Why am I getting an error in Content Checker?
Why am I seeing "Unable to collect data" in Content Checker?
This error appears when Otterly cannot successfully analyze your page content. Here are the most common causes:
1. Page Not Found (404)
Cause: The URL you provided doesn't exist or has been moved.
How to fix:
- Verify the URL is correct and the page is live
- Check for typos in the URL
- If the page was recently moved, use the new URL
2. Access Denied / Blocked
Cause: The website is blocking access to the page.
How to fix:
- Check if the page requires authentication/login
- Some sites block non-browser traffic - this is a site configuration issue
- Contact your website administrator to whitelist Otterly's crawler user agent
- When running Content Checker use: Advanced Audit => send X-OtterlyAI-Crawler header with requests
3. Bot/Crawler Blocking
Cause: The website actively blocks web crawlers and scrapers.
Common blocking methods:
- Cloudflare, Akamai, or similar CDN/WAF protection
- JavaScript challenges (CAPTCHA)
- IP-based blocking
- User-agent filtering
How to fix:
- Whitelist Otterly's crawler user agents
- When running Content Checker use: Advanced Audit => send X-OtterlyAI-Crawler header with requests
- Disable bot protection for the specific pages you want audited
- Contact your CDN provider to allow Otterly access
4. Server Errors
Cause: The target website is experiencing issues.
How to fix:
- Wait and retry later
- Check if the website is down using a service like downdetector.com
- Contact the website administrator if the issue persists
5. Redirects to Different Domain
Cause: The URL redirects to a completely different domain that may be blocked or inaccessible.
How to fix:
- Use the final destination URL directly
- Check your redirect configuration
Still having issues?
If you've verified your page is accessible and not blocking crawlers, please contact us via in-app live chat or at hello@otterly.ai with:
- The exact URL you're trying to audit
- A screenshot of the content checker page
- When the error started occurring