Most people just open Google Search Console (GSC), glance at the keywords, numbers, and move on. But what is hidden in GSC is traffic, leads, and even revenue?

This article shows you how to find those hidden gold keywords using something called regex filters. Don’t worry — it sounds fancy, but it’s just a tool that helps you find the exact search terms people use to reach your site.

How to Use This GSC Regex

Here’s how to get started:

Go to Google Search Console → Performance → Add filter → Queries/Pages
Click “Queries containing” → “Custom (regex)”
Copy and paste the filters below
Sort by impressions or clicks
Build content, refine targeting, or double down on what’s working

High-Intent Discovery Filters

These patterns capture bottom-of-funnel (BOFU) searches: shoppers ready to buy, users comparing options, and customers with strong purchase intent.

Commercial Purchase Intent

Filter: .*(buy|cheap|price|purchase|order).*

What it finds: Queries containing buying signals like “buy wireless headphones,” “cheap laptop deals,” “iPhone 17 price”

Use this to: Identify which of your existing pages are attracting buyers. Optimize these pages with stronger CTAs, clearer pricing, or purchase buttons since these searchers are ready to convert.

Product Comparison Queries

Filter: .*(best|top|vs|review*).*

What it finds: Comparison searches like “best CRM software,” “Slack vs Teams,” “iPhone 17 reviews”

Use this to: See which of your pages are already attracting comparison shoppers. Double down on these pages by adding more comparison elements, competitor analysis, or buying guides since you’re already capturing this valuable traffic.

Transactional Action Signals

Filter: \b(get|download|buy|sign up|subscribe)\b

What it finds: Strong action-oriented queries with immediate intent

Use this to: Find which pages are already getting action-oriented traffic. Optimize these high-intent pages with clearer CTAs and conversion elements since users are already coming with action intent.

Post-Purchase Support Queries

What it finds: Customer support queries after purchase – problems, maintenance, warranty questions

Use this to: Discover which pages are attracting post-purchase support queries. Enhance these pages with comprehensive FAQ sections, troubleshooting guides, and support resources to better serve existing customers finding you through search.

Strategic Filters for SaaS, B2B, and Ecom

These filters identify how people talk about your product category — even when they don’t use your exact brand name.

SaaS/Product Category Discovery

What it finds: How people describe or Google classifies your product type. For example:

“CRM system for small business”
“email marketing platform comparison”
“project management tool reviews”

Use this to: See which of your existing pages are already capturing these valuable category searches. Optimize these pages further and identify gaps where you’re getting impressions but low clicks – these represent expansion opportunities.

B2B High-Intent Use Cases

What it finds: Enterprise-focused searches with specific solution intent

Use this to: Find which pages are already ranking for B2B solution terms. Focus optimization efforts on these high-value pages that are attracting enterprise searchers.

Keyword Root Variations

Filter: \bbase(word)?s?\b

⚠️ Important: Replace “base” with your actual keyword root. For example:

For “marketing” → \bmarket(ing)?s?\b
For “analytics” → \banalytic(s)?s?\b
For “automation” → \bautomat(ion|e)?s?\b

What it finds: Your root keyword, its plural, and common derivatives

Use this to: Identify which pages are already ranking for your keyword variations. Look for pages with high impressions but low clicks – these are optimization opportunities to capture more of the traffic you’re already showing up for.

Question-Based SEO Opportunities

People Google their problems as questions. These filters extract every question query your site ranks for.

All Common Questions

Filter: ^(who|what|where|when|why|will|was|can|does|if|is|do|how|should|could|did)

What it finds: Every question-based search leading to your site

Use this to:

See which pages are already answering questions for users
Identify question gaps where you have impressions but need better answers
Optimize existing pages that are attracting question-based searches

Brand-Related Questions

⚠️ Important: Replace “brand” and “name” with your actual brand name or product name.

What it finds: Questions about your brand like:

“Does Nike cause foot problems?”
“Can I return Nike shoes after 30 days?”
“Is Nike actually sustainable?”

Use this to: Find which of your pages are already appearing for brand-related questions. These are critical reputation management opportunities – optimize these pages to address concerns and build trust with searchers who are researching your brand.

Case-Insensitive Question Starters

What it finds: Questions regardless of capitalization

Use this to: Catch all question variations you might miss with case-sensitive searches.

Long-Tail Keyword Filters

This is where untapped SEO opportunities live. Most people never build content around these ultra-specific searches.

8+ Word Queries

Filter: ([^” “]*\s){7,}?

What it finds: Ultra-specific, high-intent searches with 8+ words

Why this matters: Long-tail queries convert 2.5x better than short-tail. They’re easier to rank for and face less competition.

Use this to: Find content gaps for highly specific blog posts and landing pages.

15+ Word Queries (Ultra-Specific)

Filter: ([^” “]*\s){15,}?

What it finds: Extremely specific searches that competitors ignore

Use this to: Create hyper-targeted content for niche audiences with high purchase intent.

70+ Character Queries

Filter: ^[\w\W\s\S]{70,}$

What it finds: Detailed, specific search queries

Use this to: Understand exactly what information users want and create comprehensive content.

100+ Character Queries

Filter: ^[\w\W\s\S]{100,}$

What it finds: The most specific searches in your data

Use this to: Identify opportunities for extremely targeted, high-conversion content.

Short-Tail & Branded Opportunity Filters

Clean, high-volume keywords that drive branded traffic and early-stage awareness.

Short-Tail Keywords (1-4 Words)

Filter: ^(?:\b\w+\b\s*){1,4}$

What it finds: Broad, high-volume terms you’re ranking for

Use this to: Identify your strongest keyword positions and opportunities to dominate broad terms.

Two-Word Queries Only

Filter: ^\w+\s\w+$

What it finds: Simple, two-word searches with potential high volume

Use this to: Find fundamental keyword pairs worth optimizing for.

Ultra-Short Queries (Under 10 Characters)

Filter: ^[\w\W\s\S]{1,10}$

What it finds: The shortest, often highest-volume searches

Use this to: Identify brand terms and core product keywords.

Exact 5-Character Queries

Filter: ^.{5}$

What it finds: Precise 5-character searches (often brand names or acronyms)

Use this to: Capture exact brand matches and acronym searches.

Clean Up: Exclude the Noise

Filter out irrelevant traffic that skews your data.

Exclude Low-Value Terms

Filter: ^(?!.*(free|scam|pirated|cheap)).*$

What it excludes: Queries containing “free,” “scam,” “pirated,” or “cheap”

Use this to: Focus analysis on high-value, legitimate search intent.

Exclude Specific Keywords

Filter: ^(?!.*?(keyword1|keyword2))

⚠️ Setup: Replace “keyword1” and “keyword2” with terms you want to exclude

Example: ^(?!.*?(competitor|free))

Use this to: Remove competitor research or irrelevant terms from analysis.

Exclude Service Pages

Filter: ^(?!.service).$

What it excludes: URLs containing “service”

Use this to: Focus on content pages rather than service/utility pages.

Local Intent Filters

Capture location-based search intent.

Near Me & City-Based Searches

Filter: ^(near|in \b\w+\b)

What it finds: Local search intent like “pizza near me” or “dentist in Chicago”

Use this to: Optimize for local SEO and location-based landing pages.

URL + Device Level Filters

Analyze performance by URL structure and technical elements.

Blog Content URLs

Filter: .blog.

What it finds: All URLs containing “blog”

Use this to: Analyze blog content performance separately from other pages.

Category Pages

Filter: ^/category/.*

What it finds: All category page URLs

Use this to: Evaluate category page SEO performance.

Date-Based URLs (WordPress)

Filter: ^/[0-9]{4}/[0-9]{2}/[0-9]{2}/.*

What it finds: WordPress date-based URL structure

Use this to: Analyze time-based content performance.

Exact URL Match

Filter: ^speed$

⚠️ Setup: Replace “speed” with your target term

What it finds: Exact URL matches for specific terms

Use this to: Track specific page performance.

Mobile/Tablet Traffic

Filter: ^(mobile|tablet)$

What it finds: Mobile and tablet device traffic

Use this to: Analyze mobile-specific performance and optimization needs.

File Type Filters

Filter: ^https?://www\.example\.com/.*\.(html?|php|pdf)$

⚠️ Setup: Replace “example.com” with your domain

What it finds: Specific file types (.html, .php, .pdf)

Use this to: Analyze performance by content type.

Misspellings, Typos & Brand Variants

Capture traffic from users who spell things wrong.

LinkedIn Misspellings (Example)

What it finds: Common misspellings of “LinkedIn”

Use this to: Create a similar pattern for your brand name to catch misspelled searches.

Search Term Variations

Filter: \b(search|serch|surch)\b

What it finds: Misspellings of “search”

Use this to: Adapt this pattern for your key terms to catch spelling variations.

Brand Misspelling Template

Filter: (^|\s)(s+|a|d|z)[a-z\s]{1,4}m?[a-z\s]{1,6}(m|u|n|g|t|h|b|v)(\s|$)

Example shown: Samsung misspellings

⚠️ Setup: This is a template – you’ll need to create a similar pattern for your specific brand name.

Use this to: Catch common brand name misspellings and optimize for them.

Advanced Filters for Pros

For deep analysis and data cleaning.

AND Match (Multiple Keywords)

Filter: (?i)(\bkeyword1\b.*\bkeyword2\b|\bkeyword2\b.*\bkeyword1\b)

⚠️ Setup: Replace “keyword1” and “keyword2” with your target terms

Example: (?i)(\bSEO\b.*\btools\b|\btools\b.*\bSEO\b)

What it finds: Queries containing BOTH keywords in any order

Use this to: Find highly specific, multi-intent searches.

Foreign Characters Detection

Filter: .*\p{Hiragana}.*|.*\p{Cyrillic}.*|.*\p{Hangul}.*|.*\p{Han}.*|.*\p{Thai}.*

What it finds: URLs with foreign characters (potential hack content)

Use this to: Identify security issues or unwanted foreign language content.

Hyphenated Keywords

Filter: \b\w+-\w+\b

What it finds: Searches with hyphenated terms like “self-employed,” “real-time,” “state-of-the-art”

Use this to: Optimize for compound keyword phrases.

URL Ending Match

Filter: football$

⚠️ Setup: Replace “football” with your target term

What it finds: URLs ending with your specified term

Use this to: Find pages optimized for specific keywords.

Duplicate Term Detection

Filter: ^(.+)\s\1$

What it finds: Queries where users repeated the same termUse this to: Identify potential user intent confusion or emphasis.

Using regex filters in Google Search Console is like turning on a flashlight in a dark cave — you’ll see new keywords, weak spots, and hidden gems that your competitors are missing.

You don’t need to be a coder. Just copy-paste the filters, follow the steps, and watch your traffic grow

The GSC Regex Guide: Discover Hidden SEO Gold in Google Search Console