Performance & Keywords

How to Use Regex Filters in Google Search Console

Google Search Console supports regular expression (regex) filters in the Performance report, allowing you to create powerful custom segments.

The Queries report in GSC Wizard for example.com over the last 3 months with the filter "Query matches regex ^(how|what|why|when|can|does|is)\b" applied: 91 question queries remain, led by "how to write an invoice" and "what is net 30", each with clicks, impressions, CTR and ranking against the previous period
Regex filters use RE2 syntax. This one, ^(how|what|why|when|can|does|is)\b, pulls all 91 question queries into a single view (GSC Wizard, example data).

How to Use Regex Filters

  1. In the Performance report, click "+ New" in the filter bar
  2. Select Query or Page
  3. Choose "Custom (regex)" from the dropdown
  4. Enter your regex pattern
  5. Click Apply

Useful Regex Examples

  • Question queries: ^(how|what|why|when|where|who)
  • Exclude brand terms: ^(?!.*yourbrand)
  • Blog posts only: ^https://yourdomain.com/blog/
  • Product pages: /products/.*
  • Specific keyword theme: seo|search (engine|console)|keyword

Note: Google Search Console uses RE2 regex syntax. Some advanced regex features like lookaheads may have limited support.

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