---
title: What is the SEO tab, and how do I use it?
question: what is the seo tab
area: seo
order: 1
surface: desktop
audience: beginner
keywords: [seo, seo tab, seo module, seo agent team, clients, brands, projects, campaigns, audit, search engine optimisation, where is seo]
related: [how-do-i-add-an-seo-client-and-project, who-is-on-the-seo-agent-team, why-cant-i-see-the-seo-tab, what-are-the-modules]
updated: 2026-07-21
---

# What is the SEO tab, and how do I use it?

The **SEO** tab is a workspace in codus where you set up your clients, create SEO projects for them, and run a team of AI SEO specialists that audit a site and hand you evidence-backed gaps and fixes. It appears in the top bar only if your team has the SEO module. If you cannot see it, that is almost always why, and not a fault.

## Before you start

- You need the **SEO module** on your account. It adds the whole SEO area, and without it the tab does not show at all. See [What are the modules, and what does each one add?](../modules/what-are-the-modules.md).
- codus is a macOS app, so this all happens in the desktop app, not in a web browser.

## What you see

Click **SEO** in the top bar. The screen splits into three columns.

1. **Left column: your brands and projects.** This is a searchable tree. The header reads **Brands**, and each brand (your client) opens to show its SEO **projects**. This is where you add clients and create projects.
2. **Centre column: the workspace.** When you open a project, this shows its work across three sub-tabs, **Data**, **Analysis** and **Charts**. When you open a brand instead, it shows that brand's overview and settings.
3. **Right column: Live View and the team.** The top, labelled **Live View**, mirrors whatever page an agent is looking at, live. Below it, under **Team**, is a row of the agents (the **SEO Manager** and its specialists) and the terminal for whichever one you select.

Nothing is selected the first time you open the tab, so the centre reads **Nothing selected** with the hint "Pick a brand or an SEO project from the tree on the left, or add one to get started." That is expected.

## The shortest path to something useful

1. Add a brand for your client. See [How do I add an SEO client and create a project?](how-do-i-add-an-seo-client-and-project.md).
2. Create a project under that brand, for example "Homepage audit" or "Blog content review".
3. Open the project and click **Run team**. The SEO Manager and its specialists get to work. See [How do I run an SEO audit with the team?](how-do-i-run-an-seo-audit.md).
4. Read what they hand back in the **Data**, **Analysis** and **Charts** tabs. See [Where does the SEO team's work show up?](where-does-the-seo-teams-output-go.md).

## A wording thing that trips people up

The left column calls your clients **Brands**, but the tab's own tooltip calls them "clients". They are the same thing. A brand is a client you are doing SEO for. Under each brand you create **projects**, which are the individual pieces of SEO work.

## How do I know it worked?

If you can see a tab labelled **SEO** in the top bar of codus, you have the module and you are in the right place. Opening it should show the three columns described above.

## Common problems

**"There is no SEO tab."** Your account does not have the SEO module. That is the single most common reason. See [Why can't I see the SEO tab?](why-cant-i-see-the-seo-tab.md).

**"I saw every tab on someone else's codus and mine has fewer."** A development or demo build shows all the areas regardless of what is paid for. A normal account only shows the modules it holds, so fewer tabs is expected, not broken.