Troubleshooting: Keyword Data Missing or Zero

🔍 Troubleshooting Missing Keyword Data

This article helps you understand why your keyword data may appear blank, missing, or inaccessible. Because the root cause can vary, the steps below cover the most common things to check. If none of these resolve your issue, our team can investigate directly. Common Causes of Missing Keyword Data Before taking any action, identify which of the following situations applies to you: - No project connected: Keyword data is tied to a specific project. If you have not created or selected a project, there is no data source to display. - Wrong project selected: You may be viewing a different project than the one where your keywords were added. Confirm that the active project matches where your keywords were saved. - Keyword list not yet populated: If you recently created a project or keyword list, the data may still be processing. - Subscription or quota limit reached: Your current plan may limit the number of tracked keywords. If you have reached your quota, new keywords will not appear and some existing data may be restricted. - Active filters hiding results: An active filter or search term may be hiding results that do exist. - Browser or cache issue: Stale cached data can cause a blank or incomplete view. Steps to Try 1. Confirm you have an active project selected. If no project exists, create one and add your target domain. 2. Navigate to your keyword section and verify the correct project is active. 3. Check for any active filters or search terms in the keyword view. Clear all filters to confirm whether data appears. 4. If your keyword list was recently created or keywords were recently added, wait a few minutes and then reload the page to allow processing to complete. 5. Review your plan's keyword tracking quota in your account settings and confirm you have not reached your tracked keyword limit. If you have, consider removing unused keywords or upgrading your plan. 6. Perform a hard refresh in your browser (Ctrl + Shift + R on Windows, Cmd + Shift + R on Mac) or clear your browser cache, then reload the platform and navigate back to your keyword section. If the Issue Persists If you have tried the steps above and your keyword data is still missing or inaccessible, please reach out to our support team. To help us investigate quickly, have the following ready: - The name of the project where keyword data is missing - A description of what you see (e.g., blank table, error message, partial data) - Any exact error messages displayed on screen - The approximate time you first noticed the issue If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

🔍 Fix Wrong Domain Data in Brand Insights

🧭 Overview If you notice that the Brand Insights section in Site Explorer is displaying LLM visibility or sentiment data for a different domain than the one you intended to analyse, this is a known issue that our team is aware of. This article explains what to expect and how to escalate effectively so our team can investigate your specific case. ⚠️ What Is Happening In some cases, Brand Insights — including LLM visibility and sentiment analysis — may pull and display data that does not match the domain you searched for in Site Explorer. This means the company names, mentions, or sentiment scores shown may belong to a different domain entirely rather than your intended site. Common signs that you may be affected: - The Brand Insights section shows company names, mentions, or sentiment that do not match the site you searched for. - Sentiment or LLM visibility data appears to belong to a completely different domain. - The issue persists across multiple sessions or page loads. 🛠️ How to Escalate Because this is a backend data issue, our support team will need to investigate on your behalf. To help us resolve this as quickly as possible, please have the following information ready when you contact us: - The exact domain you searched for (e.g. the full URL as you entered it into Site Explorer). - The domain whose data is being incorrectly shown in Brand Insights, if you can identify it. - Screenshots of the Brand Insights section showing the incorrect data. - The date and approximate time when you first noticed the issue. - Your project or workspace name in Search Atlas. Please do not create a new project for the same domain as a workaround, as this may complicate the investigation. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

📍 Fix Missing Keyword Data Visibility

If your keyword data appears blank or missing even though you know keywords exist for your site, this usually means the wrong project, filter, or date range is hiding your data rather than the data being lost. This article walks through general areas to check when keyword data appears inaccessible. 📍 Where to Find It Keyword data in Search Atlas is typically found in your project's rank tracking section (for tracked keywords tied to a project) and in the keyword research area of the platform. Make sure you are looking in the correct section for the type of keyword data you expect to see. 🛠️ Step-by-Step 1. Confirm you have the correct project or domain selected at the top of the platform — keyword data is tied to a specific project, and switching projects is the most common cause of a suddenly empty view. 2. Check that the date range selected in your keyword view overlaps with when your keywords were added; an overly narrow or future-dated range will show no rows. 3. Check for active filters (such as device, location, tags, or search terms) on your keyword page — clear any filters to rule out a filtered-empty state. 4. If your tracked keyword list is genuinely empty, check the keyword research area of the platform to verify whether the keywords still exist in your account at all, separate from tracking. 5. If the keywords exist in research but were never added to tracking, add them to your rank tracker from that view so they begin collecting position data. 6. Refresh the page after making changes, since cached views can briefly still show an empty state after a filter or project switch. ✅ How to Confirm It Worked You've resolved the issue when your keyword list displays populated columns such as position, search volume, or trend data. If the list is populated but numbers show as pending, allow one tracking cycle for fresh data to appear — an empty list after these checks means the keywords may need to be re-added rather than simply revealed. 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.

🔎 Paid Keywords Showing Zero Data

📊 What data does this report use? Site Explorer → Paid Keywords shows paid keyword data for the selected domain and report criteria. A zero result alone does not establish why data is unavailable. 🛠️ Troubleshoot zero results 1. In Site Explorer, confirm the domain and review the report’s selected date, location, device, and any keyword filters. 2. Broaden the location and remove restrictive filters, then check whether results appear. 3. Check the advertiser’s relevant domain and landing-page domain if they differ from the domain in the report. 4. If results still show zero, share the domain and the report criteria you selected when contacting support so the team can investigate. 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 Stale Keyword Data and Request Trial Extension

🧭 Overview If your Organic Keyword Position History appears stuck on an old date — for example, showing data only up to October 2024 — this indicates a data refresh issue on your account. This guide explains how to identify the problem, what to do about it, and how to request a trial extension so your evaluation time is not affected. 🔎 How to Check Your Keyword Position Data Before contacting support, confirm whether your data is stale by following these steps: 1. Navigate to your keyword position history or rank tracking section in the platform. 2. Review the date shown on your most recent keyword position update. 3. If the date has not changed for several days or appears stuck on an older month, your account may be affected by a data refresh issue. ⚠️ What Causes Stale Keyword Position Data Keyword position history can occasionally fall behind due to a data refresh issue affecting your account. This is not caused by anything you did. Our team can identify and resolve the root cause once you report it. 🛠️ How to Report the Issue and Request a Trial Extension If you confirm your keyword position history is outdated, contact our support team so we can investigate and restore accurate data. When you reach out, be ready to provide: - The domain you are tracking. - The last date shown in your position history. - The approximate date range during which your data appeared stale, so our team can assess how much of your trial was affected. If your trial period was impacted by stale data — meaning you could not properly evaluate Search Atlas keyword tracking features while the issue was present — you can request an extension when you contact us. Our team will review your specific situation and determine what can be done based on the details you provide. 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 Keyword Data Not Visible

This article helps you diagnose and fix the most common reasons why keyword data appears missing, blank, or inaccessible in your Search Atlas account. Rather than just navigating to the Keywords section, we'll walk through the specific checks that determine why data isn't showing — and how to confirm it's working again. 📍 Where to Find It Keyword data lives in two main areas of the left sidebar: - Left sidebar → Keywords → Keyword Research — your saved keyword lists, search history, and lookup tool. - Left sidebar → Keywords → Keyword Magic — broader keyword discovery and filtering. - Left sidebar → Keywords → Rank Tracker — tracked keyword rankings by project. - Left sidebar → Keywords → Keyword Gap — competitor keyword comparison. 🛠️ Step-by-Step 1. Check your Keyword Lookup credits. Navigate to Left sidebar → Keywords → Keyword Research. If you see a prompt that reads "Go to billing to Top Up Keyword Lookups," your account has exhausted its lookup credits. No credits means no new keyword data can be retrieved. Proceed to Step 2 to resolve this. 2. Top up your credits if needed. Go to Top-right corner (avatar) → Billing → Plans & Top-ups tab and select Add Payment Method or Change Plan to restore your keyword lookup allowance. Once topped up, return to Keyword Research and retry your search. 3. Verify you are searching within the correct tab. Inside Keyword Research, confirm you are on the right tab for what you expect to see: the Keyword lists tab shows saved lists, and the History tab shows past searches. If you ran a search previously but see nothing under Keyword lists, check the History tab first. 4. Check your plan's feature access. Some keyword tools — including Keyword Gap — may require a specific plan tier. Go to Top-right corner (avatar) → Billing → Plans & Top-ups tab and review your active plan to confirm the feature is included. 5. Check team member permissions. If you are a team member (not the account owner), your visibility may be restricted. Ask your account admin to go to Top-right corner (avatar) → Team Members and confirm your role is set to Viewer or Admin with appropriate access — not Deactivated. 6. Retry a keyword search from scratch. Go to Left sidebar → Keywords → Keyword Research, enter a keyword in the search bar, and run a fresh lookup. If data returns, your previous view may simply have been empty due to no prior searches or a cleared history. ✅ How to Confirm It Worked You'll know keyword data visibility is fully restored when all of the following are true: - A search in Left sidebar → Keywords → Keyword Research returns a populated results table with metrics (search volume, difficulty, etc.) — not a blank screen or an error prompt. - The History tab shows your recent searches listed with timestamps. - No "Top Up Keyword Lookups" or billing prompt appears blocking the results view. - If you use Keyword Gap, entering competitor domains and clicking Analyze Keywords returns a comparison table rather than a locked or empty state. 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 Missing Keyword Data Visibility

This article helps you resolve situations where your keyword data appears blank, missing, or completely invisible inside the platform — even though your account is active and payment has been confirmed. This is not a billing issue; the steps below focus on common access and data-loading causes to check before escalating. 📍 Before You Escalate If you cannot see keyword data, work through the checks below in order. Because the exact cause can vary by account and configuration, these steps help you gather the information a support teammate will need to investigate further. 🛠️ Step-by-Step 1. Confirm you are in the correct project. Data is project-specific. Make sure the project you have open is the one you expect to contain keyword data. If you have multiple projects, switch between them to see whether the data appears in another project. 2. Check that a domain or keyword list has been added. Some keyword tools require you to add a domain or seed keywords before any data will appear. If the screen shows an empty state or a setup prompt, follow the on-screen instructions to add your target domain or keywords. 3. Check your active filters and date range. Filters or a narrow date range can cause data to appear missing. Reset any active filters to their defaults and widen the date range to confirm whether data exists. 4. Verify your plan includes access to the feature. Open your account or subscription settings and confirm that your current plan includes access to the keyword tool you are trying to use. 5. Hard-refresh the page. Press Ctrl + Shift + R (Windows) or Cmd + Shift + R (Mac) to clear cached data and force a full reload. 6. Try a different browser or incognito window. Browser extensions, cached sessions, or cookies can interfere with data rendering. Open the platform in a private or incognito window to rule this out. ✅ How to Confirm It Worked You will know keyword data is loading correctly when the relevant section displays a populated table or chart with keyword rows or volume figures rather than a blank or loading state. 📋 When to Contact Support If none of the steps above restore your keyword data, please have the following ready before reaching out so our team can investigate quickly: - The name of the project you are working in - The specific keyword tool or section where data is missing - A screenshot or screen recording of the blank or empty state - The approximate date and time you first noticed the issue - Any error messages displayed on screen 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 Check team or seat permissions: If your account is part of a team workspace, ask your workspace admin to verify that your seat has access to keyword tools. Restricted roles may suppress data visibility without showing an explicit error.

🔍 Troubleshooting Invisible Keyword Data

This article helps you understand why keyword data may appear blank, missing, or inaccessible in your Search Atlas account. If you are unable to access or view keyword data, please reach out to our support team so we can investigate the specific state of your account and restore access. 🔍 Common Causes of Missing Keyword Data - No project is created or selected: Keyword data is always tied to a specific project. If no project exists or none is selected, the keywords section will appear empty. - The wrong project is active: Data from one project will not appear when viewing another. Confirm you are inside the correct project before investigating further. - Keywords have not been added yet: A project with no tracked keywords will show a blank state. Keywords must be explicitly added to a project before data populates. - A plan change or billing event affected visibility: A recent plan change, downgrade, or renewal can temporarily affect data visibility. - Browser or cache issue: A stale session can prevent data from loading correctly even when everything on the backend is intact. 🛠️ Steps to Try 1. Confirm a project exists. Open your project settings and verify that at least one project has been created. If no projects appear, create a new project from your account. 2. Select the correct project. Make sure the project whose keyword data you want to view is the currently active project. Switch projects if needed before proceeding. 3. Check that keywords have been added. Navigate to your Keywords section and verify that tracked keywords are listed. If the list is empty, add your target keywords manually or via import. 4. Clear your browser cache and log back in. Sign out of Search Atlas, clear your browser cache and cookies, then sign back in. This resolves stale-session issues that can mask data that is otherwise available. ✅ When to Contact Support If you have verified the steps above and keyword data is still missing or inaccessible, our support team will need to review your account directly. When you reach out, please have the following ready: your project name, a description of what you are seeing (or not seeing), and any relevant account or billing context. 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 Missing Keyword Data Access

This article addresses a specific issue where keyword data appears missing or completely invisible inside the platform — even though your account is active and payment has been confirmed. This is not a billing problem. The steps below outline general checks you can perform to help identify the cause. If they do not resolve the issue, contacting support directly is the fastest path to a fix. General Checks to Try 1. Confirm you are in the correct project. Keyword data is typically project-specific. Make sure you have the right project open for the domain or campaign you are trying to review. Switching to the correct project may immediately restore your data view. 2. Clear your browser cache and reload. A stale cache can prevent data from rendering correctly. Clear your browser cache, close the tab, and reopen the platform fresh. 3. Try a different browser or incognito window. If data appears in a private or incognito session, a browser extension or cached session may be interfering. Try disabling extensions and reloading in your main browser. 4. Check your plan access. Some keyword tools may be restricted to specific subscription tiers. Review your current plan in your account settings to confirm keyword features are included. 5. Check team or seat permissions. If your account is part of a team workspace, ask your workspace admin to verify that your seat has access to keyword tools. Restricted roles may suppress data visibility without showing an explicit error. If the Issue Persists If none of the steps above restore your keyword data, the issue likely requires investigation by the support team. When reaching out, please have the following ready: - The name of the project or domain where keyword data is missing - The specific tool or section where data is not appearing - Any error messages or unusual behavior you have noticed, along with the approximate time it started 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.

🔍 Start Keyword Research With Zero Baseline Keywords

🤔 The Problem: You Don't Know Where to Begin Starting keyword research feels impossible when you can't think of a single keyword your brand should rank for. This is more common than you might think — especially for new brands, niche products, or businesses entering unfamiliar markets. The good news: you don't need keywords to find keywords. You just need to describe what your brand does, solves, or sells. This guide walks you through a general approach to surface your first meaningful keywords using Search Atlas — no prior keyword knowledge required. 🧭 Step 1: Describe Your Brand in Plain Language First Before opening any tool, answer these three questions in plain, everyday language — the kind your customers would use, not industry terms: - What does your product or service do? (e.g. "helps small restaurants manage online orders") - What problem does it solve? (e.g. "saves time on manual order tracking") - Who uses it? (e.g. "restaurant owners, café managers") Write your answers as short phrases. These are not keywords yet — they are raw material. You will use them in the next steps to let Search Atlas surface real keyword opportunities. 🔎 Step 2: Use Your Phrases in the Keyword Researcher Navigate to the Keyword Researcher tool within Search Atlas. 1. Type one of your plain-language phrases into the search bar. Use the most specific phrase first — for example, "online order management for restaurants" rather than just "restaurants". 2. Run the search. Do not worry if the phrase feels imperfect. The tool will return related terms, variations, and questions that real users are searching for. 3. Scan the results for terms that match your brand's offering. Look for keywords with lower competition and a reasonable search volume — these tend to be the best starting point for a brand with no existing rankings. 4. Repeat with your other plain-language phrases. Each search will surface a different cluster of keyword ideas. By the end of this step, you will have a working list of candidate keywords — even if none of them were obvious to you before. 🏆 Step 3: Research Competitors to Validate Your Direction If you are still unsure which keywords are right for your brand, look at what competitors rank for. You do not need to know their keywords either — just their website URL. 1. Identify two or three websites that offer something similar to your brand. These could be direct competitors or brands in adjacent spaces. 2. Use the available competitor research features in Search Atlas to enter a competitor's domain and review the keywords they rank for. 3. Look for keyword patterns that overlap with what your brand offers. These validated keywords can serve as strong additions to your initial list. Combining your own plain-language phrases with insights from competitor research gives you a well-rounded starting set of keywords — even when you had none to begin with. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

🛠️ Troubleshoot Stale MetaSync Keywords

🔍 Why deleted keywords may appear MetaSync can continue serving previously generated HTML when a URL has stored deployment data, WordPress plugin values, or another cache layer. Undeploying a recommendation removes its active instruction, but it may not immediately remove every previously saved value or generated response. This can happen even when the response appears fresh. A request may still pass through an active MetaSync process, a hosting or CDN cache, or a WordPress SEO plugin’s stored fields. ✅ Confirm the issue 1. Open the affected URL in a private browser window. 2. View the page source, not only the browser’s rendered elements. 3. Search for the deleted keyword or phrase. 4. Check the response headers and confirm whether the response was served from a cache. 5. Test the same URL with a cache-busting query string, if your site configuration allows it. If the keyword appears only in cached responses, purge the relevant site, hosting, CDN, or page-cache layer and test again. If it appears in a genuinely fresh response, the URL may still have MetaSync or OTTO data being processed at request time. 🧹 Recommended cleanup steps 1. Confirm that the recommendation is deleted or undeployed for the exact URL and project. 2. Refresh the project data and allow time for the change to propagate. 3. Clear caches managed by your website, hosting provider, CDN, and caching plugins. 4. Check the active SEO plugin’s fields. Do not remove valid SEO-plugin values that were not created by MetaSync. 5. Retest the page source using a fresh request. Do not repeatedly delete unrelated recommendations or disable other optimizations. These actions can change valid page settings without addressing the URL-specific stale output. ⚙️ When to request a URL-specific cleanup Request platform assistance when the deleted keyword still appears in a fresh, uncached response after the recommendation was deleted or undeployed and all site-level caches were cleared. Include the full URL, project name, deleted keyword, approximate time of undeployment, and evidence from the page source and response headers. Our team can investigate the URL’s remaining OTTO or MetaSync deployment state and target only the stale deployment. This helps preserve other active optimizations and existing SEO-plugin values. 📌 Important limitations - Browser refreshes do not clear server-side, CDN, or WordPress caches. - Deleting a recommendation does not necessarily remove values written by another SEO system. - Page source is more reliable than rendered HTML for confirming injected metadata or content. - Different URLs can have separate deployment states, so verify the exact affected URL. 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.

🔍 Keyword Magic Credits Wrongly Deducted on Failures

🧭 Overview Some users experienced two related credit deduction issues with the Keyword Magic tool: credits being consumed when a search spun indefinitely and failed to return results, and additional credits being charged each time a previously completed report was reopened from history. Both issues were caused by a bug in how the platform triggered quota consumption, and a confirmed engineering fix has been deployed. ⚠️ Symptoms to Watch For - The Keyword Magic tool loads indefinitely and never returns results, yet credits are still deducted. - Revisiting a previously completed report in Keyword Research causes additional credits to be charged, even though the search was already paid for. - Your available Keyword Lookups drop faster than expected without completing new searches. ✅ Current Status The underlying bug — logged internally as Keywords review trigger quota consumption — has been fully resolved. The fix was reviewed and deployed by the engineering team. If you are visiting this article after the fix was released, new searches and history views should no longer trigger unexpected credit deductions. 🛠️ What To Do If You Are Still Affected 1. Verify your current credit balance. Check your billing or account usage section to review recent credit usage and identify any unexpected deductions tied to failed searches or history views. 2. Check whether the issue is ongoing. Run a test search in the Keyword Magic tool and confirm whether credits are deducted correctly only for successful, new searches. 3. Review your history without running new searches. Open a previously completed report in Keyword Research and confirm that revisiting it no longer deducts credits. 4. If credits were wrongly deducted before the fix was deployed, contact our support team to request a quota reset. Reach out via the support channel available to you, and provide the approximate dates and times of the affected searches so the team can verify the deductions against your account activity and restore your credits. 💡 Tips to Protect Your Credits While Using Keyword Magic - If a search spins for an unusually long time without returning results, avoid refreshing and re-submitting the same query until you have checked your credit usage — duplicate submissions can compound the issue if a billing bug is present. - Regularly review your account's credit usage to catch unexpected changes early. - If your Keyword Lookup balance appears lower than expected, check your usage history before purchasing additional credits, and contact support if you suspect a deduction error.

🔍 Keywords Missing From Current Month in Reports

🧭 Overview Some users have reported that the current month does not appear as a selectable date option in their keyword project reports, or that the report displays zero keywords despite the project actively tracking hundreds of rankings. This was a confirmed platform bug (internal reference SE-955) that has since been resolved in production. 🔍 What This Issue Looks Like - The current month is missing from the date filter or month selector in your keyword project. - Your report shows zero keywords even though your project is tracking a significant number of rankings. - Keyword data appears to have stopped updating or refreshing as expected. ✅ What You Should Do Now 1. Refresh the page and navigate back to your keyword project report. 2. Check the date or month selector in your keyword report. The current month should now appear as a selectable option. 3. Select the current month and confirm that your tracked keywords are populating correctly. 4. If keywords are still not showing, wait a short time and refresh again, as data may still be completing its update cycle after the fix was deployed. 📋 Background on This Issue This problem affected multiple users and was caused by a bug in how the keyword reporting date range selector handled the current month. The issue prevented recent months from appearing in the filter and caused keyword data to appear missing even for active projects. Engineering confirmed the fix was deployed to production and verified as resolved. 🛠️ If the Problem Persists If you have followed the steps above and the current month is still not selectable, or your keyword data continues to show zero results, there may be a project-specific issue that requires investigation. If you need further assistance, please reach out to our support team directly so we can investigate your specific project.

🛠️ Search Volume Discrepancy Between Keyword Researcher and Keyword Magic Tool

A data processing issue caused Keyword Researcher and Keyword Magic Tool — both features in the Keyword Explorer suite — to display different monthly search volumes for the same keyword and location. The fix was deployed in April 2026; re-running your keyword searches will now return consistent numbers across both tools. 🔍 What Caused the Discrepancy When you searched for the same keyword — for example, commercial construction — in both Keyword Researcher and Keyword Magic Tool using the same location (such as United States), the two tools displayed significantly different monthly search volume numbers. The discrepancy affected any keyword queried across both tools for the same location. It was caused by a data processing issue, not a change in actual search demand — both tools share the same underlying data source. That processing issue has been corrected. Note: If you have multiple geographic targets configured, volume figures may now reflect combined geo-target search demand following a recent improvement released in April 2026. This is expected behavior, not a new discrepancy. 🔧 Resolution The engineering fix deployed in April 2026 is the resolution. Re-running your keyword searches now returns consistent volume numbers across both Keyword Researcher and Keyword Magic Tool. Any reports, exports, or decisions based on data from either tool before the fix date should be revisited. Data exported before mid-April 2026 may not match current results — re-query affected keywords to obtain corrected figures. Known issue: If you receive a Quota Exhausted – Please wait before refetching again. error when re-running searches after April 2026, this is a separate known issue currently being resolved. Contact support and reference ticket KE-1299. 📡 Engineering Status Search volume data is now consistent between Keyword Researcher and Keyword Magic Tool for the same keyword and location as of April 2026. No further action is required on your end unless you are still seeing a discrepancy after that date. 📞 When to Contact Support Contact our support team via the in-app chat or by submitting a ticket at help.searchatlas.com if you still see a significant search volume difference between Keyword Researcher and Keyword Magic Tool after April 2026. Include the following in your message: - The exact keyword you searched (for example, commercial construction) - The target location you selected (for example, United States) - Screenshots showing the differing numbers in each tool Our team will confirm whether the fix has fully propagated to your account data and resolve any remaining inconsistency. 🎯 The search volume discrepancy between Keyword Researcher and Keyword Magic Tool has been resolved as of April 2026 — re-run your keyword searches to see consistent data across both tools. If the issue persists in your account, contact our support team with your keyword and location details and we will investigate promptly.

🛠️ Keyword Research Troubleshooting

Use this guide to diagnose and fix the most common Keyword Research errors in Search Atlas — including blank results, outdated rankings, stuck bulk jobs, and incorrect country data. 🔎 Error 1: Keyword Search Returns Blank Results or All Dashes What's happening: The Search Atlas keyword database or a third-party data source is temporarily unavailable. 1. Check your spelling and try keyword variations. 2. Change the target country — a keyword with no US data may have data for UK or CA. If a specific country code consistently returns results for the wrong region (e.g., UK selection returning US data), that is a country-routing bug — escalate using Error 7 below. 3. Wait 10 minutes and retry — data provider outages are usually brief. 4. Try a completely different keyword to determine whether all searches are failing or just this one. 5. Contact support if all keyword searches return empty for more than 30 minutes. A working search returns keyword metrics in the results table. 📊 Error 2: Competitor Data Columns (SpyFu, SEMrush) Show Empty Values What's happening: A third-party data provider (SpyFu or SEMrush) is temporarily unavailable. 1. Refresh the page and retry after 15 minutes. 2. Try a different competitor domain — the issue may be specific to that domain's data coverage. 3. Switch between data source tabs if available (e.g., from SpyFu to SEMrush view). 4. Note that very new or very small sites have no data in third-party databases — this is expected behavior, not a bug. 5. Contact support if all competitor columns remain empty across all keywords for more than 24 hours. Competitor columns populate once the data provider is back online. ⚙️ Error 3: Bulk Keyword Analysis Is Stuck on "Processing" What's happening: Large keyword lists take time to process, and very large lists can time out. 1. For lists over 500 keywords, allow 20–40 minutes before concluding something is wrong. 2. Refresh the page — the job may have completed but the status indicator didn't update. 3. Check your job history: Left Sidebar → Keywords → Keyword Research (Keyword lists tab). 4. Split large lists into batches of 250 keywords and resubmit. 5. Remove duplicate keywords from the list before resubmitting. A completed job appears in Keyword Lists with a downloadable results file. 📈 Error 4: Keyword Rankings Haven't Updated in Several Days What's happening: Rank tracking updates on a schedule determined by your plan tier. 1. Check the Last checked timestamp in the Rank Tracker. 2. Confirm the correct search engine, country, and device type are selected. 3. Verify the exact domain format being tracked (www vs. non-www). 4. Check your tracking frequency setting using either path: - Left Sidebar → Keywords → Rank Tracker → Select Your Site → Settings - Left Sidebar → Keywords → Rank Tracker → [your site card] → ⋮ (three vertical dots) → Settings 5. Contact support if daily-tracked keywords haven't updated in more than 72 hours. Rankings update on your next scheduled tracking cycle once settings are confirmed correct. 🌐 Error 5: "Live SERP" Check Never Loads What's happening: Live SERP checks are rate-limited and load slower than cached data because they retrieve real-time search results. 1. Wait up to 3 minutes — live SERP checks involve real-time data retrieval. 2. Avoid triggering multiple live checks simultaneously. 3. Wait 15 minutes between runs if you've made several recent requests. 4. Confirm this feature is included in your current plan. 5. Try during off-peak hours (early morning) for faster response times. A successful Live SERP check displays the current search results page for your keyword. 🧠 Error 6: Keyword Difficulty Scores Look Very Different from Other Tools What's happening: This is expected — each SEO tool calculates difficulty using different data sources, weighting factors, and SERP signals. Score differences across tools are normal, not a bug. - Compare relative difficulty trends rather than absolute scores across tools. - Use Search Atlas Keyword Difficulty as one signal among several. - Cross-reference with SERP analysis and competitor strength for high-value terms. No action is needed — treat Search Atlas Keyword Difficulty as a directional signal alongside other metrics. 🌍 Error 7: Country-Specific Results Are Wrong (e.g., UK Returns US Data) What's happening: The country-targeting layer occasionally routes queries to the wrong regional dataset, or URLs redirect to the wrong country's SERP. This is a backend routing issue — users cannot fix it directly. 1. Confirm the selected country code in the dropdown matches your intended target. 2. Clear your browser cache and retry once to rule out a stale session. 3. Record a short screen capture showing the country selection and the incorrect results returned. 4. Contact support immediately with the recording and example keywords — this issue requires escalation to the specialized data team and cannot be resolved through standard retries. 5. If you've already reported it, re-test periodically; fixes are deployed without notice and previously failing country codes begin loading correctly once resolved. After escalation, the affected country code returns correct regional data once the fix is deployed. 🎯 You now know how to diagnose and resolve the most common Keyword Research issues in Search Atlas. If a problem persists after trying all steps, contact the Search Atlas support team with your account details and a description of the issue.

🛠️ Fix Audits, Keywords & Location Recommendations

🔍 Overview This article walks you through four common project setup tasks: excluding specific URL paths from your site audit, rerunning the crawl to apply those changes, importing keywords with competitor insights, and understanding why a location may not be generating recommendations. 🚫 Excluding URLs from Your Site Audit If your project is crawling pages you don't want audited — such as /obituaries/ or /store/ — you can exclude them by URL path before or after the initial crawl. 1. Open your project and navigate to the Site Audit section. 2. Click Settings or Project Settings near the top of the page. 3. Locate the Exclude URLs or Crawl Exclusions field. 4. Enter the paths you want to exclude, one per line. For example: /obituaries/ and /store/. You can use partial path matches — any URL containing that string will be excluded. 5. Save your settings before proceeding. Tip: Use a forward slash at the start and end of each path segment (e.g., /store/) to ensure accurate matching and avoid unintended exclusions. 🔄 Rerunning the Crawl After Exclusions Exclusion rules only apply to future crawls. After saving your exclusions, you must rerun the audit to see updated results. 1. Return to the main Site Audit dashboard for your project. 2. Click the Recrawl or Rerun Audit button — this is usually found in the top-right area of the audit view. 3. Confirm the action when prompted. The crawl will restart and apply your new exclusion rules from the beginning. 4. Wait for the crawl to complete. Depending on your site size, this may take a few minutes to an hour. Once the crawl finishes, any URLs matching your excluded paths will no longer appear in your audit results or issue counts. 📊 Tracking Keywords and Importing Competitor Insights You can add keywords to your project for rank tracking and enrich them with competitor data at the same time. 1. In the left sidebar, click Site Metrics → Keywords to open the Keywords page. 2. Search for your target keywords or enter them manually. 3. Select the keywords you want to track by checking the boxes next to them. 4. Click Add to and assign them to a keyword list or Rank Tracker. 5. To import competitor keyword insights, use the Competitor Gap or Competitor Analysis feature within the same tool. Enter a competitor domain to surface keywords they rank for that you may be missing. 6. Select the competitor keywords you want to import and add them to your tracking list using the same process above. Once added, your tracked keywords will appear in the project's keyword dashboard, and ranking data will begin populating within 24 hours. 📍 Why One Location Isn't Generating Recommendations If you have multiple locations set up and one is producing recommendations while another shows none, there are a few common causes to check. - Insufficient local data: Search Atlas generates location-based recommendations using local search data. If the target location has low search volume or limited data coverage, the system may not have enough signals to produce recommendations. - Location not fully configured: Confirm that the location has a complete address, a linked Google Business Profile (if applicable), and the correct target language and country set in its settings. - Crawl not yet completed for that location: Each location may require its own crawl or content scan. Check whether the location's audit status shows Complete or is still Pending. - No tracked keywords assigned to that location: Recommendations are often tied to the keywords being tracked. Make sure keywords are assigned to the specific location, not just to the overall project. - OTTO SEO V3 not enabled for that location: In the left sidebar, click OTTO SEO → SEO Automation (SEO Automation) (URL: /seo-automation-v3) and verify that the location in question has OTTO SEO V3 activated. If it is toggled off, no recommendations will be generated. If the location is correctly configured and the crawl is complete but recommendations are still not appearing after 24–48 hours, it is worth reviewing whether the location's primary keyword set has enough search data to trigger the recommendation engine. ✅ Quick Checklist - URL exclusions saved in project settings before rerunning the crawl - Crawl rerun after exclusions to apply changes - Keywords added to tracking and competitor keywords imported - Problem location has a complete profile, active crawl, assigned keywords, and OTTO SEO V3 enabled 💬 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.

📘 Why You Might Not See PR News Sites in Google SERPs

🔍 Why Aren't PR Articles Showing Up in Google SERPs? It's completely normal not to see all, or any, of your media and PR articles directly in Google's search results (SERPs). This is intentional and part of how our PR distribution technology, powered by Signal Genesys, is engineered to drive maximum SEO value where it matters most: your website and Google Business Profile. This is by design. Our syndication process is optimized to rank your domain and GBP listing, not the duplicate media articles themselves. Visibility in SERPs for PR links is not a sign of success and is not how SEO value is measured in our system. ⚙️ What's Really Happening Behind the Scenes Signal Genesys uses a proprietary syndication and signal-distribution method that: - Submits content to hundreds of media outlets - Sends powerful trust and authority signals to your target assets - Avoids duplicate content penalties by limiting how many versions appear in SERPs Google's algorithm intentionally filters out duplicate content in its public-facing search results. That does not mean your content is not indexed or isn't providing value. 🗂️ Does This Mean Google Didn't Index My PR Pages? No. Even if you don't see the PR pages in search results, Google has: 1. Crawled the pages 2. Rendered the content 3. Indexed the source and signals 4. Assigned authority and trust to your website and GBP listing Google's public-facing index (what you see in SERPs) is only a small slice of what it actually indexes. Indexation does not equal visibility in SERPs. 📈 The Real KPI: Your Website & Map Pack Rankings You hired us to rank your domain and your Google Business Profile. That's exactly what our system is built to do. - Our process boosts local map pack performance - Enhances organic search ranking of your actual site - Drives lasting value that PR visibility alone cannot match ✅ Next Steps: How to Maximize Your Results - Focus on tracking your own website's rankings, not PR article appearances - Review the Signal Genesys Blueprint to ensure your SEO strategy is on track - If desired, you can use third-party tools to force additional crawling of media links, but it's not required for SEO performance 💡 Pro Tip Don't fall into the trap of using "indexed PR pages" as your success metric. Trust the system and focus on what really grows traffic, revenue, and retention: your own digital properties. 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.

🚫 Exclude URLs, Rerun Audits & Track Keywords

🗺️ Overview This article walks you through four common workflow tasks in Search Atlas: excluding URL patterns from a project audit, rerunning and verifying a crawl, tracking keywords with competitor insights, and diagnosing why a specific location may not be generating recommendations. 🚫 Step 1: Exclude URL Patterns from Your Audit You can prevent specific sections of your site from being crawled by adding URL exclusion conditions in your project's OTTO SEO Settings. 1. From the left sidebar, navigate to OTTO SEO → All Sites (SEO Automation) (URL: /seo-automation-v3). 2. Open your project and click the Autopilot / Smart Crawl card at the top of the overview to open the OTTO SEO Settings modal. You can also reach it from the All Sites table by clicking the Smart Crawl status text on your site's card. 3. Scroll to the URL Exclusion conditions section and click + Add condition. 4. Set each condition to Exclude all URLs that Contains or Start With the text you want to skip. For example: - Start With /obituaries/ — excludes all pages under the /obituaries/ directory - Start With /store/ — excludes all pages under the /store/ directory 5. Click Update Settings to apply your changes. You can add multiple exclusion conditions — each one is added with its own + Add condition rule. 🔄 Step 2: Rerun the Audit Crawl After saving your exclusion rules, you need to trigger a new crawl for the changes to take effect. 1. Inside your project, navigate to Site Audit → Overview (Website Overview) and click the Recrawl Site button. 2. Confirm the action when prompted. 3. The crawl will be queued immediately. Depending on the size of your site, crawl completion can take anywhere from a few minutes to 24 hours or more for large sites with thousands of pages. How to verify the crawl has completed: - Return to your project dashboard and check the Last Crawled timestamp — it should reflect today's date and time once the crawl finishes. - Review the total pages crawled count. After exclusions are applied, this number should be lower than your previous crawl if the excluded paths contained indexed pages. - Navigate to the Crawled URLs or Pages report and confirm that no URLs containing /obituaries/ or /store/ appear in the results. If the timestamp has not updated after 24 hours, the crawl may still be processing. Large sites with extensive internal linking can take longer. Avoid triggering a second rerun while the first is still in progress, as this may cause delays. 🔑 Step 3: Track Keywords and Use Competitor Insights Once your audit is clean, you can track target keywords and layer in competitor data to strengthen your strategy. 1. From the left sidebar, click Keywords (URL: /research/keyword-researcher). 2. In the Keyword Researcher, enter your target keyword and run a search to see volume, difficulty, and SERP data. 3. To track a keyword, use the Add [keyword] to a keyword list or Rank Tracker link (or the Add to list button) in the Keyword Research/Rank Tracker results. Select the project and target location, then confirm. 4. To access Competitor Insights, look for the Competitors tab or panel within the Keyword Researcher or your project's keyword tracking view. Here you can: - See which competitors rank for the same keywords - Compare your ranking position against theirs - Identify keyword gaps — terms competitors rank for that you do not 5. Use the Import Keywords option if you have a list prepared outside the platform. Look for the Import button near the top of the keyword tracker, upload a CSV with one keyword per row, and map it to your project and location. Tip: After importing or adding keywords, allow up to 24 hours for ranking data to populate, especially for newly tracked terms. 📍 Step 4: Troubleshoot Missing Location Recommendations If one location is generating recommendations in OTTO SEO → All Sites (SEO Automation) but another is not, work through the following diagnostic steps. 1. Go to OTTO SEO → All Sites (SEO Automation) in the left sidebar and open the affected project. 2. Check that the location in question has been properly added to your project. Navigate to Project Settings → Locations and confirm the location appears and is marked as active. 3. Verify that tracked keywords are assigned to that specific location. A location with no tracked keywords will not generate recommendations. Go to your keyword tracker and filter by location to confirm keywords exist for it. Understanding auto-refresh and recommendation generation: - Recommendations are generated after a successful crawl and after keyword ranking data has been collected for the location. - If a location was added recently, it may need up to 24–48 hours before the system has enough data to produce recommendations. - Recommendations do not update in real time. The platform refreshes recommendation sets on a scheduled cycle tied to your crawl and rank-tracking intervals. - If a crawl completed but recommendations are still absent after 48 hours, try manually triggering a Refresh Recommendations action if available in the project dashboard, or rerun the audit for that project. Common reasons a location shows no recommendations: - No keywords are tracked for that location - The location was added after the last crawl completed and a new crawl has not run yet - The crawl for that project is still in progress - The target URL for that location was excluded by an existing exclusion rule 💬 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.

🔍 Find Missing Keyword Lists

🔍 What to check first If a keyword list does not appear after creation, do not recreate it immediately. The list may still be loading, may have been saved under another project or site, or may not have finished saving. 📋 Check your keyword lists 1. Open Keywords → Keyword Research from the left sidebar. 2. Open the Keyword lists tab. 3. Use Search List to search for the list name, a distinctive keyword, or part of the list. 4. Refresh the page and check again after a few moments. 🕘 Review keyword research history If the list is not visible, open Keywords → Keyword Research → History. Select Search History or View to find the search that produced the keywords. From there, check whether the results can be viewed or saved to a list. 🏢 Confirm the workspace and project Keyword lists are associated with the workspace, project, client, or site where they were created. Confirm that you are viewing the same workspace and project used during creation. If you manage multiple clients or sites, switch to each relevant project and check Keywords → Keyword Research → Keyword lists again. 💳 Check before creating the list again Before repeating the search or creating another list, confirm whether your quota points were deducted in the original workspace or project. If the search appears in history or quota usage shows a deduction, avoid repeating the action until the original list is located. This helps prevent duplicate lists and possible duplicate usage. 🛠️ When the list still cannot be found Record the list size, approximate creation time, list name, keywords or search terms, workspace, client, site, and project. Also note whether quota points were deducted and include screenshots if available. This information helps identify whether the issue is related to loading, account scope, or list persistence. 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.