If you manage a website, you probably spend time in Google Search Console (GSC) checking which queries bring visitors to your site. But are you making the most of this data? One powerful yet often overlooked tool is regex filters, regular expressions you can use in GSC to filter and segment your search queries by specific patterns.
In this post, I’ll show you how to use regex filters in Google Search Console to segment your search queries by intent types, from informational questions to ecommerce purchase-ready searches, so you can tailor your content and marketing strategy more effectively.
What Are Regex Filters, and Why Use Them in Search Console?
Regex is a way to match patterns in text. In GSC, you can use regex filters on the Performance > Queries report to surface exactly the types of searches you care about.
For example, you might want to see all queries starting with question words like “what” or “how”, which are often informational searches.
1. Informational Queries: What Users Ask
These are searches where users want to learn or understand something.
Basic regex for informational queries:
^(what|how|why|when|where|who|which)
This catches queries starting with the most common question words.
Improved regex for broader coverage:
^(what|how|why|when|where|who|which|can|does|do|is|are|should|could|would|will|did|has|have|was|were)\b
This expanded version catches questions that start with auxiliary verbs too, like “can,” “does,” or “should.”
Example queries it captures:
- How does free shipping work?
- Can I return my order?
- Is this product available in stock?
2. Ecommerce and Transactional Queries: When Users Are Ready to Buy
These queries signal commercial intent, people ready to shop, compare, or find deals.
Regex pattern:
\b(buy|shop|purchase|order|get|cheap|discount|deal|sale|price|best|compare|vs|review|clearance|coupon|promo|free shipping|in stock)\b
Sample queries:
- Buy wireless headphones
- Best running shoes under $100
- Nike shoes sale
Tip: Customise this list with your own products or brand names for even sharper filtering.
3. Navigational Queries: Finding Your Brand or Website
These queries help identify users looking to reach your site or brand specifically.
Regex example:
\b(yourbrand|yourwebsite|official site|login|sign in|contact|store locator|customer service)\b
Replace yourbrand and yourwebsite with your actual brand and domain keywords.
4. Product Category Queries: Top-of-Funnel Interest
To see which product categories or types users are searching for broadly:
\b(shoes|headphones|jackets|gifts|accessories|bags|laptops|makeup|skincare|furniture|watches|sneakers)\b
Modify this to fit your product catalog.
5. Problem-Solving Queries: Users Seeking Solutions
Often, users search for ways to fix or understand issues.
Regex to catch these:
^(how to|how do|why is|fix|repair|solve|troubleshoot|problem with)\b
Example
- How to fix a leaking faucet
- Problem with my order delivery
Putting It All Together
Using regex filters in Google Search Console lets you understand the intent behind your visitors’ queries. This insight helps you:
- Create targeted content for different intent types
- Optimise product pages for transactional queries
- Build FAQs and help pages based on problem-solving searches
- Tailor your paid search and SEO strategies
Regex can look intimidating at first, but it’s a powerful skill that can unlock much richer insights from your Google Search Console data. Try these patterns out, tweak them for your niche, and watch your understanding of your audience deepen.
