🧭 Overview

OTTO sometimes displays SEO suggestions — such as H1 length fixes or missing alt text — for URLs that are non-canonical variants of a page you have already optimised. A common example is receiving suggestions for /blog when your canonical URL is /blog/ (with a trailing slash). This article explains why this happens and how to resolve it.

🤔 Why Does OTTO Show Suggestions for Non-Canonical URLs?

OTTO crawls your site and evaluates every URL it discovers, including redirected or non-canonical variants. When OTTO encounters a URL like /blog that resolves to the same content as /blog/, it may still flag SEO issues on the non-canonical version for one or more of the following reasons:

• Crawl discovery: OTTO's crawler follows all internal links and sitemaps. If any page on your site links to the non-canonical version, OTTO will crawl and analyse it independently.
• Redirect chain evaluation: OTTO evaluates pages before following the redirect, so it can surface issues that exist at the source URL — even if a canonical tag or 301 redirect is present.
• Canonical tag not yet processed: If a canonical tag was recently added or the site was just connected, OTTO may not have completed a full re-crawl incorporating the canonical signal.
• Sitemap inconsistencies: If your XML sitemap includes both /blog and /blog/, OTTO treats them as separate URLs to audit.

This behaviour is by design — OTTO surfaces issues at every discovered URL so you have full visibility. However, you can exclude non-canonical variants to keep your suggestion list clean and focused.

✅ How to Exclude Non-Canonical URLs from OTTO Suggestions

Follow these steps to exclude duplicate or non-canonical URLs so OTTO stops generating suggestions for them.

1. In the left sidebar, navigate to OTTO SEO → All Sites (SEO Automation) and open your project.
2. Click the Autopilot / Smart Crawl card at the top of the overview to open the OTTO SEO Settings modal.
3. Scroll to URL Exclusion conditions and click + Add condition.
4. Set it to Exclude all URLs that Contains or Start With a pattern that matches only the non-canonical variant — for example, a query-string or parameter variant of /blog.
5. Click Update Settings and trigger a recrawl. OTTO will stop generating new suggestions for URLs that match the condition.

Repeat with additional conditions for any other non-canonical variants you want to suppress. Conditions can be reviewed, edited, or removed at any time in the same URL Exclusion conditions list. If the variant cannot be distinguished from the canonical URL by pattern (for example /blog vs /blog/), use the suggestion row's Delete action to hide that suggestion, or implement a 301 redirect.

🛠️ How to Prevent Duplicate URLs from Appearing in Future Crawls

Excluding URLs in OTTO is a quick fix, but addressing the root cause ensures duplicate suggestions do not reappear after the next crawl. Take the following actions on your site:

• Standardise internal links: Audit your site's internal linking and ensure all links point consistently to the canonical version (e.g., always use /blog/ with a trailing slash).
• Implement a 301 redirect: Redirect the non-canonical variant (/blog) permanently to the canonical URL (/blog/) at the server or CMS level.
• Update your XML sitemap: Remove non-canonical URLs from your sitemap so they are not submitted to crawlers as standalone pages.
• Verify canonical tags: Confirm that each canonical page includes a self-referencing <link rel="canonical"> tag pointing to the preferred URL version.

Once these changes are in place, trigger a fresh crawl in OTTO to reflect the updated site structure.

📊 How to Trigger a Fresh Crawl in OTTO

1. In the left sidebar, navigate to OTTO SEO → All Sites (SEO Automation) and click your target site, then open Site Audit → Overview (Website Overview).
2. Click Recrawl Site.
3. Wait for the crawl to complete — you will see a progress indicator in the interface.

After the crawl finishes, your suggestions list will reflect the current state of your site, and previously excluded or resolved URLs should no longer appear.

💡 Quick Reference: Common Duplicate URL Scenarios

• /blog vs /blog/ — Trailing slash variant. Standardise and 301 redirect.
• http:// vs https:// — Protocol variant. Ensure full HTTPS migration with redirects.
• www vs non-www — Subdomain variant. Choose a preferred version and redirect the other.
• ?utm_source= parameters — Tracking parameter variant. Use canonical tags or configure parameter handling in Search Atlas.

🆘 Need More Help?

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