# **🧭 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).
3. Click **Recrawl Site**.
4. 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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