🚀 Getting Started

Crawl Budget

📘 Understanding Site Audits

A Site Audit is a comprehensive analysis of your website's technical SEO health and performance. Using automated crawlers, it examines your website’s pages to identify issues that could affect rankings, user experience, and overall performance. OTTO’s Site Audit tool is designed to spot areas of improvement for any live website. While no backend access is required to run an audit, connecting OTTO’s pixel is essential for deploying fixes based on audit results. 🐾 Step-by-Step Instructions 🔍 Setting Up Your Site Audit Navigation Path: OTTO SEO → Site Audit → All Audits Here's a Loom with the exact steps! 1. Enter Your Website URL - Input the complete URL (e.g., https://www.example.com). - Verify that the URL includes the correct protocol (http:// or https://). 2. Set Max Pages - Set the total number of pages you want analyzed. - Recommended: Total pages + 10% buffer. - Example: For 1,000 pages, set the limit to 1,100. 3. Set Crawl Frequency - Minimum: Monthly - For critical pages: Weekly - Consider factors like content update frequency, site size, and server capacity. 4. Choose User Agent - Simulate search engine behavior. Recommended: - Search Atlas User Agent - Googlebot Mobile 5. Adjust Crawl Speed - Faster = quick overview - Slower = more detailed insights - ⚠️ Important: A slower crawl usually yields more accurate results. 6. Crawl Criteria - Toggle Respect robots.txt to match Google’s crawl behavior, or leave it off (Ignore robots.txt, the default) to crawl all accessible pages for full debugging. - JavaScript Rendering: - Available only on Pro & Enterprise plans. - Detects dynamic content and verifies OTTO fix implementations. 7. URL Exclusion Conditions (Beta) - Exclude irrelevant pages to optimize crawl budget. - Options: - Exclusion Rules: Block URLs containing specific terms (e.g., /blog). - Inclusion Exceptions: Add exceptions back (e.g., /blog/*). Handle 404 pages by excluding them and re-running the audit. ⚙️ How to Exclude Pages from Crawling or Optimization in OTTO 1️⃣ Navigate to the OTTO SEO Area 1. In the left-hand navigation, click on OTTO SEO. 2. Go to Site Audit and Select All Audits. - This takes you to the Site Auditor dashboard, where all audited sites are listed. 2️⃣ Open Site-Level Settings 1. Locate the site you want to configure in the Audited Sites list. 2. Click the three-dot (⋮) menu on the site card. 3. From the dropdown, select Crawl Settings. 💡 This menu is also where you can access GSC/GA Settings, trigger a Recrawl, or remove a site entirely. 3️⃣ Configure Crawl Settings Inside the Crawl Settings modal: 1. Basic Controls - Max Pages to Crawl Define the maximum number of URLs OTTO is allowed to crawl. - Crawl Frequency Choose how often OTTO should recrawl the site (e.g., Weekly). Click Show more to access advanced options. 4️⃣ Set Advanced Crawl Rules (Critical Step) In the expanded settings: - User Agent Select the crawler identity (default: Google Chrome Desktop). - Respect robots.txt Toggle on/off depending on your crawl policy. - JS Rendering Enable if your site relies heavily on JavaScript. - Crawl Speed Control pages per second to avoid server strain. 5️⃣ Exclude Specific URLs or URL Patterns Under URL Exclusion Conditions (Beta): 1. Click + Add condition. 2. Choose the rule type (e.g.): - Exclude → all URLs that contain 3. Enter the URL fragment or pattern you want excluded Example: thebrothersbloom.com/florida 4. Add additional rules if needed (multiple exclusions are supported). 🚫 Any URL matching these conditions will be excluded from crawling and downstream OTTO optimizations. 6️⃣ Save and Apply 1. Click Update to apply changes. 2. OTTO will respect these exclusions on the next crawl cycle (or immediately if a recrawl is triggered). ✅ What This Means Operationally - Excluded URLs will not be analyzed - No on-page fixes will be generated or deployed - These pages are effectively removed from OTTO’s execution scope This ensures precise control over which parts of your site OTTO can act on, reinforcing the platform’s principle of intentional, permission-based automation. ✅ Use cases for exclusions: - Sensitive content (private or restricted pages). - Pages under development. - Duplicate content that harms SEO. ⏱️ Post-Setup Audit Automation - Once the OTTO pixel is connected: 1. Go to Audit Scheduling in your OTTO dashboard. 2. Define frequency (daily, weekly, monthly). 3. Save your schedule. - OTTO will automatically monitor your site, ensuring consistent tracking of your SEO health. ❓ FAQs Why do crawled pages not match total site pages? 💡 By default, audits crawl a limited number of pages. Adjust the page limit in settings to capture the full site. Should I run the Site Audit before connecting the OTTO pixel? ⚡ Yes. Running the audit first ensures all site elements are detected correctly before integration. Can I audit only certain sections of my site? ✅ Yes. Use URL inclusion/exclusion rules to focus crawls on specific sections. 👉 Always run your Site Audit before creating OTTO projects. This ensures the crawler captures all pages correctly, avoids incomplete crawls, and sets up a smooth integration with the OTTO pixel later.

🛠️ Onpage Audit Overview

The Onpage Audit tool strengthens your SEO strategy by analyzing the four critical pillars of SEO: Authority, Content, Technicals, and Page Experience. With detailed insights into each area, you can uncover opportunities to boost organic visibility, outperform competitors, and deliver a better user experience. 📂 Audit Pages in Bulk Easily audit multiple pages at once: ✅ Add the URLs, target keywords, and locations you want to review. ✅ The tool will generate multiple Onpage Audits at once. ✅ Send any audit to Content Genius to optimize content directly, using the keywords and URL you provided. Metrics provided include: - 📊 Content Score - 📊 Domain Rating (DR) - 📊 Page Referring Domains - 📊 Technical Score - 📊 Desktop PSI (Page Speed Index) - 📊 Mobile PSI ⚖️ Compare Content Quality Against Competitors The Onpage Audit report compares your page against the top 10 Google results for your target keyword. You’ll see competitor benchmarks for: - 📊 Content Score - 📊 Word Count - 📊 Readability The tool also highlights ideal ranges for each metric, based on competitor averages, giving you clear targets for improvement. 🛠️ Technical Score and Page Experience Identify and resolve technical issues that hold back performance. The audit flags: - Uniqueness - Internal and external links - Image optimization - Content gaps - Meta descriptions - Twitter Meta tags - OG Meta tags - Page headers Fixing these issues strengthens both user experience and crawlability. 🥇 SERP Competitor Analysis Analyze your page performance directly against competitors. The audit highlights areas where rivals are stronger and where your content can overtake theirs. 🧩 Check Page Structure The tool reviews your page structure to uncover optimization opportunities that improve: - 📈 Visibility in search engines - 📈 Relevance for target keywords - 📈 User experience and engagement A clean, well-structured page makes it easier for both search engines and readers to understand your content—leading to stronger rankings and improved usability. 💡 Closing Note The Onpage Audit tool gives you actionable insights into technical health, content quality, and competitor performance. By addressing flagged issues and following the benchmarks provided, you’ll be able to fine-tune your site for higher visibility and a smoother user experience.

📘 How to Run a Site Audit in Search Atlas

The Site Audit tool in Search Atlas allows you to scan your website and identify SEO issues that may impact performance. From the All Audits view, you can run new audits, review previous scans, and explore detailed reports across your site. 🧱 Navigation Path Search Atlas → OTTO SEO → Site Audit → All Audits ⚙️ Run a New Site Audit Step 1 Open OTTO SEO from the left sidebar. Step 2 Click Site Audit. Step 3 Select All Audits. Step 4 In the Site Auditor screen, enter your website URL in the Enter a site URL… field. Step 5 Click Audit Site. 📊 Access Audit Result Once the audit starts, your site will appear in the Recently Added list on the All Audits (Site Audit) page. You can open the audit to explore the following sections: - Overview – High-level SEO health summary - Page Explorer – Page-level audit results - Content Velocity – Content growth and change tracking - Domain-level – Domain-wide performance insights - Issues – Detailed list of detected SEO issues ⏱ Audit Processing Time 1. Audit duration depends on site size and crawl depth 2. Larger sites may take longer to complete 3. Results populate automatically once the audit finishes ❓ FAQs ❓ Where do I find Site Audit in Search Atlas? Site Audit is located under OTTO SEO → Site Audit → All Audits. ❓ Can I run audits for multiple sites? Yes. You can audit multiple sites, and each scan will appear in the All Audits list. ❓ Why don’t I see results immediately? Site audits run asynchronously. Results will appear once the crawl and analysis are complete. Running regular site audits helps you identify SEO issues early and track improvements over time. Use the Site Audit tool to prioritize fixes and maintain a healthy website.

📊 Search Atlas Site Auditor: Understanding the Overview Page

The Overview page in Search Atlas Site Auditor gives you a visual summary of your site's audit performance after a crawl has been completed. It helps you quickly understand overall site health, track changes over time, review issue movement, and monitor page and indexability trends from a single dashboard. 🧭 How to Open the Overview Page All Audits list with View Audit button Website Overview page header Go to the left sidebar, click OTTO SEO, then under Site Audit click All Audits, find your website, and click View Audit. This opens the audit dashboard for that site, landing on Website Overview. 🖥️ What You See When the Page Opens At the top of the main content area, the page shows the heading Website Overview, with the Last crawled timestamp directly below it, telling you when the most recent crawl was completed. 🧭 Left-Side Context Panel On the left side of the screen, a compact project context panel shows the selected Project, the active Date Range, and the current Site Health score. Below that, related OTTO SEO → Site Audit sections remain available, including All Audits, Overview, Page Explorer, Content Velocity, Domain-level, Issues, Page Pruning, Site Lens, Email Alerts, and Live Monitoring. 🎯 Top-Right Action Buttons Top-right action buttons on the Overview page In the top-right area of the Overview page: Scope lets you change the dashboard scope; Export to Docs exports the audit view into a document; Share Audit provides a share-oriented action; GSC/GA opens the Google integration controls; and Recrawl Site starts a fresh crawl without returning to All Audits. 👑 Scope Options Scope dropdown with Entire Website and Top 10% Important Pages Clicking Scope opens a dropdown with two options — Entire Website and Top 10% Important Pages — letting you filter the dashboard to a full site view or a focused summary of your most important pages. ❓ OTTO Deployment Helper Near the top-right controls, a help prompt reads Have my OTTO changes been deployed? Opening it explains that if changes are visible on your website, OTTO changes have been deployed successfully, and that your Site Audit score may not change after using OTTO if those changes were implemented through JavaScript and JS Rendering is not enabled in crawl settings. 📈 Summary Strip and Charts Summary strip with Site Health, Total Pages, and Total Issues At the top of the Overview body, a summary strip shows Site Health (a score out of 1000, with a colored progress bar), Total Pages, and Total Issues. Below that, a Site Health Changes chart shows how the site health score has changed across crawl dates, an All Page Changes panel tracks Added, Changed, Redirected, and Removed pages, and a Total Issue Changes panel tracks Resolved and Opened issues — both include a View details link. 🟢 Page Types and Indexability Further down the page, an All Page Types donut chart categorizes crawled URLs by response type (Success 2xx, Redirect 3xx, Missing 4xx, Forbidden/Blocked, Server Error 5xx), and a Site Indexability donut chart breaks pages into Indexable, Not Indexable, and Not Standard. 🧪 Chrome User Experience Report A Chrome User Experience Report panel shows real-world performance data when CRUX data is available from Google for the site; if traffic is insufficient, the panel will note that no CRUX data is available. 🧠 What the Overview Page Is Best For Use the Overview page when you want to review your latest crawl status, understand current health, page count, and issue count, compare historical health across crawl dates, monitor issue openings and resolutions, track page changes, inspect page-type distribution, review indexability, switch between Entire Website and Top 10% Important Pages, and recrawl the site directly from the report. It combines top-level KPIs, historical charts, issue and page movement, indexability insights, scope filtering, and direct action buttons in one place, making it the central reporting view for a single audited site. 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.

📊 Run Site Audits and Generate Proposal Reports

🎯 Overview Search Atlas gives you two powerful ways to gather the data you need for client proposals: a full Site Audit that uncovers technical SEO issues across a domain, and Site Metrics reports that surface traffic, keyword, and ranking data. This article walks you through both workflows so you can build compelling, data-driven proposals quickly. 🛠️ Step 1: Run a Full Site Audit The Site Audit scans a domain at a technical level and identifies issues that affect search performance — broken links, crawl errors, page speed problems, and more. 1. In the left sidebar, click OTTO SEO, then All Sites (SEO Automation). 2. Select or create a project for the domain you want to audit. 3. Navigate to OTTO SEO → Site Audit → Overview (Website Overview) within your project. 4. Click Audit Site (or Recrawl Site if one already exists) and confirm the domain URL. 5. Wait for the audit to complete — processing time depends on site size. You will see a progress indicator on screen. 6. Once finished, review the audit summary. Key sections include Errors, Warnings, and Notices, each ranked by SEO impact. 7. To export audit findings for a proposal, use the Export to Docs button at the top of the results page (OTTO SEO → Site Audit → Overview (Website Overview)) to save a PDF or CSV. Tip: Focus on high-impact Errors first when summarising findings for a client — these represent the clearest quick wins and are most persuasive in a proposal context. 📈 Step 2: Pull Site Metrics for the Domain Site Metrics gives you a snapshot of a domain's organic performance — estimated traffic, top keywords, backlink profile, and more. This data adds context to your audit findings and strengthens the case for your proposed work. 1. In the left sidebar, click Site Metrics. 2. On the Site Metrics list page (/site-explorer/list), enter the target domain in the search bar and press Enter. 3. Review the overview dashboard, which includes estimated organic traffic, domain authority signals, and top-performing pages. 4. Use the sub-sections for deeper data: - Keyword Magic — discover keyword opportunities relevant to the domain's niche. - Rank Tracker — check current keyword ranking positions. - Keyword Gap — compare the domain against competitors to identify untapped keyword opportunities. 5. Export the data you need by clicking the Export button available in select sub-pages (Site Metrics → Pages, Subdomains, Position Changes, Backlinks, Competitors, or Google Ads). Most of these views support CSV export for easy inclusion in proposal documents. 📄 Step 3: Build Your Proposal Package With your audit report and site metrics exports in hand, you have everything needed for a comprehensive proposal. Here is a simple structure that works well: - Executive Summary — a brief overview of the domain's current SEO health using the audit score and key metrics. - Technical Issues — pulled from the Site Audit export, prioritised by severity. - Organic Performance — traffic estimates, top keywords, and ranking data from Site Metrics. - Competitive Gap — insights from the Keyword Gap report showing where competitors outperform the client. - Recommended Actions — your proposed scope of work tied directly to the issues and opportunities identified. Combining audit findings with live metrics gives clients a clear picture of where they stand today and why your proposed work will move the needle. 💡 Tips for Faster Proposal Workflows - Save the domain as a project in OTTO SEO → All Sites (SEO Automation) so you can re-run audits easily and track improvements over time after the client signs on. - Use the Keyword Gap report to name specific competitors in your proposal — this personalises the pitch and increases urgency. - Schedule regular audit re-runs for existing clients so you always have fresh data ready for quarterly reporting or upsell conversations. 🆘 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.

🔍 How OTTO Crawls Your Site for Errors

🤖 What Is an OTTO Site Scan? When you activate OTTO on a website, OTTO automatically crawls your site to discover technical SEO issues — such as broken links, missing meta tags, slow pages, and crawlability errors. This scan gives OTTO the data it needs to begin suggesting and applying fixes. 🚀 How to Start a Site Scan 1. Navigate to the OTTO section of the platform. 2. If you have not connected a site yet, follow the on-screen prompts to add your website and verify ownership. 3. Once your site is connected, OTTO will automatically initiate the first crawl. No manual trigger is required for the initial scan. 4. To run a fresh crawl at any time, locate your site on the OTTO dashboard and use the option available to re-scan your property. OTTO begins processing your site after the crawl is triggered. You can return to the OTTO dashboard to check on the status of your scan. ⏱️ How Long Does a Crawl Take? Crawl duration depends on the size and complexity of your website. Larger sites with many pages will naturally take longer to fully process than smaller ones. You do not need to keep the browser window open while the crawl runs — OTTO processes the scan in the background, and your results will be ready when you return to the dashboard. If your crawl appears to be taking an unexpectedly long time, it may be related to your site's size, server response times, or crawl configuration. See the troubleshooting section below for guidance. 📊 What Happens After the Crawl? Once the scan is complete, OTTO will display the detected on-page and technical SEO issues it has found. You can review all findings directly inside the OTTO section of the platform. New scans can be triggered at any time to reflect recent changes you have made to the site. 💡 Tips for Faster, More Accurate Scans - Submit a sitemap: Providing an XML sitemap helps OTTO discover all your pages more efficiently. - Check robots.txt: Make sure your robots.txt file does not accidentally block OTTO from crawling important sections of your site. - Avoid scanning during peak traffic: On very large sites, scheduling re-crawls during low-traffic periods can improve speed and reduce server load. 🛠️ Troubleshooting Common Crawl Issues - Scan appears stuck: Wait some time for larger sites before assuming an issue. If there has been no progress after an extended wait, try refreshing the page or initiating a new scan. - Pages not appearing in results: Check that your robots.txt is not blocking the crawler and that you have submitted an up-to-date sitemap. - Crawl did not start: Confirm that your site is fully connected and ownership has been verified in the platform. 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.

⚙️ Configure Site Auditor Max Page Limit and Crawl Depth

Overview The Site Auditor in Search Atlas gives you control over how much of your website is crawled during each audit. Two key settings shape this behavior: Max Page Limit and Max Crawl Depth. Configuring these correctly helps you focus the audit on the pages that matter most and keep crawl times manageable. What These Settings Mean - Max Page Limit: The maximum number of pages the crawler will visit during a single audit. Once this limit is reached, the crawl stops — even if more pages exist on the site. - Max Crawl Depth: How many links deep the crawler will follow from your start URL. A lower depth value limits the crawl to pages closer to the root; a higher value allows the crawler to follow links further into the site structure. Setting these values thoughtfully ensures your audit is thorough without consuming unnecessary crawl credits or time. Setting Max Page Limit and Crawl Depth Both Max Page Limit and Max Crawl Depth can be configured within the Site Auditor when setting up a new project or updating an existing one. Look for these fields in the crawl configuration area of the Site Auditor project setup or project settings. Enter your desired numeric values for each setting and save your changes before running or re-running the audit so the updated settings take effect. If you are unsure where to locate these fields in the current version of the platform, or if the options do not appear as expected, please reach out to our support team for guided assistance. When escalating, have the following ready: your project name or URL, the values you are trying to set, and any error message or unexpected behavior you observed. 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.

🔍 Find Your Site Audit ID and Blog Site ID

🗺️ Overview Two identifiers are commonly needed when troubleshooting or integrating Search Atlas data: the Site Audit ID (also called a crawl batch ID) and the Blog Site ID. This article explains what each one is and how to retrieve them with help from the Search Atlas team. 📋 What Are These IDs? - Site Audit ID / Crawl Batch ID: A unique identifier assigned to each crawl run performed on your domain. Every time Search Atlas audits your site, a new batch ID is generated. - Blog Site ID: A persistent identifier linked to a specific domain registered under your Search Atlas account. It remains the same across crawl sessions. 🔍 How to Retrieve Your Blog Site ID and Site Audit ID The Blog Site ID and Site Audit ID (Crawl Batch ID) are internal identifiers associated with your domain inside Search Atlas. To retrieve the correct IDs for your domain, contact our support team via the chat widget. When you do, have the following information ready so we can locate your IDs as quickly as possible: - The exact domain name you need the IDs for (for example, example.com). - Your Search Atlas account name. - The approximate date of the crawl session if you need a specific Site Audit ID (Crawl Batch ID). 📊 About Crawl Batch IDs Each time Search Atlas audits your site, a new Crawl Batch ID is generated for that session. If you need the ID for a specific crawl run, providing the date of that crawl when you contact support will help the team identify the correct batch quickly. Note: Crawl batches are typically generated automatically on your set schedule, or manually when you trigger a new audit. If you do not see evidence of a crawl for a given day, a new audit may not have been initiated yet. 💡 Quick Reference: What to Have Ready - Blog Site ID: Provide your domain name and account name to support — they will supply the ID. - Site Audit ID / Crawl Batch ID: Provide your domain name, account name, and the crawl date to support — they will supply the specific batch ID. 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.

🔓 Unfreeze a Frozen Project in Search Atlas

🎬 Video Walkthrough The fastest way to unfreeze a project is to follow the short video below. It shows the exact location of the unfreeze option in the Search Atlas UI so you can complete the process in seconds. [Embed video walkthrough here] ❄️ What Does a Frozen Project Mean? A project in Search Atlas can become frozen for a number of reasons. While a project is frozen, tracking and data collection are paused. Unfreezing it restores full functionality. 🗺️ How to Unfreeze a Project Follow these steps to unfreeze a frozen project: 1. Log in to Search Atlas and navigate to your Project List from the left-hand sidebar or the main dashboard. 2. Locate the frozen project — it will display a frozen or paused indicator next to the project name. 3. Look for the options available on the frozen project's row and select the unfreeze or reactivate action. 4. Confirm the action if prompted. The project should return to an active state. ✅ How to Confirm the Project Is Unfrozen After unfreezing, check the following to make sure the project is active again: - The frozen or paused indicator is no longer visible next to the project name. - Clicking into the project shows live data and active tracking. - Sub-tools within the project are accessible without any restriction messages. 🔄 Still Cannot Unfreeze the Project? If you are unable to unfreeze a project on your own, please have the following ready before reaching out to support: - The name of the frozen project - Your Search Atlas account email - Any error or restriction message you are seeing 💬 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.

🛠️ Site Auditor: Complete Feature Guide

🔍 What Is the Site Auditor? The Search Atlas Site Auditor crawls your website and identifies technical SEO issues that may be hurting your search performance. It checks for broken links, missing meta tags, slow pages, duplicate content, and much more — then provides prioritised recommendations so you know exactly what to fix first. 🚀 How to Run a Site Audit 1. In the left sidebar, click Site Metrics. This opens the Site Metrics list at /site-explorer/list. 2. Click Analyze to start a new audit, or select an existing project from Saved Projects. 3. Enter the domain or URL you want to audit and confirm your settings. 4. Click Start Audit. Depending on site size, crawling may take a few minutes. 5. Once complete, your audit results will appear in the project dashboard. 📊 Understanding Your Audit Results After the crawl finishes, you will see a breakdown of issues organised by severity: - Critical Issues — Problems that significantly impact crawlability or indexing. Fix these first. - Warnings — Issues that may harm performance if left unaddressed. - Notices — Low-priority items worth monitoring over time. Use the Filters and Columns actions at the top of the results table to narrow down specific issue types or customise the data view to suit your workflow. 📁 Managing Saved Projects and History Every audit you run is automatically saved. To revisit a past audit: 1. Go to Left sidebar → Site Metrics. 2. Click Saved Projects — you can store up to 120 projects. 3. Select any project to view its latest results or compare with previous crawls using the History option. Running audits on a regular schedule helps you track improvements over time and catch new issues before they escalate. 🤖 Exploring AI Visibility Alongside Your Audit Once you have a saved project, you can extend your analysis with the AI Visibility section. Navigate to Left sidebar → Site Metrics → [your domain] → AI Visibility to access: - Summary — A high-level overview with chart and values options. - Visibility — How often your site appears in AI-generated responses. - Sentiment — The tone associated with your brand in AI answers. - Topics & Queries — Which topics and search queries trigger AI mentions of your site. - Prompt Simulator — Test specific prompts to see how AI models reference your content. 💡 Tips for Getting the Most from Site Auditor - Re-crawl your site after making fixes to confirm issues are resolved and your score improves. - Use the Columns control to surface the data points most relevant to your current goals. - Pair audit findings with Organic Keywords data (Left sidebar → Site Metrics → Keywords → Organic Keywords tab) to understand how technical issues may be affecting keyword rankings. - If you manage multiple clients, save a separate project for each domain to keep reporting clean and organised. ⚙️ Troubleshooting Common Issues - Audit not starting: Confirm the domain is entered correctly and does not include a trailing slash or sub-path unless intended. - Fewer pages crawled than expected: Check that your robots.txt file is not blocking the Search Atlas crawler. - Results look outdated: Run a fresh crawl by clicking Analyze again — historical snapshots are preserved under History. - Missing article or broken KB link: If you arrived here because a previously linked knowledge base article was unavailable, this article is the current and complete resource for Site Auditor guidance. 💬 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 instantly connected with a member of our team.

🔍 OTTO Pixel Setup: Crawl Time and Error Messages

🧭 Overview When you first install the OTTO Pixel on your website, Search Atlas needs to crawl your site before it can fully verify the installation. During this crawl period, you may see a message saying the pixel is not installed correctly — even if your installation was done perfectly. This article explains what that message means, how long the crawl takes, and what to expect throughout the onboarding process. ⏱️ How Long Does the Initial Crawl Take? The initial site crawl can take up to 24 hours to complete. The exact duration depends on the size of your website, the number of pages, and current crawl queue volume. You do not need to keep the platform open while the crawl runs. Search Atlas processes the crawl in the background, and your status will update automatically once verification is complete. ⚠️ Why Does 'Not Installed Correctly' Appear? Seeing a not installed correctly message immediately after setup does not mean your installation failed. It means the crawl has not yet confirmed the pixel's presence across your site. Think of this message as a pending verification notice, not a failure alert. The system is gathering data and will update the status automatically once the pixel is confirmed — you do not need to reinstall or make any changes while the crawl is still in progress. ✅ What Does a Successful Installation Look Like? A successful OTTO Pixel installation has two phases: - In-progress state: The pixel code is on your site, the crawl is running, and the status may read not installed correctly. This is normal and expected. - Verified state: The crawl has confirmed the pixel across your site, and the status updates to show the pixel is Installed. You will also begin to see OTTO recommendations and automation activity populate in the dashboard. 🛠️ What Should You Do While You Wait? If you have just installed the OTTO Pixel, here is what to do: 1. Confirm the pixel code is present on your site (check your theme, tag manager, or CMS integration, whichever method you used to install it). 2. Wait up to 24 hours for the crawl to complete before assuming there is a problem. 3. Check back in your Search Atlas dashboard to see if the status has updated. 4. If the status still shows not installed correctly after 24 hours, contact support so the team can investigate the crawl on your account. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

🔍 How to Access Site Audit in Search Atlas

Site Audit is the tool inside Search Atlas that lets you analyze your website for technical SEO issues. Whether you want to review a previous audit or kick off a new one, here is how to get there in the current interface. Follow these steps to access Site Audit: - Step 1: Look at the left-hand sidebar and click on the OTTO SEO section. - Step 2: In the menu that appears, click Site Audit. - Step 3: Click All Audits. The All Audits page is your central hub for Site Audit activity. From here you can see every audit that has already been run for your projects, as well as start new audits whenever you need them. Note: if your account is whitelabeled, this section may show your agency's own brand name instead of "OTTO SEO." If you are having trouble locating the Site Audit section or the All Audits option does not appear as expected, please use the in-app live chat widget to chat with a human teammate who can guide you through the interface.

🛠️ Fix "Website Already Exists" Error When Creating a Project

🔍 What Is This Error? When you try to create a new project in Search Atlas, you may see an error indicating that the domain you entered is already in use. This means the domain is already associated with an existing project in your account. 💡 Why Does This Happen? Search Atlas links each domain to a single project at a time to keep your data organized and accurate. This error is typically triggered because the domain was previously added to a project that still exists in your account. 🛠️ How to Resolve the Error 1. Check your existing projects. Look through your projects list for any project already using the domain you are trying to add. 2. Review the existing project. If you find a project with that domain, review its settings and data before taking any action. 3. Update the existing project instead of creating a new one. If the existing project contains useful data, consider continuing to use it rather than creating a duplicate. You can rename it or adjust its settings without losing history. 4. Delete the existing project if it is no longer needed. If the old project is outdated or was created by mistake, delete it through the project's settings. Once removed, you will be able to create a new project with the same domain. 5. Re-create your project. After the old project is deleted, return to your projects list and create a new project using the domain. ⚠️ Important Things to Know Before Deleting - Deleting a project is permanent — all associated data, reports, and history will be lost. - If you are on a shared workspace, confirm with your team before deleting a project someone else may be using. - If you are unsure whether the existing project belongs to your account or another, do not delete it without checking first. 📋 Quick Checklist - Searched existing projects for the domain ✓ - Confirmed the duplicate project is safe to delete ✓ - Created the new project after the old one was removed ✓ 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.

⚡ Crawl Monitoring Setup for GoDaddy Static HTML Sites

Overview If your site is hosted on GoDaddy as a static HTML site and you are not using Cloudflare, you may have questions about how to set up crawl monitoring through Search Atlas. Because the exact steps can vary depending on your account configuration, our support team will need to guide you through the process directly. What to Have Ready Before Contacting Support To help our team resolve your setup as quickly as possible, please have the following information ready when you reach out: - Your GoDaddy domain name (e.g., yourdomain.com) - Confirmation that your site is static HTML (not WordPress, a CMS, or a site builder with plugin support) - Confirmation that you are not using Cloudflare on this domain - Your Search Atlas account email address - A description of any error messages or prompts you have encountered so far, including the exact wording What to Expect A member of our team will review your site setup and walk you through the correct installation method and any manual steps required for your specific GoDaddy hosting configuration. Static HTML sites without Cloudflare may require a different approach than plugin- or proxy-based setups, and our team can confirm the right path for your account. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

📋 Publisher Sites Inactive After Submission Explained

🔍 Why Is My Publisher Site Still Inactive? When you submit a publisher site, it does not go live immediately. Every site enters an automated review queue that checks several quality and ownership signals before activation. This process is designed to protect the integrity of the publisher network and ensure only eligible sites are approved. Your site may show as Inactive or Pending Validation for the following reasons: - Domain Authority (DA) or Organic Traffic (OT) thresholds not met: Sites must reach minimum benchmark scores to qualify for the network. - Domain-ownership meta-tag not verified: A verification tag must be correctly placed on your site before ownership can be confirmed. - Network deactivation status: Sites previously flagged or deactivated across the network require additional checks before reinstatement. - Quality scoring review in progress: An automated quality score is calculated for every submitted site and must pass before activation. - Monthly automated health check: Even previously active sites are re-screened on a recurring cycle. Sites that do not pass a monthly health check may be placed on hold until re-verification completes. ⏳ How Long Does the Review Take? Most sites complete the automated review within a few business days. However, some sites may remain in a pending or inactive state longer if they require a secondary review pass or if a monthly health check flagged an issue. Recent system updates have improved automated recovery and re-check windows, so many cases that previously required manual intervention now resolve automatically. There is no action you need to take to trigger the automated re-check — the system runs these reviews continuously in the background. ✅ What You Can Do Right Now While the automated review runs, there are a few steps you can take to ensure your site is not delayed unnecessarily: 1. Confirm your domain-ownership meta-tag is correctly installed. The verification tag must be placed in the <head> section of your site and must be publicly accessible. If this tag is missing or incorrect, the automated check cannot complete. 2. Check your site metrics. Navigate to Left sidebar → Site Metrics to review your site's current Domain Authority and Organic Traffic data. If your site falls below the minimum thresholds, focus on building those metrics before resubmitting. 3. Avoid resubmitting repeatedly. Submitting the same site multiple times does not speed up the review and may cause additional delays. Wait for the current review cycle to complete. 4. Review your site for quality signals. Ensure your site has original content, a clear niche, and no thin or duplicate pages that could lower your quality score. 📊 Understanding Inactive vs. Pending Validation You may see one of two status labels on your submitted site: - Inactive: The site did not pass the automated criteria at the time of the last check. The system will re-evaluate the site in the next automated cycle. - Pending Validation: The site is currently in the queue and has not yet completed all automated checks, including domain-ownership verification. Both statuses are normal parts of the review process. Neither status means your site has been permanently rejected unless you receive an explicit rejection notification. 🔄 What Happens If My Site Passes the Review? Once all automated checks pass — including quality scoring, threshold verification, and meta-tag ownership confirmation — your site status will automatically update to Active. You do not need to take any additional steps. You will be able to manage your site and access payout options once the site is active. 🛠️ Still Inactive After Several Days? If your site has been in an inactive or pending state for more than five business days and you have confirmed that your meta-tag is correctly installed and your site meets the minimum thresholds, it may require a manual review. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be instantly connected with a member of our team. When you reach out, please have the following ready to speed up the review: - The full URL of each site you want reviewed - The date each site was submitted - A confirmation that the domain-ownership meta-tag is installed - Screenshots of the current status shown in your publisher dashboard