How to Get Started with Search Atlas (2026 Guide)
A practical step-by-step guide to setting up Search Atlas properly — including the one mistake most teams make.
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Search Atlas is an SEO platform covering site audits, rank tracking, backlink analysis, and an AI content-writing assistant (OTTO) in one dashboard, aimed at agencies managing SEO for multiple clients. Here is how to get it set up.
Step 1: Connect your sites and Google Search Console
Link each client site and its Google Search Console property — this is what feeds Search Atlas's rank tracking and technical-audit data, and skipping it limits the platform to surface-level crawl data instead of real search performance.
Step 2: Run the initial site audit
Run a full technical SEO audit before doing anything else — this surfaces existing issues (broken links, missing meta tags, crawl errors) that you will want addressed before layering on content or link-building work.
Step 3: Set up rank tracking for target keywords
Add the specific keywords each client cares about ranking for, rather than relying on auto-discovered keywords alone — this keeps client reporting focused on the terms that actually matter to their business.
Step 4: Use OTTO for content recommendations, not blind automation
OTTO's AI content suggestions are a starting point, not a finished product — review and edit before publishing, especially for client-facing content where tone and accuracy matter.
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