Intro
Group awareness-stage searches in GSC so you can monitor early-funnel discovery demand before users move into research or evaluation.
Use this regex to isolate awareness-stage queries in GSC when users are still learning and have not yet moved into commercial evaluation.
The Regex
How This Regex Works (Explained Simply)
()
Parentheses group terms together so GSC treats them as one unit. That is what lets one regex cover several query variants in a single filter.
|
The pipe means OR. GSC will match any term on either side of the pipe, which is useful for variants, modifiers, or alternative phrases.
?
The question mark usually makes the previous character or group optional. That is handy when a query modifier appears inconsistently.
\b
Backslash-b marks a word boundary. It helps stop short terms from matching inside longer words in GSC queries.
GSC regex is case-insensitive by default, so capital letters do not need separate variants. GSC also uses partial matching by default, so the regex can match part of a longer query unless you anchor it with ^ or $.
What This Regex Does
- Matches educational modifiers commonly associated with top-of-funnel discovery.
- Helps separate awareness demand from stronger commercial or transactional stages.
- Works well for reporting on blogs, educational resources, and learning hubs.
What it does not match
- seo tool pricing - This has moved into evaluation and pricing intent.
- buy seo reporting tool - This is transactional rather than awareness-led.
Edge Cases
- Because this uses broad educational modifiers, some queries may span both awareness and consideration.
- If you need a stricter top-of-funnel set, narrow the grouped terms to your preferred content formats.
Example Matches Table
| Query | Match | Why |
|---|---|---|
| what is search intent | Match | Contains a classic awareness-stage phrasing. |
| seo basics guide | Match | Guide and basics both signal early-stage learning. |
| seo tool pricing | No | This has moved into evaluation and pricing intent. |
| buy seo reporting tool | No | This is transactional rather than awareness-led. |
How to Use This in Google Search Console
- Open Performance and go to Search results.
- Click Add filter and choose Query.
- Select Custom (regex).
- Paste the regex and click Apply.
When to Use This
- Track early-funnel discovery demand in one reporting view.
- Measure how educational content contributes to the SEO pipeline.
- Benchmark awareness visibility against later-stage intent segments.
Pro Tips
- This intentionally overlaps with Cluster 2 educational recipes, but it is useful when your reporting is stage-based rather than format-based.
- Use page filters to see which content types attract the most awareness demand.
- Compare awareness CTR against consideration CTR to understand SERP expectations.
- Use this segment to build clearer top-of-funnel reporting for stakeholders.
Variations
Include tutorial phrasing
Broadens the awareness set with another educational modifier.
Related Regex Recipes
Regex for Informational Intent
Use this regex to isolate informational intent terms in GSC and measure awareness-stage SEO performance with less noise.
Regex for Educational Queries
Use this regex to capture a wider educational query set in GSC when you want a practical top-of-funnel segment that includes multiple informational modifiers.
CTA
Regex is powerful in GSC, but manual filtering still leaves you exporting, comparing, and rebuilding the same views. Spicy Metrics turns those segments into reporting your team can reuse.
Turn regex into repeatable reporting