Put each setting at the level where it can be trusted
Before editing defaults, confirm which workspace owns the work and which market or domain it represents.
Account
Organization
Workspace
Start by choosing the setting level
| Level | What it controls |
|---|---|
| Account | The signed-in person's default language and, for supported languages, the app interface locale. |
| Organization | Organization name, URL slug, logo, members, permissions, workspaces, audit access, billing, and deletion lifecycle. |
| Workspace | The active workspace's identity, domain, project visibility, content defaults, tracked domains, research seeds, and crawler exclusions where authorized. |
Workspace settings edit the active workspace
The main Settings page shows the workspace selected in the application shell. Switch workspaces before editing a different one. A correct value saved in the wrong workspace is still wrong operational context.
The page can expose different controls according to platform, organization, workspace, and capability checks. Missing edit controls can therefore mean read-only access rather than a broken form.
Workspace name and domain define the working context
Authorized users can create a workspace, rename the active workspace, attach or change its domain, or begin its deletion flow. The domain should name the property the workspace is actually about; it is not a decorative label.
Deletion affects the workspace and its dependent product data. Read the confirmation state carefully, verify the selected organization and workspace, and avoid using deletion as a cleanup shortcut for filters or stale views.
Access mode changes how project visibility works
| Mode | Visibility rule |
|---|---|
| Open | Workspace members can see all projects in the workspace. |
| Restricted | Members see assigned projects; workspace admins retain the broader view. |
| Private | The workspace is hidden from non-members and projects require assignment. |
Defaults seed later work; they do not rewrite existing records
Where the administration surface is available, workspace defaults include content language, country, target score, and a default Brain style profile. They provide starting context for later workflows. Individual projects and explicit user choices can still supply their own values.
Saving sends the populated fields and treats a cleared style profile as an intentional removal. Confirm the effective project settings when a new draft does not use the value you expected.
Tracked domains must represent the sites you intend to compare
The workspace can retain your own and competitor domains for SERP and position-tracking workflows. A misspelled hostname, wrong subdomain, or client domain saved in the wrong workspace can make visibility and ranking comparisons misleading even when the underlying measurements are correct.
Research settings shape keyword expansion and filtering
- Cities, brands, and themes provide workspace-level seeds for autocomplete expansion.
- The keyword quality filter and stopword normalization can be enabled or disabled for the workspace.
- Brand exclusions remove known brand terms from the relevant discovery path when the quality filter is active.
- Entry counts and character lengths follow the effective workspace policy, not an unlimited text field.
Crawler link exclusions are workspace-specific
Crawler settings keep a bounded list of domains that content link workflows should not use. Workspace admins can add or remove entries. Enter a hostname such as example.com, then verify the list after saving.
This list is not a robots.txt rule, a Site Audit crawl scope, or a block at the network edge. It serves the product workflow that consumes these workspace exclusions.
For a Site Audit, review the separate crawl settings and verification rules before expecting a workspace change to alter the next crawl.
Organization identity has its own permission and deletion rules
Users with organization settings view access can inspect the name, URL slug, and logo. Editing requires the separate edit capability. The slug accepts lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens and changes the organization path used in URLs.
Only an owner can schedule organization deletion. The current flow applies a 30-day grace period, makes the details read-only while deletion is pending, and lets an owner cancel before permanent deletion. The warning covers workspaces, projects, Brain data, and content beneath that organization.
Account language and content language are related but not identical
Account Settings stores the person's default language. English, German, French, and Spanish also switch the app interface. Other available content languages keep the interface in English.
A workspace content-language default belongs to the workspace and can influence later content workflows. Changing the account language does not silently translate existing projects, documents, or stored product data.
Verify settings through the workflow they affect
Example: Preparing a workspace for local research
A team switches to the client workspace, confirms the domain, and adds the client's cities and brand names as research seeds so autocomplete expansion covers local and branded queries.
It adds known competitor brands as brand exclusions and verifies the effect in the next Keyword Research run.
Frequently asked questions
What are the workspace access modes?
Open: members see all projects. Restricted: members see assigned projects while workspace admins see all. Private: the workspace is hidden from non-members and projects need assignment.
Do workspace defaults change existing records?
No. Defaults such as content language, country and target score seed later work. Existing projects and explicit choices keep their values.
Why did my setting not apply?
Check that you edited the active workspace you meant to change. A correct value saved in the wrong workspace is still the wrong context.