Platform Support

🛠️ Fix the 'Select Approved Site' Error in Publication Media

🛠️ Missing AI Content Templates Menu

🔍 Why the menu is missing The AI Content Templates menu was decommissioned and removed from Search Atlas. This change also applies to the Meta Tag Generator and Content Rewriter interfaces. The removed menu previously included tools such as tweet generation, YouTube scripts, email subject lines, meta descriptions, and other content templates. Its absence is expected and does not indicate a problem with your account or browser. 📋 What changed - The AI Content Templates navigation item is no longer available under the Content section. - Direct links to the retired template pages may no longer work. - Labels and page headings related to the former templates were updated or removed to keep the platform navigation consistent. 🚀 What to do next Use the currently available Search Atlas features shown in your platform navigation for your SEO and content workflows. Menu options can vary by account, permissions, and ongoing product updates, so rely on the tools currently displayed in your workspace rather than older instructions or saved links. If you are following an older guide that references AI Content Templates, Meta Generator, or Content Rewriter, that guide may no longer reflect the current Search Atlas experience. 💬 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.

🖼️ Troubleshooting Image Generator Button

This article explains how to look for the image generator button in the content editor. 📍 Where to Find It Open the relevant content item in the Content editor and review the available editor controls and content actions. 🛠️ Step-by-Step 1. Open the relevant content item in the Content editor. 2. Review the editor controls and available content actions for the image generator button. 3. If the button is available, select it to confirm it can be accessed from the editor. 4. If the button is unavailable, note the content item and the controls shown so the issue can be investigated. ✅ How to Confirm It Worked The check is complete when you have reviewed the Content editor and confirmed whether the image generator button is available. If it is not available, keep the content item details and the visible editor controls ready when requesting 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.

🛠️ Troubleshooting AI Image Generator

This article explains how to check for the AI image generator in the content editor and distinguish its absence from a product bug. 🛠️ Step-by-Step 1. Open the content editor for the project or article you are working on. 2. Open the editor’s image or media insertion controls. 3. Review the available image options. If no AI image generation option appears, the feature is not currently available in the content editor. 4. Use the available upload or image-selection options instead. Updating or reopening the editor will not restore a feature that has been removed. ✅ How to Confirm It Worked Confirm that the image controls load normally and that you can insert an image using the options shown. If those controls work but no AI generator appears, this confirms a current product limitation rather than a loading or configuration 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 a Persistent Content Assistant Loading Error

🔍 Overview Some users encounter a persistent "Error loading Content Assistant" message when trying to open the editor. Unlike a typical temporary glitch, this error survives hard refreshes, browser cache clears, incognito mode, and even affects other users on the same account — such as a virtual assistant. This article explains what causes it, what you can do on your end, and when to contact support. ⚠️ Recognising This Error This issue is different from a standard loading hiccup. Look for these signs: - The Content Assistant editor fails to load every time, not just occasionally. - The error persists across multiple browsers and devices. - Logging out and back in does not fix it. - Clearing your browser cache and cookies has no effect. - Opening the editor in an incognito or private window still shows the error. - Other team members or virtual assistants on your account are blocked too. - The problem has lasted more than a few hours or several days. 🧭 Steps to Try First Before reaching out to support, work through these steps in order: 1. Hard refresh the page. Press Ctrl + Shift + R (Windows) or Cmd + Shift + R (Mac) to bypass any locally cached version of the page. 2. Clear your browser cache and cookies and then reload the Content Assistant editor. 3. Try a different browser. If you are using Chrome, test in Firefox or Edge, and vice versa. 4. Open an incognito or private browsing window and navigate to the editor again. 5. Log out of Search Atlas completely, close all tabs, then log back in and retry. 6. Try from a different device or network to rule out a local connection issue. If none of the above steps resolves the error, the root cause is almost certainly a backend issue affecting your account — not something on your device or network. 💡 What Actually Fixes This Based on confirmed support cases, this type of persistent Content Assistant error is caused by a backend problem that cannot be resolved through any client-side action. When this happens: - No amount of refreshing, cache clearing, or browser switching will fix it on your end. - The fix requires a backend correction applied by the Search Atlas engineering or support team. - Once the fix is applied, the Content Assistant editor loads normally for all users on the account, including virtual assistants. This is why it is important to contact support promptly if you have gone through all the steps above and the error continues. The sooner the team is notified, the sooner a backend fix can be applied. 📋 Information to Have Ready When Contacting Support To speed up resolution, gather the following before opening a chat: - The URL of the Content Assistant editor page that is showing the error. - Approximately when the error first appeared. - Confirmation of which troubleshooting steps you have already tried (browsers tested, cache cleared, incognito, etc.). - Whether other users or team members on your account are also affected. - Any screenshot or screen recording of the exact error message if possible. 🚀 After the Fix Is Applied Once the backend issue has been resolved by the support team, the Content Assistant editor should load correctly immediately. You do not need to take any additional action on your end. Simply navigate back to the editor and confirm it is working. If the error returns after being resolved, contact support again right away with the details. 💬 Get Help Now If you have completed all the troubleshooting steps above and the Content Assistant editor is still not loading, this requires a backend fix from our team. 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 AI Disallow Entries in Your Robots.txt

🔍 Understanding the Problem Your live robots.txt file may contain Disallow entries targeting AI crawlers (such as GPTBot, Claude-Web, or similar bots) that do not appear in the Search Atlas robots.txt preview. This mismatch can cause confusion about which version search engines and AI systems are actually reading. The most common reason for this discrepancy is that the rules were added directly to your server or CMS — outside of Search Atlas — and the platform preview only reflects what has been configured and saved within Search Atlas itself. ⚙️ Why the Two Versions Don't Match Search Atlas displays a preview of the robots.txt it manages. If your robots.txt has been edited through any of the following, those changes will appear live but will not be visible inside Search Atlas: - Your CMS settings (e.g. WordPress plugins such as Yoast SEO or Rank Math) - Hosting control panel file managers (cPanel, Plesk, etc.) - Manual FTP or SSH edits to the root directory file - A CDN or reverse proxy injecting headers or rewrite rules Because your live robots.txt is the file that crawlers actually read, any rules added outside Search Atlas take effect immediately — even though they are invisible in the platform preview. 🛠️ How to Identify the Source of the AI Disallow Entries 1. Open your live robots.txt by navigating to https://yourdomain.com/robots.txt in a browser. 2. Copy the AI-related Disallow entries you see there. 3. Log in to your CMS and check any SEO plugin settings that manage robots.txt output. 4. Check your hosting control panel for a robots.txt file in the root (public_html or www) directory. 5. If you use a CDN (Cloudflare, Fastly, etc.), review any page rules or transform rules that could modify the file. Identifying the source is the critical first step — without it, any edits you make in Search Atlas may be overridden by the external source. ✅ How to Fix the Mismatch Once you have identified where the AI disallow entries are coming from, choose the appropriate resolution below. Option 1 — Remove the rules from the external source (recommended) 1. Delete or disable the AI disallow entries in your CMS plugin, hosting file manager, or CDN configuration. 2. Verify your live robots.txt no longer contains those entries. 3. Add any rules you want to keep into Search Atlas so they are managed in one place. Option 2 — Let Search Atlas manage robots.txt exclusively 1. Disable robots.txt output in your CMS SEO plugin (look for a setting such as "Let your CMS manage robots.txt" and turn it off). 2. Remove any manually created robots.txt file from your server root. 3. In Search Atlas, configure all the rules you need — including any intentional AI bot restrictions — and publish them. Option 3 — Keep external management and mirror the rules in Search Atlas If you prefer to manage robots.txt outside Search Atlas, manually replicate any AI disallow entries inside the platform so the preview stays accurate and your team has a single reference point. 💡 Should You Block AI Crawlers? Whether to allow or block AI content crawlers is a business decision. Keep these points in mind: - Blocking AI bots (e.g. GPTBot, Claude-Web, PerplexityBot) prevents those systems from using your content for training or answers, but it does not affect traditional search engine rankings. - Allowing AI crawlers may increase your content's visibility inside AI-powered search experiences and answer engines. - Always test your live robots.txt after making changes using Google Search Console's robots.txt tester or a third-party validator. 🔄 Verifying Your Changes 1. Wait 2–5 minutes after saving any edits for server caches to clear. 2. Reload https://yourdomain.com/robots.txt in an incognito window to see the live version without browser cache. 3. Compare the live file with the Search Atlas preview to confirm they now match. 4. Use Google Search Console (Settings → robots.txt) to check how Google currently reads the file. 💬 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.

🤖 What Is a robots.txt File and How to Fix Common Issues

What Is a robots.txt File? A robots.txt file is a plain text file placed at the root directory of a website that tells web crawlers which areas of the site they are allowed to access and which areas they should avoid. It contains a list of user-agent strings (the name of the bot), crawling directives, and the URL paths to which access is restricted. When you create a website, you may want to prevent search engines from indexing certain pages — such as thank-you pages, confirmation pages, staging content, or duplicate pages. The robots.txt file is where web crawlers learn what they can and cannot access. It is also the mechanism for blocking non-search-engine crawlers (such as those from third-party tools) from accessing your pages. Where Is the robots.txt File Located? The robots.txt file must be placed in the root directory of your website. For example, if your site is https://www.example.com, the file must be accessible at https://www.example.com/robots.txt. If a web crawler cannot find the robots.txt file at the root directory, it will assume no file exists and proceed to crawl all pages accessible via links on your site. How you upload the file depends on your website platform and server architecture — contact your hosting provider if you are unsure. Why Does robots.txt Matter for SEO? The robots.txt file is considered a fundamental part of technical SEO because search engines discover and understand websites entirely through their crawlers. The robots.txt file is the most direct way to communicate with those crawlers. Key benefits include: - Improved crawl efficiency by directing bots toward valuable content - Preventing low-value pages (e.g., confirmation pages, internal search results) from being indexed - Reducing the risk of duplicate content issues - Keeping unfinished or private content away from search results How Does robots.txt Work? When a search engine bot encounters a robots.txt file, it reads the file and follows the instructions. A basic entry looks like this: User-agent: googlebot Disallow: /confirmation-page/ This tells Googlebot not to crawl the /confirmation-page/ path or any URL within that subdirectory (e.g., /confirmation-page/order/, /confirmation-page/demo/). If a URL is not mentioned in the file, the crawler is free to access it as normal. It is important to note that robots.txt is a directive, not a security mechanism. Most reputable crawlers follow it, but it does not technically prevent access to pages — it is a convention, not a lock. Do not rely on it to protect sensitive data. Best Practices for robots.txt - The file must be a plain text file encoded in UTF-8 format - The filename is case sensitive — it must be named exactly robots.txt - Place the file at the root directory of your website or subdomain - Maintain only one robots.txt file per (sub)domain - You can only have one group of directives per user agent within the file - Be as specific as possible with disallow paths to avoid accidentally blocking entire sections of your site - Do not use the noindex directive inside robots.txt — this directive is not reliably supported there; use meta robots tags on individual pages instead - Remember that robots.txt is publicly visible — do not reveal the existence of confidential or sensitive sections of your site through it - robots.txt is not a substitute for configuring robots meta tags on individual pages; use both appropriately - Reference your XML sitemap within your robots.txt file, and ensure the sitemap is publicly accessible Common robots.txt Issues and How to Fix Them When a site's robots.txt file is misconfigured, it can negatively affect how search engines crawl and index your content. Search Atlas's Site Auditor can flag these issues automatically. Below are the most common problems and how to resolve them. 1. robots.txt File Not Present If you do not have a robots.txt file, or if it is not located at the correct root-level URL, crawlers will assume no restrictions exist and crawl your entire site. Resolution: Create a valid robots.txt file and upload it to the root directory of your website. 2. robots.txt Present on a Non-Canonical Domain Variant Best practice requires only one robots.txt file per canonical (sub)domain. If your robots.txt is located on a non-canonical variant of your domain (e.g., the non-www or HTTP version when the canonical is www/HTTPS), it may cause confusion for crawlers. For example, if your canonical domain is https://www.example.com, your robots.txt should be at https://www.example.com/robots.txt — not at http://example.com/robots.txt or https://example.com/robots.txt. Resolution: Move the file to the canonical domain location, or set up 301 redirects from non-canonical robots.txt URLs to the canonical version. 3. Invalid Directives or Syntax Including unsupported or incorrectly formatted directives means crawlers may ignore your instructions entirely and access pages you intended to block. Common syntax errors include misspelled directives, incorrect spacing, or using directives that are not part of the robots.txt standard. Resolution: Audit your robots.txt file carefully. Use only supported directives (User-agent, Disallow, Allow, Sitemap, Crawl-delay where supported). Validate your file using Google Search Console's robots.txt tester or a similar tool. 4. Sitemap Not Referenced or Not Accessible Best practice is to include a reference to your XML sitemap within your robots.txt file so crawlers can easily find it. If the sitemap is referenced but returns a 4xx or 5xx error, it can hinder crawling efficiency. Resolution: Add a Sitemap: directive pointing to your sitemap's full URL, and confirm the sitemap is publicly accessible and returns a 200 status code. 5. Crawl-Delay Directive Misuse Some implementations incorrectly include crawl delay settings that are either unsupported by major search engines (Googlebot does not support Crawl-delay) or set too aggressively, which can slow down beneficial crawling. Resolution: Use Google Search Console to manage Googlebot's crawl rate instead of relying on the Crawl-delay directive. Remove the directive if it is causing issues with major search engine bots. Using Search Atlas to Identify robots.txt Issues Search Atlas's Site Auditor can automatically detect robots.txt problems as part of a full technical SEO audit — including missing files, non-canonical placement, invalid syntax, inaccessible sitemaps, and problematic directives. OTTO SEO can also assist with ongoing technical SEO monitoring to help keep your site's crawlability in good standing. 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 an Article Stuck on Final Completion Step

Overview If your article reaches the final step of the completion workflow but never finishes, this guide explains what to do. Because the specific cause in your case may vary, the steps below cover the most common general actions you can take on your end. If none of them resolve the issue, our support team can investigate the root cause directly. What You Can Try 1. Hard-refresh the page. Press Ctrl + Shift + R (Windows) or Cmd + Shift + R (Mac) to reload the page and clear any cached state. Then attempt to complete the article again. 2. Clear your browser cache and cookies. Go to your browser settings and clear cached images, files, and cookies for the Search Atlas domain. Close and reopen the browser, log back in, and retry the completion step. 3. Try a different browser or incognito window. Open an incognito or private window (or switch to a different supported browser such as Chrome or Firefox) and repeat the workflow. This rules out browser extensions or persistent session data as the cause. 4. Wait a few minutes and retry. A brief service interruption may have caused the request to time out. Waiting a short time and trying again can resolve a temporary platform or network error. When to Escalate If the steps above do not resolve the issue, please contact our support team. To help us investigate as quickly as possible, have the following ready: - The exact name of the article that is stuck - The workspace or project it belongs to - A description of what happens at the final step (e.g. spinner that never stops, error message text, page that goes blank) - The browser and operating system you are using - Approximate time and date when the issue first occurred 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.

🔌 Troubleshooting AI Agent Connection Errors on Send

This article helps you understand what to do if you encounter a connection error when submitting a prompt in an AI-powered area of the platform. Because the specific steps that resolve this error may vary depending on your account and environment, the best path forward is to reach out directly so our team can investigate and fix it for you. 📍 Where This Occurs The connection error typically surfaces after you submit a prompt in an AI-powered content area of the platform. The same error is returned regardless of what you type, which indicates a session or agent connectivity issue rather than a problem with your prompt itself. 🛠️ What to Have Ready When You Contact Support To help our team resolve this as quickly as possible, please have the following information ready before reaching out: - The name of the project or workspace you were working in when the error occurred - The exact error message you see on screen (copy the full text if possible) - The date and approximate time when the error first appeared - The browser and operating system you are using - Whether the error appears consistently on every prompt submission, or only sometimes ✅ What Happens Next Once you contact our team with the details above, a member of our support team will investigate the connection issue on the backend and work to restore normal function 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. Additional Notes Any recent changes made to your account, integrations, or agent configuration

🌐 Language Support in Search Atlas Content Creation Tools

🗺️ Overview Search Atlas content creation tools are optimized primarily for English-language content. If you have requested an article in Arabic — or another non-English language — and received English output instead, this article explains why that happens and what you can do about it. 🔍 Which Tools Are Affected The content generation tools in Search Atlas are subject to English-language optimization. While some tools may partially process a non-English prompt, the underlying data sources and generated output are built and tested for English content. Results in other languages — including Arabic — may be inaccurate, incomplete, or default to English without warning. ❓ Why Does This Happen When you submit a prompt such as "Write an article in Arabic about ATS and HR," the tool may ignore the language instruction and produce English output. This is a known limitation, not a bug or error in your request. The tool is working as designed, but its current design does not yet fully support non-English output. ✅ Current Workarounds for Arabic and Non-English Content Until full multilingual support is available, the following approaches can help you produce non-English content using Search Atlas: 1. Generate in English, then translate manually. Use the content generation tool to create a complete, optimized English article. Once you are satisfied with the structure and quality, translate the output into Arabic using a dedicated translation tool or a professional translator. 2. Use English keywords for research, then localize. Run your keyword and topical research in English. Apply the structural insights — headings, subtopics, and content gaps — to a piece you write or translate into Arabic independently. 3. Write your Arabic content externally and use Search Atlas for optimization signals. Draft your Arabic content in a separate editor, and use Search Atlas's English-language research outputs as a reference guide for structure, topic coverage, and keyword strategy. 4. Contact support to clarify tool-specific capabilities. If you are unsure whether a specific Search Atlas tool has any degree of Arabic or non-English support, reach out to the support team for the most up-to-date information before investing significant time in a workflow. 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.

⚡ AI Recommendation Generation: Batch Size Limits & Timeout Fixes

Overview When you run AI recommendation generation across a large set of pages, jobs that include too many pages in a single batch may time out before completing. This article explains the cause and the recommended approach for working through large page sets without losing progress. Why Large Batches Time Out AI recommendation generation sends each page through a processing pipeline that analyses content, evaluates on-page signals, and produces actionable suggestions. Each page adds to the total processing time for the job. When a single batch contains too many pages, the cumulative processing time can exceed the system's job timeout threshold, and the job may be cancelled before all pages are completed. - Pages already processed before a timeout are not lost — their recommendations are saved and visible once the job ends. - Remaining unprocessed pages will show no recommendations until you rerun generation for them. Recommended Batch Size To ensure every job completes successfully, limit each AI generation run to a smaller subset of pages rather than selecting your entire page list at once. Smaller batches process well within the timeout window and give you predictable, reliable results. You can run multiple batches back-to-back — each time selecting only pages that have not yet been processed. How to Process Large Page Sets in Batches Follow these general steps to work through a large number of pages without hitting the timeout limit. 1. Open the AI generation tool you are using. Navigate to the relevant tool in your Search Atlas account where you run AI recommendation generation. 2. Filter for pages without recommendations. Use any available filters to display only pages that have not yet received AI-generated recommendations. This keeps your working list clean and prevents duplicate processing. 3. Select a small subset of pages. Choose a manageable batch of pages from your filtered list. Keeping batches small reduces the risk of hitting the timeout threshold. 4. Trigger AI generation for your selection. Start the generation job for your selected pages and allow it to run to completion before starting the next batch. 5. Wait for the job to finish. Once the batch is complete, the recommendations for those pages will be available. 6. Repeat for the next batch. Return to your filtered list, select the next set of unprocessed pages, and repeat the process until all pages have been covered. What to Have Ready if You Need Support If you continue to experience timeouts even with smaller batches, please have the following information ready when you contact support: - The name of the project and the specific tool where the issue is occurring - The approximate number of pages you were processing when the timeout occurred - Any error messages or job status indicators 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.

🔍 Fix Hidden H1, Open Graph, and Alt Text Issues

🧭 Overview When Search Atlas audits your website, it flags on-page issues that can quietly hurt your search rankings. Three of the most common — hidden H1 tags, missing Open Graph tags, and missing image alt text — are easy to misunderstand but straightforward to fix. This article explains what each issue means, why it matters, and how to resolve it. 🔄 How to Run a New Site Analysis Before reviewing any issues, make sure your audit data is up to date. Follow these steps to run a fresh analysis: 1. Log in to Search Atlas and open the Site Auditor from the left-hand navigation. 2. Select the project you want to audit, or add a new one by entering your domain. 3. Click Run New Analysis in the top-right corner of the dashboard. 4. Wait for the crawl to complete — this typically takes a few minutes depending on site size. 5. Once finished, your updated results will appear automatically in the Issues tab. Re-running an analysis after making fixes is the best way to confirm that issues have been resolved. 🏷️ What Is a Hidden H1 Tag — and Is It Good for SEO? An H1 tag is the main heading on a webpage. Search engines treat it as a strong signal for what the page is about. A hidden H1 means the tag exists in the page's HTML code but is not visible to users — for example, it may be styled with display: none, visibility: hidden, or positioned off-screen. Is a hidden H1 effective for SEO? No — and it can be harmful. Here is why: - Google's guidelines discourage hiding content from users while serving it to search engines. This is considered a deceptive practice and can trigger a manual penalty. - If users cannot see your H1, it does not help them understand your page, which can increase bounce rates. - A visible, well-written H1 reinforces your page's topic for both users and search engines. To fix this issue, make your H1 tag fully visible on the page. Update its CSS so it is displayed normally and positioned within the page content. Every page should have exactly one visible H1 that clearly describes the page topic. 📣 What Are Open Graph Tags and Why Do They Matter? Open Graph (OG) tags are snippets of code placed in your page's <head> section. They control how your content appears when shared on social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and X (formerly Twitter). When Open Graph tags are missing, social platforms will attempt to guess the title, description, and image for your page — often with poor results. This can lead to unappealing link previews that reduce click-through rates from social media. The most important Open Graph tags to add are: - og:title — The title of the page as it should appear in a share preview. - og:description — A short summary of the page content (recommended: 150–160 characters). - og:image — A URL to the image that should appear in the preview (recommended size: 1200 × 630 pixels). - og:url — The canonical URL of the page. To fix missing Open Graph tags, add them to the <head> section of each affected page. If you use WordPress, plugins such as Yoast SEO or Rank Math can add these tags automatically. On other platforms, consult your theme or developer documentation for how to add custom meta tags. 🖼️ What Is Missing Image Alt Text and How Do I Fix It? Alt text (alternative text) is a short written description added to an image's HTML tag using the alt attribute. For example: <img src="team-photo.jpg" alt="Search Atlas team at the 2024 conference">. Missing alt text matters for two key reasons: - Accessibility: Screen readers used by visually impaired users rely on alt text to describe images. Missing alt text makes your site harder to use for these visitors. - SEO: Search engines cannot see images — they read alt text to understand what an image shows. Descriptive alt text helps your images appear in Google Image Search and reinforces your page's topic. To fix missing alt text: 1. In Search Atlas, go to the Issues tab and filter by Missing Alt Text to see all affected images. 2. Click on any flagged URL to see which images are missing alt text on that page. 3. Open your CMS (for example, WordPress Media Library) and add a concise, descriptive alt text to each image. 4. Avoid keyword stuffing — write naturally, as if describing the image to someone who cannot see it. 5. Leave the alt attribute empty (alt="") only for purely decorative images that add no informational value. ✅ Quick Summary - Hidden H1: Make it visible — hiding headings from users violates Google's guidelines and can trigger penalties. - Open Graph tags: Add og:title, og:description, og:image, and og:url to every key page to control how your content looks on social media. - Missing alt text: Write clear, descriptive alt text for all informational images to improve both SEO and accessibility. - Re-run your audit after making fixes to confirm the issues are resolved. 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.

✍️ Search Atlas — Content Assistant & AI Writing Issues

This article covers AI content generation, NLP optimization, the AI brief, the content editor, and related publishing timelines. ⚠️ Error 1: AI generation spinner runs forever — no content appears What's happening: The AI generation service is under high demand or your request timed out. Steps to try: - Wait up to 3 minutes — long-form content (2,000+ words) takes time. - Refresh and try generating a shorter piece first (outline only) to test if the service is working. - Simplify your prompt — contradictory or very complex instructions increase failure rate. - Check your AI credit usage: Top-right corner (avatar) → Billing (Plans & Top-ups / Activity Log). - Try again during off-peak hours if it consistently fails. ⚠️ Error 2: Generated content has broken formatting, placeholders, or truncated text What's happening: The AI returned a malformed response, usually a one-off issue. Steps to try: - Click Regenerate — this resolves the issue in most cases. - Reduce the target word count slightly — very high targets (4,000+ words) are more prone to truncation. - If you see #{{variable}} placeholders, go to More Features → Brand Vault and fill in all required fields. - Avoid pasting prompts with special characters — ", &, / can disrupt templates. - Report persistent template issues to support with a screenshot. 📊 Error 3: NLP optimization scores never load What's happening: NLP analysis requires a stable connection and a minimum content length to run. Steps to try: - Wait 90 seconds — NLP analysis is computed on demand and takes longer for large documents. - Make sure your article has at least 200 words before expecting a score. - Enter a target keyword — NLP scoring requires a primary keyword to score against. - Save your content, then reopen the article to trigger a fresh analysis. - Hard-refresh the page and reload the article. 🔄 Error 4: "Enrich with keywords" loads indefinitely What's happening: The keyword enrichment service is temporarily slow or unavailable. Steps to try: - Wait 60 seconds — enrichment pulls from live keyword databases. - Test if Keyword Research is working independently: Left Sidebar → Keyword Research. - If Keyword Research also fails, wait 10 minutes and try again. - Check monthly enrichment credits: Top-right corner (avatar) → Billing (Plans & Top-ups / Activity Log). - Contact support if enrichment has failed for more than 2 hours. 🖼️ Error 5: Image upload fails What's happening: The file is too large, the format isn't supported, or storage is full. Steps to try: - Confirm the file is under 10 MB. - Use a supported format: JPEG, PNG, WebP, or GIF. - Disable browser extensions (especially privacy tools) and try again. 🤖 Error 6: AI alt text suggestions don't generate What's happening: Previously a known bug where the AI alt text suggestion engine returned no recommendations after clicking the suggest/auto-generate button. This was tracked internally under ticket SPE-613. Status: ✅ Resolved — the fix has been fully merged and is live in production. If you still encounter the issue: - Hard-refresh the editor (Ctrl+Shift+R / Cmd+Shift+R) to load the latest build. - Confirm the image is fully uploaded and visible before requesting alt text. - Try a different image to rule out a corrupted file. - Contact support and reference ticket SPE-613 if the problem persists. 🧩 Error 7: Saved content is missing or shows an old version What's happening: Auto-save may have missed recent edits due to a dropped connection. Steps to try: - Check Version History in the article editor toolbar — earlier drafts are saved there. - Search by article title: Left Sidebar → Content → Content Genius → Search. - Check your trash or archive folder — articles can be accidentally archived. 🌐 Error 8: Page import fails — "URL could not be fetched" or URL returns a 500 error What's happening: Some websites block our crawler with firewall rules or return 500 errors for automated requests. This error also appears during topical map and competitor analysis tasks if the Domain Knowledge Network (DKN) is unable to retrieve the target URL. Steps to try: - Confirm the URL is publicly accessible — open it in a private or incognito browser window to rule out login or session issues. - If the page is behind a login or paywall, copy and paste the content manually into the editor instead of importing via URL. - For Cloudflare-protected URLs, wait a few minutes and try again — challenge pages can temporarily block automated fetches. - If you are seeing a "failed to create" error in the topical map or competitor analysis tools, this is related to the DKN task failing to fetch the domain — retry after a few minutes as the system will attempt the request again. - Contact support via the chat widget if the import continues to fail after retrying, and include the URL so a human teammate can investigate further. 📰 Press Release Publishing Timeline Press releases submitted through Search Atlas typically take 3–4 working weeks to be fully published across the distribution network. Please plan your campaigns and announcements with this lead time in mind. If a press release has been in submission status for longer than 4 working weeks, contact support with the press release title and submission date for a status check.

🔍 Troubleshooting UX Signals Count Fluctuations

This article explains why your UX signals count can change week over week — sometimes significantly — and what steps you can take to investigate and confirm the numbers you are seeing are accurate and up to date. 🔍 Common Causes of UX Signal Fluctuations UX signals are aggregated from real user behavior data collected across your tracked pages. Because this data is dynamic, counts can shift between reporting windows for several legitimate reasons: - Rolling data windows: UX signals are typically calculated over a rolling time period. As older data ages out and newer data enters the window, totals naturally rise and fall — a spike one week may simply reflect a short burst of activity that is no longer within the active window the following week. - Crawl and data refresh timing: Signal counts update when a data refresh occurs. If a refresh runs mid-cycle or is delayed, the count shown may reflect an incomplete picture until the next full refresh completes. - Page indexation changes: If pages are added, removed, or temporarily de-indexed between periods, the number of pages contributing signals will change, directly affecting the total count. - Traffic volatility: A promotional campaign, viral content, or a seasonal event can temporarily inflate signal counts. Once that traffic subsides, counts return to their baseline. - Data source connectivity: If your connected data source (such as Google Search Console) experienced an interruption or a gap in data reporting during a given period, signals derived from that source may be incomplete for that window. 🛠️ Steps to Investigate a UX Signals Fluctuation 1. Wait for the current data cycle to complete. If a refresh is in progress or was recently triggered, allow it to finish fully before comparing counts. Counts viewed mid-refresh may be incomplete and can appear lower or higher than the final settled value. 2. Check the date range applied to your report. Confirm which time window is selected in the view where UX signals are displayed. A change in the selected window — even by one day — can shift which data points are included and excluded, producing an apparent drop or rise. 3. Compare the two periods and look for coinciding events. Note the exact dates when the count was higher versus lower. Cross-reference those dates with your own analytics for any events such as campaigns, site changes, or technical outages that coincide with the change. 4. Review your connected data source status. Confirm that any integrated data sources (such as Google Search Console) are still connected and actively reporting within your project settings. A disconnected or re-authenticated integration can create a gap in signal collection that reduces counts for the affected period. 5. Check for page-level changes. If pages were added to or removed from your tracked project during either period, the eligible page count will differ, which directly affects the total UX signals count. Review your tracked pages list to identify any additions or removals that align with the timing of the fluctuation. 6. Escalate if the cause remains unclear. If you have worked through the steps above and cannot identify a clear reason for the fluctuation, contact our support team. When you reach out, please have the following ready: your project name, the specific reporting periods you are comparing, any error messages you have seen, and a screenshot of the signal counts in question. 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 Empty Video and News Sitemaps in Search Atlas

🔍 Overview If your video-sitemap.xml or news-sitemap.xml returns an empty URL set — even when you have published video pages or recent news content — this article explains the most common causes and what information to have ready when escalating to support. ⚙️ Why This Happens Empty video or news sitemaps are almost always caused by one or more of the following: - Missing structured data: Search Atlas generates video sitemaps by reading VideoObject schema markup on your pages. If no valid schema is detected, no URLs may be included. - Missing news metadata: News sitemaps require a publication name and date in a supported news schema or meta tag format. Pages without this data may be excluded. - Pages not yet crawled: Newly published pages may not have been picked up by the latest crawl cycle, so the sitemap builder may have no data to include. - Sitemap count mismatch: The OTTO dashboard count and the live sitemap file may temporarily appear out of sync while a crawl or regeneration is still in progress. 🛠️ How to Diagnose the Issue 1. Open your browser and navigate directly to yoursite.com/video-sitemap.xml and yoursite.com/news-sitemap.xml. 2. Check whether the files load at all. A completely blank response or a server error (such as a 403 or 404) is different from an empty <urlset> — note which you see. 3. Visit one of your published video or news pages and use a schema validation tool (such as Google's Rich Results Test) to confirm that valid VideoObject or NewsArticle structured data is present. 4. Check the publication date on your news pages. Dates must be within the window accepted by Google News (typically the last two days for new submissions). ✅ What to Have Ready When You Contact Support Because resolving empty video or news sitemaps requires a backend investigation, please gather the following before reaching out so our team can act quickly: - Your project name or domain as it appears in Search Atlas. - The exact sitemap URLs returning empty results (e.g., yoursite.com/video-sitemap.xml). - The URLs of specific video or news pages you expect to appear in the sitemap. - Any error messages or status codes you see when accessing the sitemap files directly. - The date and time you first noticed the issue. - A note on whether structured data is present on the affected pages (you can verify this with Google's Rich Results Test). 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 an Empty Domain Knowledge Network

🧩 What Is the Domain Knowledge Network? The Domain Knowledge Network is a visual map that shows how your business entity connects to related topics, people, places, and concepts across the web. It is powered by the data you enter in your Knowledge Graph, but it relies on additional processing steps before it populates. ⚠️ Why It May Appear Empty A common point of confusion is assuming that completing 100% of the Knowledge Graph fields will immediately fill the Domain Knowledge Network. In reality, there are a few reasons why the network may still appear empty even after full completion: - Processing delay: After your Knowledge Graph reaches 100% completion, the platform needs time to process and build the entity connections. This can take up to 24–48 hours. - Entity recognition pending: The system must verify and match your business entity against external knowledge bases. If your business is newer or has limited online presence, this step may take longer. - Missing or inconsistent NAP data: Your business Name, Address, and Phone number (NAP) must be consistent and complete. Even small discrepancies can prevent entity matching from completing successfully. - Schema or website data not yet crawled: If your website was recently updated with structured data or business schema, search engines and the platform may not have re-crawled it yet. ✅ Steps to Resolve the Issue 1. Confirm 100% Knowledge Graph completion. Navigate to your Knowledge Graph dashboard and verify every section — including business categories, social profiles, founding details, and key people — is fully filled in. Partial entries in optional fields can still affect processing. 2. Check your NAP consistency. Make sure your business name, address, and phone number exactly match what appears on your website, Google Business Profile, and other online listings. Even minor differences (e.g., "St." vs. "Street") can cause issues. 3. Verify your website URL is correctly entered. An incorrect or redirecting URL can prevent the platform from crawling your site and confirming your entity data. 4. Wait 24–48 hours and refresh. If everything looks correct, allow up to two full days for the Domain Knowledge Network to populate. Refresh the page after this period to check for updates. 5. Save and re-submit your Knowledge Graph. Try opening your Knowledge Graph, making a minor edit to any field, saving the changes, then reverting and saving again. This can trigger a re-processing of your entity data. 💡 Tips to Improve Entity Recognition The strength and accuracy of your Domain Knowledge Network depends on how well your business entity is established online. Consider the following best practices: - Ensure your business has a Google Business Profile that is fully verified and up to date. - Add structured data (Schema.org markup) to your website, especially LocalBusiness or Organization schema types. - Maintain consistent business listings across major directories such as Yelp, Bing Places, and industry-specific platforms. - Link your social media profiles (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter/X) within the Knowledge Graph to strengthen entity signals. 🔄 When to Expect Results Most customers see their Domain Knowledge Network begin to populate within 24–48 hours of completing a fully consistent Knowledge Graph. Businesses with a stronger existing online presence tend to see faster results. If the network remains empty after 48 hours and you have followed all the steps above, it is worth reaching out to our team for a manual review. 🛠️ Still Seeing an Empty Network? If your Domain Knowledge Network is still empty after 48 hours and you have verified all the steps in this article, our team can investigate your specific entity data and processing status. 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 Reset Your Domain Knowledge Network

Understanding the Dynamic Knowledge Network The Dynamic Knowledge Network (DKN) powers your OTTO SEO content generation. It scans your domain to understand your business, products, and existing content. This ensures that when the AI writes new articles, the information is accurate and highly relevant to your brand. When You May Need a DKN Reset Sometimes, your website might undergo significant changes. You may need to request a DKN reset to reflect new services, updated branding, or a complete site overhaul. A reset ensures your future content perfectly matches your current business profile. - Updated Content: You recently added new service pages or a new blog. - Business Pivot: Your core business focus or target audience has changed. - Duplicate Prevention: You want to ensure the AI does not generate articles that are too similar to content you already published. Requesting a Full DKN Reset If you need a completely fresh start—such as deleting the existing DKN entirely to clear stale data or wipe the slate clean—you will need our team to process a full reset. Since this action completely wipes the current knowledge base for a specific project, it must be handled manually by our support staff to ensure no data is lost accidentally. To request a full reset, please prepare your Project Name, Domain Name, and DKN 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.

Order Troubleshooting

Q: What is a broken link and why does it matter? A: A broken link points to a missing page (e.g., 404). Left unfixed, it wastes crawl budget, interrupts link equity, frustrates users, and can erode trust. Regular checks keep your site healthy and your rankings resilient. Q: What causes broken links, and how do I prevent them? A: Common causes include deleted/moved content, URL changes, typos, removed external resources, protocol/server issues, redirect chains/loops, and soft‑404s. Prevent issues by keeping URL structures stable, testing links before publishing, and running routine scans. Q: How do I find and fix broken links? A: Run scans with OTTO SEO or a Site Audit to identify errors and redirect chains. Then: fix typos, 301 redirect to the closest relevant page, restore removed content if appropriate, or ask external site owners to update broken backlinks. After fixes, monitor GSC crawl errors, bounce rates, organic traffic, and rankings for improvement. Q: How often should I scan for broken links? A: Large/fast‑changing sites: weekly to bi‑weekly. Smaller sites: monthly. All sites should run a comprehensive audit quarterly and within 48 hours after migrations or redesigns. Q: My links aren’t indexed, can you help? A: Yes. Share your Order ID and live URL(s) and we’ll submit them for indexing. Typical turnaround is 3–5 business days once we have the URLs, though final timing depends on search engines. We’ll notify you as soon as indexing is detected.

Broken Links: Causes, Impact, and Fixes

Broken links are hyperlinks that lead to non-existent pages, often resulting in error codes like 404. They occur due to deleted content, URL changes, typos, server errors, or redirect issues. Broken links harm SEO, frustrate users, and reduce brand credibility. This guide explains what broken links are, why they happen, their impact, and how to detect, fix, and prevent them. 🔎 What Are Broken Links? Broken or dead links are hyperlinks that no longer work, leading users to error pages. Types of broken links include: - Broken internal links – lead to non-existent pages on your own site. - Broken external links – lead to missing content on other sites. Broken backlinks – exist on other sites but point to missing pages on yours. ⚠️ What Causes Broken Links? There are several common causes: 1. Deleted or moved content – Pages removed during redesigns or updates. 2. Changes in URL structure – Renaming folders or categories without updating links. 3. Misspelled URLs – Typos when inserting links. 4. External content removal – Linked resources deleted or updated by other sites. 5. Server or protocol issues – Downtime, HTTPS/HTTP mismatches, or blocked resources. 6. Redirect chains or loops – Circular redirects make pages inaccessible rather than technically missing; fixing them requires editing redirect rules, not restoring content. 7. AI-generated or automated content restructuring – Tools that automatically move, merge, or reorganize page content can break previously valid URLs if the project is not republished afterward. Soft 404 errors – Pages returning “not found” messages without proper error codes. Note on CMS/site-builder 404s: Some CMS or site-builder platforms (including Search Atlas Website Builder) can generate pages that return a 404 even when a button or navigation link points to them. This typically happens when the underlying page is empty or unpublished. Verify that pages are fully published and contain content, not just linked in navigation. Note on URL regeneration: Some CMS platforms may regenerate previously deleted URLs, which can cause confusion about which URL is canonical and may unintentionally reinstate broken states. Audit URL changes carefully after content deletion to avoid link resurrection. 📊 How Do Broken Links Impact Your Website? SEO Impact - Waste crawl budget when bots follow dead ends. - Stop link equity transfer between pages. - Disrupt site crawlability and architecture. - Create JavaScript rendering issues on dynamic sites. 🧭 User Experience - Dead ends frustrate users and stop their journey. - Higher bounce rates from early exits. - Poor satisfaction and perception of site quality. - Issues can appear differently on mobile devices. Brand Reputation - Broken links make sites appear unprofessional. - Reduce trust with partners, journalists, or customers. - Signal neglect to both users and search engines. - Harm multilingual or international site credibility. 🛠️ How to Check for Broken Links With OTTO SEO - Detects redirects and broken links directly. - Recommends replacing old URLs with final versions. - Fixes implemented automatically without manual effort. With the Site Audit Tool - Scans your site for broken external and internal links. - Reports organize issues like crawlability, link errors, and indexability. - Identifies 404 errors and displays HTTP status reports for pages. With Site Lens - Detects broken internal links, broken backlinks, and orphan pages within the Search Atlas platform. - Surfaces link health alongside on-page and technical SEO signals. - Helps prioritize fixes across the site from a single dashboard. Alternative Tools - Online scanners for quick checks on small sites. - Browser extensions to spot issues during content reviews. - Command-line tools for automated workflows in development. Note on audit tool lag: Site audit tools (including Site Lens) may show a delay between when a 404 is resolved and when the tool updates its status. If a broken link or 404 still appears as unresolved despite Google indexing the page, trigger a manual recrawl. If the issue persists, contact support, as this may indicate a reporting discrepancy rather than an actual broken link. ⏱️ How Often Should You Check for Broken Links? - Large, frequently updated sites: Weekly or bi-weekly scans. - Smaller sites: Monthly checks. - All sites: Comprehensive quarterly audits. - After migrations or redesigns: Check all links within 48 hours. 🔧 How to Fix Broken Links ✅ Prioritize by impact – Fix high-traffic or conversion-critical pages first. ✅ Remove the broken link – Delete links with no replacement value. ✅ Redirect to a new URL – Use 301 redirects to preserve authority. ✅ Restore missing content – Publish replacement pages under the same URL. ✅ Contact site owners – Request updates to broken backlinks. ✅ Replace or remove external sources – Use alternative references if originals no longer exist. Track improvements with: - Crawl error reports (Google Search Console). - Bounce rates on fixed pages. - Organic traffic recovery. - Ranking performance after redirects. 🛡️ How to Prevent Broken Links - Use consistent URL structures – Avoid unnecessary changes. - Check links before publishing – Test them manually. - Run regular link checks – Use OTTO SEO or GSC. - Apply redirects thoughtfully – Match new destinations with original intent. - Monitor and update redirects – Retire old ones when no longer needed. ❓ FAQs ❓ What’s the most common cause of broken links? Deleted or moved content is the most frequent cause, especially during redesigns. ❓ Do broken links hurt SEO directly? Yes. They waste crawl budget, stop link equity flow, and harm site structure. ❓ How fast should I fix broken links after a migration? Run a full audit within 48 hours and fix immediately. ❓ Which is better: removing or redirecting a broken link? Redirect if relevant content exists, otherwise remove the link ✅ Final Takeaway Broken links are a normal part of any website’s lifecycle, but leaving them unchecked harms SEO, user experience, and brand trust. By running regular audits, fixing issues quickly, and setting up strong prevention practices, you can keep your site healthy and user-friendly. Staying proactive ensures visitors always find what they need — and search engines reward you for maintaining a seamless, reliable site.