Regex queries are an underrated technique when it comes to local SEO. Often, this type of process is saved for higher volume search terms on larger websites with a lot of traffic. However, it can be such a great way to identify gaps in your authority, and opportunities to improve long tail keywords, especially GEO-based queries.
All of this can take place on Google’s Search Console. This platform should be your best friend when it comes to monitoring SEO performance. It will provide you with metrics and a space to perfect your strategies whilst tracking performance. We’re going to go into great detail about how you can leverage this platform as well as regex queries.
What Is Google Search Console?
Google Search Console (GSC) is a free tool from Google that helps website owners track and improve their site’s performance in search results. It provides insights into keywords, rankings and click-through rates.
Key features include the indexing report, which shows which pages Google has indexed, and crawlability insights, highlighting any issues preventing Google from accessing content. The errors section flags technical SEO problems, such as broken links or mobile usability issues, while the links report tracks internal and external backlinks.
GSC also monitors Core Web Vitals and page experience, assessing site speed, interactivity and user-friendliness, factors that can really impact rankings. Additionally, it alerts users to manual actions and penalties if their site violates Google’s guidelines, helping them resolve issues before rankings are affected.
Of course, there’s a lot more detail we could go into about all these features, and all the techniques you can leverage to gain more insights into improving your search engine optimisation performance. However, that’s not really the focus of this article, so we’ll leave it as this brief summary.
What Are Regex Queries?
A regex query (short for regular expression) is a sequence of characters that forms a search pattern, allowing users to filter and match specific text more efficiently. Instead of manually scanning through large datasets, regex enables precise searches based on defined patterns. It is commonly used in data analysis, programming and search tools to extract or manipulate text based on structured rules.
In Google Search Console (GSC), regex queries help refine search term analysis by filtering keywords based on specific conditions. Rather than scrolling through hundreds of search queries, you can use regex to automate patterns that match your SEO strategy.
For example, you can use regex to:
- Find long-tail search queries by filtering for longer phrases, such as those containing more than three words.
- Spot geo-based searches by identifying location-related queries such as “best cafés in Melbourne”.
- Detect competitor brand mentions and track when users search for rival brands alongside yours.
- Filter buying-intent searches and surface queries that indicate a strong intent to purchase, such as “best price”, “near me” or “discount”.
By using a variety of regex queries in GSC, you can gain valuable insight into search patterns, optimise content strategies and refine keyword targeting with greater precision moving forward.
Common Regex Queries & Their Uses
Just to help you out, I’ve provided a table below with some of the common regex queries I use on a daily basis to help you get started. Make sure to replace words like “Melbourne” and “competitor” with your chosen location or competitor. Remember, all these are adjustable to fit your personal strategies and focus.
| Use Case | Regex Query |
|---|---|
| Find Long-Tail Queries (4+ Words) | ^(\S+\s){3,}\S+$ |
| Identify Local Searches (Cities) | \b(Melbourne |
| Detect Questions | ^(who |
| Filter Out Generic Searches | ^(?!.*(free |
| Find Competitor Mentions | (?i)\b(competitor |
| Show Buying Intent Keywords | \b(buy |
Finding Keywords That Rank On Page 2 & Beyond
Here’s where we really start to refine the process and use regex queries to our advantage. The reality is, a query will only display from a regex filter if you’ve already started ranking and generating impressions for that search term. However, you can do this whilst ranking on page 9 for particularly high volume queries.
As a result, you can use a regex query to see where you stand in the rankings for search queries. When you couple this with location queries, you can create an extensive list of all search terms that matter to you that are underperforming, and get to work on improving them specifically.
How To Do This In GSC
- Go to Google Search Console.
- Click on “Performance” > “Search Results”.
- Select “Queries” and enable “Position”.
- Enter a regex query and browse the results.
Exporting Regex Query Results & Filtering Data
Now, when you create a regex query it can be ordered in GSC from highest to lowest for a few parameters, but there isn’t a great deal of filtering options for data. This is where exporting becomes useful.
Software such as Google’s free Google Sheets provides a platform to upload your CSV and apply filters. I like to filter out all page one results and focus primarily on queries that rank from positions 10 to 40. These are often low-hanging fruit that can bring in a surprising amount of traffic if targeted correctly.
How To Export The Data
- After applying your regex filter, click “Export” in GSC.
- Download the CSV file and open it in Google Sheets.
Filtering In Google Sheets
- Click on the “Position” column.
- Select Filter By Condition > Greater Than > 10.
- This will show only page two and beyond keywords.
- You can also use an “Is Between” filter for positions 10 to 40.
- Sort by impressions to find the best keywords to target.
How To Improve Identified Local Content
Now, this isn’t a content article, but we’ll cover it and provide some useful guidance on how to leverage this data and apply it to your content strategy.
Improving Existing Content With Entity SEO
Quite often, a regex query will show you a search term you’re ranking poorly for, but when you view the page that’s ranking, it may not be focused on that query at all. This is because Google’s crawlers have found relevance in your content to that query and given you a ranking for it, albeit a low one.
If this is the case, a great way to improve performance is by applying fundamental entity SEO techniques to the content.
Clearly search engines have found some relevance in your content. It may simply be a case of providing even more relevance and information to improve rankings. Carry out keyword research around the topic, improve the content with related entities, add schema markup for structured data and include relevant internal links to supporting content.
Writing New Content
Sometimes Google may have found only a distant relation between a low-ranking query and an existing piece of content. In these situations, it isn’t useful to force keywords and entities into an irrelevant article or page.
It’s great that search engines surface these opportunities, but sometimes the best option is to create a new piece of content that directly targets the query and then link to it from the existing ranking pages.
Get In Touch With Formwork For Advanced SEO Strategies
If you’re interested in more advanced SEO strategies, or would like someone to audit, optimise and apply these techniques to your website, then give us a call.