quickly: - Your account name or registered email address. - The exact error message you are seeing when you attempt to publish. - A description of your current plan and any recent changes (e.g., upgrades, renewals, or plan switches). - The number and type of credits shown in your account dashboard at the time of the error. - Any screenshots of the error and your credit balance if possible. A member of the support team will be able to confirm whether your account has the correct credit type assigned, and take any backend action needed to resolve the issue. 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 the Digital PR Outreach Schedule Configuration Error

🔍 What This Error Means The 'Please configure outreach schedule first!' error appears in Digital PR when you attempt to launch or send a campaign before the outreach schedule has been fully set up. This is not just about connecting an email account — the schedule itself must be created and saved as a separate step. Both requirements must be completed before a campaign can run. ✅ Step 1 — Confirm Your Email Account Is Connected Before configuring a schedule, verify that an email account is linked to your workspace: 1. Go to Left sidebar → Authority → Campaigns. 2. Open or create a campaign, then look for the sending email address field. 3. If no email is connected, navigate to your account settings and connect a valid sending email address. 4. Return to Campaigns and confirm the email address now appears as an option. If your email is already connected and the error persists, do not stop here — proceed to Step 2. A connected email alone is not enough to clear this error. 📅 Step 2 — Create and Save an Outreach Schedule This is the most commonly missed step. Even with a connected email, you must configure a dedicated outreach schedule: 1. Go to Left sidebar → Authority → Campaigns. 2. Open the campaign that is triggering the error. 3. Locate the Schedule or Outreach Schedule section within the campaign settings. 4. Set your preferred sending days and time windows. 5. Click Save to confirm the schedule. Do not navigate away before saving. 6. Return to the campaign overview and attempt to launch or send again. The error should clear once a schedule has been saved against the campaign. If the error still appears after completing both steps, continue to the decision tree below. 🔁 Persistent Error — Decision Tree Use the following checks in order if the error has not resolved after Steps 1 and 2: - Did you save the schedule before leaving the settings page? Navigating away without clicking Save discards the schedule. Repeat Step 2 and confirm the save action completes before moving on. - Is the schedule attached to the correct campaign? Schedules are campaign-specific. If you have multiple campaigns, confirm the schedule was saved inside the campaign you are trying to launch, not a different one. - Did you create the campaign in draft mode? Some draft campaigns require you to fully publish or activate the campaign record before a schedule can be applied. Look for an Activate or Publish button and complete that step first, then re-add the schedule. - Has your connected email account been disconnected since you last used it? Token expiry or password changes can silently disconnect an email. Go to Left sidebar → Authority → Campaigns, check the sending email field, and reconnect if needed. - Are you seeing the error on a cloned or duplicated campaign? Duplicated campaigns do not carry over schedule settings. You must configure a new schedule for each copy. 📥 Check Your Inbox and Sent Items After a successful campaign launch, you can monitor activity in two places: - Left sidebar → Authority → Inbox — incoming replies from your outreach. - Left sidebar → Authority → Sent — confirmation that emails were dispatched by the schedule. If the Sent folder remains empty after your scheduled send window has passed, the schedule may not have saved correctly. Repeat Step 2 and verify the send window covers the current time and day. ⚠️ When to Contact Support If you have completed all steps above and the error still appears, or if the Sent folder remains empty after two full schedule cycles, this may indicate a backend configuration issue that requires investigation. 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 Press Release Hyperdrive Credit Errors

🔍 Overview When you attempt to publish a press release using Hyperdrive, Search Atlas checks your available credit balance in real time. If the system detects that your balance is insufficient — even if you believe you have enough credits — a publication error will appear and the press release will not be submitted. This article walks you through how to verify your balance and resolve the issue. 📊 Step 1: Check Your Hyperdrive Credit Balance Before troubleshooting the error, confirm your actual available balance: 1. Log in to your Search Atlas account. 2. Navigate to the top-right avatar menu → Billing (Billing) page. 3. Locate the Hyperdrive Credits panel and note your current balance. 4. Compare the displayed balance against the credit cost shown on the press release publication screen. If your balance is lower than the required amount, you will need to purchase additional Hyperdrive credits before publishing. ⚙️ Step 2: Refresh Your Session Occasionally, a cached session may display an outdated credit balance, causing a mismatch between what you see and what the system reads. To rule this out: 1. Save any draft content you are working on. 2. Fully log out of Search Atlas. 3. Clear your browser cache and cookies, or open Search Atlas in a private/incognito window. 4. Log back in and navigate back to your press release. 5. Check the credit balance again and attempt to publish. 🛠️ Step 3: Verify Credit Type and Plan Eligibility Not all credits are interchangeable inside Search Atlas. Keep the following in mind: - Hyperdrive Credits are specifically required for press release distribution. General platform credits or other credit types cannot substitute for them. - Confirm that your current subscription plan includes access to Hyperdrive press release publishing. - If your credits were recently purchased or added by a team administrator, allow a few minutes for the balance to sync, then refresh your session as described in Step 2. 💡 Step 4: Review Recent Credit Usage It is possible that recent activity consumed credits you were not aware of. To check: 1. Go to your Billing or Usage History section. 2. Review recent Hyperdrive transactions to see if credits were used for other press releases or services. 3. If you notice any unrecognised charges or unexpected deductions, make a note of the dates and amounts before contacting support. 🚀 Step 5: Attempt Publication Again Once you have confirmed your balance is sufficient and your session is refreshed, retry publishing your press release: 1. Open the press release you want to publish. 2. Review all required fields to ensure the submission is complete — incomplete submissions can sometimes trigger misleading error messages. 3. Click Publish and monitor the confirmation screen. If the error persists after completing all steps above, do not restart repeatedly, as this will not resolve an underlying balance or account issue. ⚠️ Common Reasons the Error Appears - Your Hyperdrive credit balance is genuinely below the required amount for the selected distribution tier. - A recent purchase has not yet been reflected due to a brief sync delay. - Your session is displaying a stale balance from before a credit deduction. - Your subscription plan does not include Hyperdrive press release access. - A temporary platform issue is affecting credit reads — in this case, waiting a few minutes and retrying often resolves it. 🙋 Still Seeing the Error? If you have followed all the steps above and the publication error continues, our support team can investigate your account balance, recent transactions, and any platform-side issues 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.

🗞️ Fix Press Release Insufficient Credits Error

🔍 What This Error Means Seeing an insufficient credits error while trying to publish a press release — even when your credit balance looks healthy — usually points to a quota type mismatch, not a simple lack of credits. Press release publishing draws from your Hyperdrive Credits balance, which is a different pool from your general AI content credits. Having a healthy general AI-credit balance does not automatically mean you have enough Hyperdrive Credits available for press release publishing - the two are tracked separately. 🗂️ Understanding Credit Pools Your Search Atlas account manages more than one credit pool. The two most relevant here are: - General AI Credits: Used for AI writing, content generation, and similar tools. - Hyperdrive Credits: Used for press release publishing and other high-volume distribution actions. When you attempt to publish a press release, the system checks only your press release credit balance. If your Hyperdrive Credits balance is at zero or below the required threshold, you will see the insufficient credits error - regardless of how many general AI credits you hold. ✅ How to Check Your Press Release Credit Balance 1. Log in to your Search Atlas account. 2. Click your profile icon or account name in the top-right corner. 3. Navigate to Billing or Subscription & Credits. 4. Look for the Hyperdrive Credits line item specifically - do not rely on your general AI credit total shown on the dashboard overview. 5. Confirm whether your press release credit balance is sufficient for a new publication. 🛠️ Steps to Resolve the Error 1. Verify the correct credit pool: Confirm your press release credits balance as described above. Do not assume the general credit counter reflects press release availability. 2. Check your current plan: Some subscription tiers include a limited monthly allocation of press release credits. If you have used your allocation for the billing cycle, the balance resets on your renewal date. 3. Review your billing cycle reset date: If your press release credits are exhausted, note when your next billing cycle begins so your quota will automatically refresh. 4. Consider a credit top-up or plan upgrade: If you need to publish before the reset date, you may be able to purchase additional press release credits or upgrade your plan to receive a higher monthly allocation. Check the Billing section for available options. 5. Retry publishing after confirming credits are available: Only retry the publish action once you have confirmed the press release credit balance is sufficient. Retrying before resolving the underlying quota issue will produce the same error. ⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid - Assuming general AI credits = Hyperdrive Credits. Always check your Hyperdrive Credits balance specifically, not your general AI credit total. - Retrying immediately without checking balances. The error will persist until the correct credit pool has sufficient funds. - Confusing a billing cycle reset with an account issue. If your quota resets monthly, an empty press release credit pool is expected behaviour near the end of a cycle — not a platform bug. 🙋 When to Contact Support Reach out to the support team if any of the following apply after following the steps above: - Your press release credit balance shows available credits but the error still appears. - Credits were deducted without a successful publish completing. - Your credit balance does not match what your plan states you should receive. - You are unable to locate the press release credit line in your billing dashboard. 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 WordPress CMS Sync & PR Distribution Errors

🔍 Overview Some customers have reported two related issues when working with OTTO: a false error stating that no WordPress site was detected during CMS sync, and a PR Distribution job that stalls at 50% progress. This article explains why these issues occur and how to resolve them. ⚠️ What You May Be Experiencing - OTTO's CMS sync fails with a message like "No WordPress site detected" even though your WordPress site is connected. - Your PR Distribution job is stuck at 50% and does not complete. - Your WordPress Connector appears disconnected in the dashboard after a sync attempt that seemed successful. 🛠️ Why This Happens These issues are caused by a known bug in OTTO's CMS sync process. The system incorrectly triggers a WordPress detection check during sync, which can return a false negative — meaning it reports no WordPress site even when one is properly connected. This false error can interrupt the sync task and cause downstream jobs, such as PR Distribution, to stall mid-progress. Our engineering team has identified the root cause and a fix is currently in release. Once deployed, the false detection error will be resolved and sync tasks will complete reliably. ✅ Steps to Try Right Now While the fix is being rolled out, the following steps resolve the issue for most customers: 1. Reconnect your WordPress site. Go to Settings → CMS Connectors (or Settings → Integrations) and disconnect your site, then reconnect it using your credentials. 2. Re-run the CMS sync. After reconnecting, trigger a new CMS sync from the OTTO dashboard. Wait for the sync to complete fully before proceeding. 3. Restart the PR Distribution job. Once the sync completes successfully, cancel the stuck PR Distribution job and create a new one. It should now progress past 50% without issue. 4. Verify your connector status. After the sync, confirm that your WordPress Connector shows as Connected in the Connectors panel. If it still shows as disconnected, repeat step 1. 📋 Additional Things to Check - Make sure your WordPress site is live and accessible — OTTO cannot connect to sites that are in maintenance mode or behind a login wall. - Confirm that the Search Atlas WordPress plugin is installed, activated, and up to date on your site. - Check that your WordPress credentials (username and application password) have not expired or been changed recently. - If you are publishing content, note that articles with a workflow status of Needs Review will not be included in published content lists — only fully approved content is synced. 🚀 What Our Team Is Doing Our engineering team is actively working on this. Here is the current status of related fixes: - False WordPress detection error during CMS sync — fix is in release and will be deployed shortly. - CMS sync failures now surface proper error messages — improved error handling is in progress so you will see clear, actionable feedback if a sync fails in the future. - WordPress Connector disconnecting after sync — this bug has been resolved in a recent update. You do not need to take any action to receive these updates — they will be applied automatically to your account. 💬 Still Need Help? If you have followed the steps above and are still experiencing issues, 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.

🖼️ Brand Vault Logo Converting to WEBP Blocking Press Release Distribution

🔍 What Is Happening When you upload a PNG or JPG logo to the Brand Vault, the platform may automatically store it as a WEBP file internally. Because press release distribution does not support the WEBP format, any press release that references that logo will fail to distribute and display an error indicating a WEBP image was detected — even though you originally uploaded a supported file type. This is a known platform issue (tracked internally as AB-1048). Engineering has already shipped fixes to prevent WEBP blocking during press release distribution, and additional improvements are in progress. However, if you are currently seeing this error, the steps below can help you clear it right now. ⚠️ Symptoms - Your press release fails to distribute with a message about a WEBP image being present. - You re-upload a PNG or JPG logo in Brand Vault, but the error persists. - The logo appears to change format after uploading, even though your original file is a supported type. 🛠️ How to Fix It 1. Go to your Brand Vault. From the header, click the apps-grid icon → More Features → Brand Vault. 2. Locate the logo that is causing the issue. Find the logo associated with the brand profile linked to your press release. 3. Remove the existing logo. Delete or replace the current logo stored in the Brand Vault — do not skip this step, as simply re-uploading on top of the existing file may not resolve the conversion issue. 4. Re-upload a clean PNG or JPG file. Use a freshly exported PNG or JPG version of your logo. Make sure the file has not been previously processed or saved in WEBP format by any other tool before uploading. 5. Save your Brand Vault changes. Confirm the update is saved within the Brand Vault before returning to your press release. 6. Return to your press release and attempt distribution again. After updating the logo directly in the Brand Vault, the WEBP-related error should clear and distribution should proceed normally. 💡 Additional Tips - Always use a PNG or JPG file exported directly from your design tool (such as Adobe Illustrator, Figma, or Canva) rather than a file downloaded from a website, which may already be in WEBP format. - If you have multiple brand profiles in your Brand Vault, check that the press release is linked to the profile whose logo you just updated. - Once the logo is updated in Brand Vault, you do not need to re-create the press release — simply retry distribution from the existing draft. 📋 Platform Improvements Already in Place Search Atlas engineering has resolved the error that blocked press release distribution for PNG and JPG images stored as WEBP (ticket AB-1048). If you continue to experience this issue after following the steps above, please reach out to our support team for further assistance.

Get Credits Refunded for a Failed Press Release

🧐 What This Article Covers If you paid Hyperdrive credits to publish a press release and the publication failed, you are entitled to have those credits restored to your account. This article explains what to expect and how to request a refund quickly. 📋 Why a Publication Can Fail Press release distribution involves multiple third-party channels. Occasionally, a publication may not go through successfully on one or more of those channels. When that happens, the credits used for the failed publication should not be lost. - A channel may reject the submission due to formatting or eligibility requirements. - A local distribution option may not complete if the selected region could not be served. - Partial failures can occur where some channels publish successfully and others do not. Important: When a publication fails, is unpublished, or distributions are missing or their links expire, the Hyperdrive credits for the affected part are refunded to your account automatically and you will receive a refund notification. External submissions are excluded from this automatic refund. 🔍 How to Check Your Publication Status Before reaching out, confirm that your publication actually failed by reviewing its status in the platform. 1. Navigate to the press release section of the platform where your distributions are listed. 2. Locate the press release in question and review its publication status. 3. Check the status for each channel. A failed or incomplete status on any channel confirms that the distribution did not go through for that channel. Note the number of credits you spent and which channels failed, as this information will help the support team process your refund faster. 💬 How to Request Your Credit Refund Credit refunds for failed publications are issued automatically, but if you believe a refund was missed or you need help with an external submission, the support team can assist: 1. 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. 2. Share the name of the press release and confirm which publication channels failed. 3. The agent will verify the failure on their end and restore the appropriate number of Hyperdrive credits to your account. In a confirmed case, an agent was able to restore 55 Hyperdrive credits after verifying a failed publication, with the credits available immediately after the reset. ✅ What to Expect After the Refund - The restored credits will be available in your account right away. - You can use the refunded credits to re-publish the press release or apply them to a new distribution. - Partial refunds are also supported — if only some channels failed, only the credits for those channels will be restored. 🛠️ Still Need 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.

🛠️ Fix PR Distribution Blocked by Blog Headline Error

🔍 What This Issue Looks Like You fill in the Blog Headline and Blog Summary fields for your press release, the dashboard shows both fields as complete, but when you attempt to publish, the distribution is blocked. The underlying API reads those fields as null, and you receive an error similar to: "The blog headline field is required." Your press release stays unpublished and your HDC quota is not consumed. 📋 What Caused This This was a confirmed platform bug where the PR Distribution system did not correctly pass filled-in blog metadata to the publishing API, causing it to treat populated fields as empty. An engineering fix has been deployed to production, so new press releases should publish without this error. Failed press releases also do not consume your HDC quota, so you will not lose credits for a blocked attempt. ✅ Steps to Resolve 1. Navigate to the PR Distribution section of the platform. 2. Locate the press release that failed to publish. If it shows a failed or blocked status, do not attempt to re-submit it immediately — first confirm the steps below. 3. Open the press release and verify that the Blog Headline and Blog Summary fields contain your intended content. Even if they appeared filled before, clear each field and re-enter the content to ensure the platform registers the values correctly after the fix. 4. Save your changes before attempting to publish again. 5. Proceed to publish the press release. With the engineering fix now live in production, the API should correctly receive the blog metadata and allow distribution to proceed. 6. If the press release still shows a blocked or failed status after re-entering your content and saving, do not re-submit multiple times. Contact support using the method described below so a specialist can review your specific press release. 💡 About Your HDC Quota Press releases that fail due to this error do not consume your HDC quota. A failed distribution is not counted against your credits. If you believe credits were incorrectly deducted as a result of this bug, note the affected press release details and contact support — the team can review and apply a correction where appropriate. ⚠️ If the Problem Persists This bug has been patched, but if you continue to see the same error after following the steps above, it is important to escalate promptly rather than retrying repeatedly. Provide support with the name of your press release and the approximate time you attempted to publish so the team can investigate your account directly. 💬 Get 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.

🛠️ Fix Press Release Address Display Errors

🔍 Overview When creating a press release in Search Atlas, some customers notice that address information does not display as expected on the final published version. The most common symptom is the city name appearing multiple times in the address block. This type of issue may require backend correction by the Search Atlas team. ⚠️ Common Address Display Issues - City name duplicated: The city appears more than once in the address field (e.g., "Austin, Austin, TX 78701"). - Incorrect field mapping: Address components such as city, state, or ZIP code are placed in the wrong fields. - Address not displaying correctly on the published version of the press release. These issues may occur when the press release form auto-fills your business information and one or more fields contain duplicated or misformatted data. 🛠️ What You Can Try 1. Open the press release editor and navigate to the press release you want to fix. 2. Review each address field individually — street address, city, state, and ZIP code — and check for duplicated or incorrect values. 3. Clear any duplicated values. If the city field contains the city name more than once (e.g., "Austin, Austin"), delete the entire contents of that field and retype the correct value. 4. Save and republish the press release, then confirm the address appears correctly on the published version. If the address still does not display correctly after editing, this may require a backend correction by the Search Atlas support team. 📋 What to Have Ready When Escalating If you need to contact support about this issue, please have the following information ready so the team can investigate and resolve it quickly: - The name or URL of the affected press release - The exact address that should appear (street, city, state, ZIP) - A description of what is currently displayed incorrectly (e.g., city name appears twice) - A screenshot of the incorrect address display, if possible 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 Business Profile Map in Press Releases

What Is Happening When you add a Google Business Profile map embed to a press release, the map may display a generic coordinate pin instead of your verified Google Business Profile listing. This is a known bug that our team is actively investigating. If you are experiencing this issue, please follow the escalation steps below so our team can look into your specific case. What to Have Ready Before Escalating To help our team resolve this as quickly as possible, please gather the following information before reaching out: - Your project name — the exact name of the project where the map embed is not displaying correctly. - The press release where the issue occurs — include the title or URL of the affected press release. - A description of what you see — for example, whether the map shows a generic pin, no map at all, or something else unexpected. - The embed code you are using — copy and paste the full iframe or embed snippet so our team can inspect it. - When the issue started — note the approximate date and time you first noticed the problem. Having these details ready will allow our team to investigate your account and identify the root cause without delay. 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.

📰 Automatic Refunds for Failed Press Releases

📋 Overview When you submit a press release through Search Atlas, it is distributed across multiple partner channels. Occasionally, a specific channel may fail to publish your release. In these cases, Search Atlas automatically issues a partial refund for any channel that did not successfully pick up your content — no manual request needed. 🔄 How the Automatic Refund Works Our system monitors the publication status of every press release across all distribution channels. If a channel fails to publish your release, a partial refund corresponding to that channel's cost is calculated and applied automatically. You do not need to submit a support ticket or fill out any form to receive your refund. 💡 Important Things to Know - Refunds are partial — they apply only to the specific channel(s) that failed, not the entire press release submission. - Refund amounts vary depending on which channel failed, as each distribution partner carries a different weight in the overall cost. - Successfully published channels are not refunded, even if other channels in the same submission failed. 🛠️ Troubleshooting and Support If you believe a refund for a failed channel has not been applied, or if you have questions about the status of your press release distribution, please have the following ready when you reach out: your press release title, the submission date, and any details about the channel(s) you believe failed to publish. 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 a Stuck Press Release & Low OTTO Scores

🔍 Overview If your press release campaign has been sitting in Publishing status for longer than expected — or your OTTO Authority and Content scores remain low despite completing optimization tasks — this article walks you through the most common causes and fixes. ⏳ Why Is My Press Release Stuck in 'Publishing'? A press release can get stuck in Publishing status when one or more distribution channels encounter an error during the syndication process. This can happen due to a temporary issue with a third-party distribution partner, a network timeout, or an internal processing delay. Email notifications may also be delayed or suppressed when a channel fails partway through. Key things to know: - Most distributions complete within a few hours. Anything beyond 24 hours is worth investigating. - A single failed channel can cause the entire campaign to appear stuck. - You will not always receive an email notification when a channel fails — this is a known limitation currently being improved. 🛠️ How to Resolve a Stuck Press Release Because a stuck press release campaign involves a backend processing issue with distribution channels, this cannot be self-resolved through the platform interface. To get it resolved, please escalate to the support team. When you do, have the following information ready: - The exact name of the stuck press release campaign - The date and time you submitted the campaign - How long it has been showing Publishing status - Any error messages or notifications you may have received The support team will investigate the distribution channel error on the backend and work to complete or retry the campaign on your behalf. 📊 Why Are My Authority and Content Scores Still Low? Your OTTO scores — including Authority and Content — are calculated based on a combination of factors that update over time. Completing individual optimization tasks does not always produce an immediate score change. Here is why your scores may still appear low: - Processing delay: OTTO scores refresh periodically, not in real time. After completing tasks, allow 24–48 hours before expecting a visible score update. - Incomplete task clusters: Some score improvements only register after an entire group of related tasks is completed, not individual items within the group. - Press release distribution still pending: If your campaign is stuck in Publishing, the authority signals from that campaign will not yet be reflected in your scores. Resolving the stuck campaign first is recommended before reassessing your scores. 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.

Press Release 'Headline Taken' Error Fix

What This Article Covers Some users encountered an issue where attempting to publish a press release returned a 'headline already taken' validation error, even when the headline was unique and had not been used before. This article explains what is known about the problem and how to get it resolved. What Caused the Issue This was a confirmed bug in the press release publishing process. The platform's validation logic was incorrectly flagging valid, unique headlines as duplicates when they were not. The error did not reflect a real conflict — it was a false positive produced by a fault in the backend validation check. What To Do Because this issue is caused by a backend validation bug, it cannot be resolved through self-service steps alone. To get your press release published, please contact the Search Atlas support team directly. When you reach out, have the following ready so the team can locate and correct your record as quickly as possible: - The URL of the affected press release - The exact headline text you are trying to use Do not repeatedly attempt to publish while waiting for a response — this will not resolve the underlying issue. Once the support team confirms the fix has been applied, return to your press release and attempt to publish again. The 'headline already taken' error should no longer appear. If you need help, please contact our support team via the chat icon in your Search Atlas dashboard.

🚨 Digital PR Campaigns Stuck in FAILURE Status

Overview Some Digital PR outreach campaigns can become stuck in a FAILURE status during contact processing. When this happens, you may see 0 contacts extracted and no processing activity — even after waiting an extended period. This article explains what causes this issue and what steps to take if you encounter it. What Causes This Issue A platform-level issue has been identified where outreach campaigns that reach a FAILURE status may not be automatically retried by the system. As a result, contact discovery never re-executes and the campaign remains stuck with no contacts processed and no further progress. This is not caused by anything in your account settings or campaign configuration. It is a backend processing issue that requires intervention to resolve. How to Identify This Problem Your campaign is likely affected if you observe all of the following: - One or more outreach campaigns display a FAILURE or failed processing status - The contact discovery stage shows 0 contacts extracted - The campaign has not progressed or updated over a significant period of time - Refreshing or waiting does not change the status You can review your campaign statuses by navigating to your Digital PR outreach campaigns section of the platform. What to Do If Your Campaigns Are Stuck If your campaigns show a FAILURE status and contacts are not being discovered or processed, follow these steps to get your campaigns re-triggered as quickly as possible: 1. Navigate to your Digital PR outreach campaigns in the platform and identify which campaigns are showing a FAILURE status. 2. Note the name or ID of each affected campaign, how long it has been stuck, and when each campaign was originally created. 3. Note the total number of campaigns affected in your account. 4. Take a screenshot of the FAILURE status for each affected campaign if possible. 5. Try duplicating the affected campaign and launching the duplicate as a new campaign. In some cases, creating a fresh copy allows the contact discovery pipeline to run successfully and avoids the stuck state entirely. 6. If duplicating and relaunching the campaign does not resolve the issue, contact our support team with the information gathered above so they can manually re-trigger contact discovery for your specific campaigns. What Happens After You Report It Once our team receives your report, they will escalate to engineering to re-trigger the contact discovery pipeline for your affected campaigns. You should see your campaigns move out of FAILURE status and begin processing contacts after the re-trigger is applied. Our team will follow up to confirm when the fix has been applied to your account. If you are unsure whether your campaigns are affected or need help identifying the issue, please don't hesitate to reach out — use the chat button below to contact our support team and we will investigate on your behalf.

Digital PR Outreach Blocked Despite Available Credits

Overview Some accounts have a configuration setting that prevents the Digital PR email connection feature from being activated. When this setting is missing, your campaign will appear as Paused and any attempt to start outreach will fail with an error — even if you have sufficient credits available. This is a backend account configuration issue, not a problem with your campaign setup or credit balance. Symptoms - Your Digital PR campaign shows a Paused status. - Clicking the option to start outreach does nothing or returns an error. - You have enough credits but the feature remains inaccessible. - Reconnecting your email account or refreshing the page does not resolve the issue. How to Confirm This Is Your Issue 1. Navigate to your Digital PR campaigns and open the affected campaign. 2. Confirm the campaign status shows Paused and that starting outreach produces no result or triggers an error. 3. Verify your credit balance is sufficient for outreach by checking your account quota information. 4. If both conditions are true — campaign is paused and credits are available — the issue is very likely a disabled account-level feature flag that only our support team can escalate to an admin to enable. How to Fix It This issue requires a Search Atlas admin to enable the Digital PR email connection feature flag for your specific account. Because this is a backend configuration change, you will need to contact our support team to get it resolved. Here is how to do that as efficiently as possible: 1. Open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and start a conversation with our support team. 2. In your message, include: - The name of the affected campaign. - Your account email address. - Confirmation that your credits are available but outreach cannot be started. - A screenshot of the error or Paused status if possible — this helps our team locate your account and escalate faster. 3. Our support team will identify the disabled feature flag on your account and escalate to an admin to enable the Digital PR email connection on the backend. 4. Once our team confirms the fix has been applied, return to your Digital PR campaign and attempt to start outreach again. 5. If outreach still does not start after the flag has been enabled, reply in the same chat thread so our team can verify the change took effect on your account. Why Self-Service Is Not Possible for This Issue The feature flag that controls Digital PR email connection access is set at the backend account level and cannot be toggled from within the platform interface. There are no settings in your account dashboard that will resolve this — the change must be made by a Search Atlas admin. Contacting support is the only path to resolution, and our team is equipped to escalate and apply the fix on your behalf.

📰 Press Release Distribution Failures: How Refunded Credits and Republication Work

📋 Overview When you distribute a press release through Search Atlas, your content is pushed to a network of media channels and syndication partners. Occasionally, one or more of these channels may fail to publish due to issues on the receiving network's side, formatting conflicts, or temporary outages. This article explains how Search Atlas handles those failures, how credits are refunded, and how to republish the affected channels without being charged twice. Refunds for press release distribution are issued in Hyper Drive Credits (HDC). ⚠️ Why PR Channels Sometimes Fail A press release distribution can partially fail even when most channels succeed. Common reasons include: - A downstream media partner is temporarily unavailable or rejects the submission. - The release contains formatting, character, or link issues that a specific channel will not accept. - A network applies its own editorial review and declines the content. - Temporary connectivity or timeout errors between systems. When this happens, the channels that published successfully remain live. Only the failed channels need attention. A channel is treated as a confirmed failure when it has received no published media URLs after the distribution report is finalized (the report-available state). At that point the channel will not receive URLs later, so it is marked as failed and refunded automatically. 💰 How Refunds for Failed Channels Work You are never charged for distribution that does not complete. When a channel fails to publish, Search Atlas automatically credits your account for the portion that did not go through. 1. The system detects which channels failed during or after distribution. 2. The HDC tied to those specific failed channels are returned to your account balance. For a partial failure, the refund is proportional to the channels that failed, so you keep full value for the channels that did publish. 3. You can view the refunded credits in your account's billing or credits section. This means the cost of a partial failure is reversed, and you keep full value for any channels that did publish successfully. 🔎 Where to See Per-Channel Status and Refunds Each channel reflects its own state rather than a single shared status for the whole release. On the Publication Status modal (and the View Status table), every channel shows one of the following statuses: - Published – the channel published successfully. - Publishing – distribution is still in progress for that channel. - Publish failed – the channel did not publish; the refunded amount is shown next to it (for example, "20 HDC refunded"). - Publish stuck – the channel is in a stalled state and is being resolved. For rejected or failed channels, the View Status table includes a Refunded column so you can confirm the refunded amount inline without leaving the screen. 🔁 How to Republish Failed Channels Without Duplicate Charges The most common concern is being charged twice: once for the original attempt and again for the republication. Because failed channels are refunded before republication, this does not happen. You only pay for channels that actually publish. 🛠️ Option 1: Republish Yourself 1. Open the press release report for the affected distribution. 2. Review the channel status list to confirm which channels are marked as Publish failed. 3. Confirm that the HDC for those failed channels have been returned to your account balance (and shown in the Refunded column). 4. Use the republish option to resubmit only the failed channels. 5. The republication consumes the refunded credits, so your net cost stays the same as a single successful distribution. Note: republishing press releases that are in a failed (Publish Failed) state now works as expected. A previously reported issue, where republishing a failed press release was silently ignored, the status did not change, and no quota was consumed, has been fixed. 🤝 Option 2: Have the Search Atlas Team Handle It Yes, our team can manage republication from the backend for you. This is useful if a failure is recurring, if you are unsure which channels need resubmission, or if you simply prefer us to handle it. 1. Contact support and reference the specific press release or order. 2. Our team verifies the failed channels and confirms the refunded credits. 3. We republish the affected channels on your behalf, using the refunded credits. 4. We confirm completion and share the updated channel status with you. In both options, the refund-then-republish sequence ensures you are not double-charged. ✅ How to Confirm You Were Not Charged Twice To verify everything balanced correctly, check the following after republication: - Credits balance: The refunded HDC should appear, then be applied to the republished channels. - Channel status: Previously failed channels should now show as published. - Order history: The net credits used should match a single successful distribution, not two full charges. - Credit cost consistency: The per-channel credit cost you see should match the actual cost charged. If a channel's displayed cost looks inconsistent, contact support so we can verify the correct amount was refunded. If any of these do not line up, contact support with your order details and we will reconcile it. 💡 Tips to Reduce Future Failures - Avoid unusual characters, broken links, or overly promotional language that some networks reject. - Keep formatting clean and within recommended length guidelines. - Wait for the full distribution report before assuming a release failed, as some channels publish on a delay. 📞 When to Contact Support Reach out to our team if: - Refunded credits do not appear after a channel failure. - The same channels fail repeatedly after republishing. - You would prefer Search Atlas to handle republication for you. - You see charges that do not match the channels actually published. Include your press release name or order ID so we can resolve the issue quickly.

✍️ Content Rewriting & Press Release Troubleshooting

✍️ Content Rewriting & Press Release Troubleshooting This article covers: AI rewriting generation, rewrite queue delays, semantic drift, plagiarism similarity, brand voice alignment, keyword preservation, language configuration, rewrite processing failures, and Press Release publication issues (including typos, retractions, and credit refunds). Content Rewriting is designed to: paraphrase content, improve readability, create alternate versions, reduce duplication, and adapt tone or structure while preserving the original meaning as closely as possible. Because rewriting uses large language models: outputs vary between generations, semantic interpretation can shift, and rewrite quality depends heavily on: source clarity, rewrite intensity, formatting, and content complexity. ⚠️ Error 1: Rewrite button is not responding after clicking What's happening Rewrite requests are processed through a background AI queue. During peak traffic periods: requests may remain queued temporarily, processing workers may delay execution, and the UI may appear unresponsive while the task initializes. Steps to try - Wait at least 10–15 seconds after clicking Rewrite. - Avoid clicking the button repeatedly during queue processing. - Refresh the page if nothing happens after 30 seconds. - Rewrite smaller sections instead of entire articles. - Keep rewrites under 500–800 words for fastest processing. - Close unnecessary browser tabs to reduce memory load. - Try Chrome if another browser is producing UI delays. - Disable browser extensions that interfere with scripts. - Retry during off-peak hours if queues remain slow. - Contact support if rewrite tasks never start across multiple projects. Important Notes - Queue delay does not necessarily indicate failure. - Large rewrites process significantly slower than small sections. ⚠️ Error 2: Rewritten content has a completely different meaning from the original What's happening Semantic drift occurs when: source content is ambiguous, technical language lacks context, or rewrite intensity is too aggressive. The AI may reinterpret the meaning instead of paraphrasing it closely. Steps to try - Set Rewriting Intensity to: Light or Moderate. - Rewrite one section at a time instead of the full article. - Simplify unclear or highly technical sentences before rewriting. - Use shorter paragraphs for more stable rewrites. - Compare outputs using Compare View after generation. - Restore important terminology manually if needed. - Avoid stacking multiple rewrites on the same text. - Add context before rewriting technical sections. - Use Heavy Rewrite only for major structural changes. - Manually QA all rewritten factual statements before publishing. Important Notes - Smaller rewrite chunks preserve meaning more accurately. - Aggressive paraphrasing increases semantic drift risk. ⚠️ Error 3: Rewritten content does not match my brand voice What's happening Without Brand Vault integration: rewriting defaults to generic language patterns, neutral tone, and generalized phrasing. Brand voice guidance only applies when: a Brand Vault is selected and the rewrite session starts with that vault enabled. Steps to try - Select the correct Brand Vault before starting the rewrite session. - Verify the Brand Vault contains tone, style, and terminology guidelines. - Re-run the rewrite after enabling the vault if it was missed initially. - Manually adjust phrasing post-rewrite if brand alignment is critical. ⚠️ Error 4: Press Release contains a typo or incorrect information (e.g., wrong location, name, or detail) What's happening Press Releases distributed through Search Atlas follow a one-way publication workflow. Once a PR moves out of draft and is submitted to the distribution network: - Drafts can be freely edited before submission. - PRs in Publishing status are mid-distribution and cannot be edited by the customer directly, but support can retract them internally if distribution has not yet completed. - Published PRs cannot be edited, recalled, or modified post-publication, because syndication partners and news outlets have already received the content. Common example: a customer publishes a PR listing a location as "Redmond, OR" instead of "Redmond, WA" and needs to correct it. Steps to try - Before submission: proofread the PR carefully in draft mode. Verify location, names, dates, URLs, and contact details. - If the PR is stuck in 'Publishing' status: contact support immediately. Support can retract PRs internally before distribution finalizes so you can correct and republish. - If the PR is already 'Published': publication cannot be reversed. You will need to issue a corrected/updated PR as a new submission. The original cannot be retracted from syndication partners. - Provide support with the PR ID(s) and a clear description of the typo or required correction. Credit (HDC) refund policy - When support retracts PRs stuck in 'Publishing' due to a customer-side typo, a credit gift may be issued to allow republishing. Standard gift in these cases is 150 HDCs (sufficient to republish corrected PRs). - Credit refunds are discretionary and reviewed case-by-case. Refunds are not guaranteed for PRs that have already fully published. - Customers should request the credit refund in the same support ticket where the retraction is requested. Important Notes - Always treat PR submission as final — review carefully before submitting. - Retraction is only possible while a PR is in 'Publishing' status, not after full publication. - Credit gifts (e.g., 150 HDCs) are intended to cover the cost of republishing the corrected version, not as compensation beyond that.

📣 Digital PR troubleshooting

Resolve the most common Digital PR errors in Search Atlas — from failed campaign creation and CSV imports to email spam filtering, stuck press releases, and incorrect citation data. ⚠️ Error 1: Creating a new campaign fails or shows no publication results What's happening: Campaign creation depends on the publication discovery index loading correctly. If the index is refreshing, filters are too restrictive, or the discovery service is temporarily unavailable, the campaign builder may return zero results. 1. Reload the page completely. 2. Wait 2–3 minutes and retry the search. 3. Use broader niche filters first — start with wide industries like health, finance, marketing, or technology. 4. Avoid stacking multiple filters simultaneously. 5. Remove advanced filtering temporarily. 6. Refresh the publication search panel. 7. Try a different browser session. 8. Confirm the campaign service is loading normally. 9. Contact support if all publication searches consistently return empty results. Note: Narrow filters are the most common cause of zero results. Publication databases refresh asynchronously, so a brief delay is normal. ⚠️ Error 2: Contact list import (CSV) is not loading contacts What's happening: CSV imports require exact column names and UTF-8 encoding. Files with renamed headers, extra columns, hidden formatting, or unsupported encoding may fail silently. 1. Download the official CSV template: Digital PR → Contacts → Import → Download Template. 2. Do not rename any columns. 3. Keep only supported fields and ensure these required columns exist: First Name, Last Name, Email. 4. Remove all blank rows. 5. Save the file as UTF-8 CSV. 6. Avoid Excel auto-formatting where possible. 7. Open the file in a plain text editor to verify formatting before importing. 8. Test with a small import batch first. 9. Contact support if properly formatted files still fail. Note: Header mismatches are the most common import failure. UTF-8 encoding prevents hidden character issues. ⚠️ Error 3: Outreach emails are going to spam for recipients What's happening: Cold outreach campaigns are heavily affected by spam filtering, domain reputation, email authentication, and bulk sending patterns. New sending domains are especially vulnerable. 1. Configure SPF records for your sending domain. 2. Set up DKIM authentication. 3. Verify DMARC settings if possible. 4. Avoid spam-trigger phrases such as: free, guaranteed, act now, limited time. 5. Personalize outreach emails using template variables. 6. Avoid sending identical emails to large batches. 7. Warm up new sending domains gradually. 8. Limit outreach volume initially. 9. Test deliverability with small campaigns first. 10. Use a dedicated outreach sending domain when possible. ⚠️ Error 4: Press release stuck in 'publishing' status for an extended period What's happening: Press releases may appear stuck in publishing status for 3–4 weeks or more, even after a distributor has already rejected them. This is a UI display issue — the interface fails to update the PR status after a rejection event. Digital Journal is a commonly observed rejecting distributor, though other partners may also reject submissions. 1. Confirm the PR has been in publishing status for more than 7–10 days. 2. Check the PR detail page for any distributor feedback or rejection notes. 3. Contact support with your campaign/PR ID so the team can verify the actual distributor status. 4. Request a status correction if the PR was silently rejected. 5. Request a Hyperdrive credit refund for rejected PRs (e.g., 200 Hyperdrive credits per rejected PR, depending on your plan). - The publishing status in the UI may not reflect the actual submission state — the underlying PR may already have been rejected. - Support can manually correct PR statuses and issue Hyperdrive credit refunds for rejected submissions. - Always include your campaign ID when contacting support to expedite the fix. ⚠️ Error 5: Local citation published with incorrect business information What's happening: Local citation submissions are distributed to third-party data aggregators (such as Dataaxle) that publish business information across directory networks. In some cases, the distributor may publish incorrect details — such as a wrong business name, phone number, or address — that differ from what was originally submitted. 1. Locate the affected campaign and note the campaign ID (e.g., id-6010). 2. Identify the specific distributor publishing the incorrect information (e.g., Dataaxle). 3. Capture screenshots or URLs showing the incorrect listing. 4. Compare the published data against your original campaign submission. 5. Contact support with the campaign ID, distributor name, and details of the incorrect information for escalation. - Third-party citation distributors may take time to correct published data even after escalation. - Support will escalate citation accuracy issues directly to the responsible distributor. - Always provide your campaign ID to ensure the correct submission record is reviewed. 🎯 You now have the steps to diagnose and resolve the most common Digital PR issues in Search Atlas. If a problem persists after following these steps, contact support with your campaign ID for direct escalation.