Getting started

This guide takes a new workspace from sign-up to its first useful measurement.

Before you begin

Have these items ready:

• the business name and public domain;
• the products or services customers buy;
• the markets or locations served;
• common alternatives or competitors;
• access to the site’s Search Console property if you want measured Google query data;
• permission to install server-side crawler tracking if you want AI crawler visits.

You can begin without vendor connections. Tailwin shows unavailable data as unavailable rather than creating replacement numbers.

1. Create or enter a workspace

1. Sign up or sign in.
2. If you belong to more than one organization, use the organization switcher in the left sidebar.
3. Confirm the organization name and plan shown in the top bar.
4. Agency staff should switch into the intended client before adding data. “Acting in client account” is audited and prevents client information from mixing.

The workspace selector shows a pending state while switching. A successful switch reloads the current page for the selected workspace, clearing temporary page state. If the request fails, the current workspace stays selected and an error lets you try again. On a phone, reopen Navigation after switching.

2. Add a site

1. Open Start here → Your business or Workspace → Websites.
2. Add the canonical domain without a path, for example example.com.
3. Review the imported business profile. Correct the name, description, services, audience, locations, brand aliases, and competitors.
4. Save the profile before generating queries. Query generation uses this profile as grounding.

Tailwin reads public site content and sitemaps during onboarding. It does not need CMS credentials to inspect public pages.

3. Build the query set

1. Open the site and select Queries, or use Rankings for bulk entry.
2. Generate buyer questions from the business profile or paste one query per line.
3. Remove duplicates and phrases that are not genuine buying or research questions.
4. Add competitors where they clarify who should be compared.
5. Keep the list inside the plan limit. The interface reports duplicates, invalid lines, and capacity failures individually.

The free plan supports 10 active queries per site, Starter 25, and Growth and Agency 100. The application enforces those values from the entitlement record.

4. Run the first AI scan

1. Open the site overview.
2. Start a scan.
3. Wait for the scan to finish; engines can succeed or fail independently.
4. Review the score, brand mentions, citations, competitors, sentiment, and raw answer for each query.
5. Treat an engine marked unavailable or erroring as missing coverage, not a zero score.

Weekly or daily scheduled scans follow the plan. A manual run still uses the same engines, spend controls, and provenance rules.

5. Connect free search data first

Open the site overview and use Site activation:

1. Add the Search Console property. Tailwin defaults to the domain property form and refuses a property for another domain.
2. Select Validate property access. This explicitly starts the unmetered Search Console backfill; until it succeeds, the step remains incomplete and shows the last safe error.
3. Add the Google SERP source. This creates a paused source and does not contact a paid endpoint.
4. Select Validate credentials for free. Tailwin uses DataForSEO’s uncharged account endpoint and leaves SERP scheduling off.
5. When direct rank checks are wanted, open Reports and select metered sync. Tailwin confirms that the action submits metered work before enabling the daily schedule.

The progress bar counts Search Console after a successful data sync and DataForSEO after its free credential check. A validated DataForSEO source can therefore be “ready” while paid checks remain off.

Connect Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools before buying additional rank data when possible. They provide measured clicks, impressions, and average position for queries where the site already appeared.

Use DataForSEO when you need a direct result-page check, including phrases for which the site has no Search Console impression. See Rankings and SEO research.

6. Install crawler tracking

Choose one server-side path:

• Cloudflare Worker for sites already proxied by Cloudflare;
• WordPress plugin for WordPress origins;
• JavaScript server middleware for Next.js, Express, or compatible Node servers.

Complete the live verification in Tailwin after installation. Browser analytics is not a substitute because most AI crawlers do not execute browser JavaScript. See AI crawler tracking.

7. Close the first content loop

1. Open Content and choose a measured visibility gap.
2. Generate a draft grounded in the site profile and voice.
3. Review the quality checks and edit the claims.
4. Route the draft for approval.
5. Publish through a connected destination or export it.
6. Watch for a crawl, citation, and score change on the receipt timeline.

An empty milestone stays empty until Tailwin observes it. See Content workflow.

8. Build a client-facing report

1. Open Reports → Data sources and connect the accounts you are authorized to use.
2. Run the initial sync. Some sources backfill; direct SERP checks begin on the day they run.
3. Create a dashboard from a template or from scratch.
4. Add widgets using the source, metric, and dimension selectors.
5. Arrange the 12-column canvas and preview the read-only client view.
6. Share with a revocable link, assign it to a client, export PDF, or create a schedule.

First-day completion checklist

• Correct organization selected.
• Site and business profile reviewed.
• Query list contains real buyer questions.
• First scan completed with engine coverage visible.
• Site activation shows Search Console connected or explicitly blocked/deferred.
• DataForSEO is free-validated or explicitly deferred; paid checks enabled only when wanted.
• Crawler tracker installed or assigned to the site owner.
• One content gap reviewed.
• One report source synced and one dashboard previewed.

Choose your appearance

Tailwin opens in dark mode. Use the sun or moon button in the homepage or workspace header to switch between light and dark. Your browser remembers the choice for future visits. On a phone, open Navigation to access the workspace sections.

Today starts with your next step: review a waiting draft, open a website for its first scan, or inspect the evidence behind its latest score. Measurements and scan history remain visible below. The score names its website, scan status and date. Crawler visits are all-time recorded requests, separate from customer visits.

The chart shows that same website's recorded scan sequence, with exact values available below the chart. A partial scan is labeled partial; missing evidence is unavailable, and a measured zero remains zero.

All sections allowed by your workspace role remain listed in the sidebar. Scroll the sidebar to reach Workspace → Websites, Notifications, and Settings. Rankings includes search rankings and AI evidence; Content includes drafting and approval. Website concierge groups its inbox, knowledge base and widget installation. Members see the reporting and evidence surfaces their role permits.