Intro
Split mid-funnel commercial searches out of GSC so comparison and purchase-adjacent demand does not get buried inside general informational traffic.
Use this regex to isolate commercial intent in GSC when searchers are evaluating options but are not yet fully transactional.
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.
\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 common modifiers associated with evaluation and buying consideration.
- Separates mid-funnel demand from both awareness and direct transactional queries.
- Supports cleaner commercial page and comparison-page reporting.
What it does not match
- start trial for seo dashboard - This is more directly transactional than commercial.
- how to build a dashboard - No commercial modifier appears, so it stays informational.
Edge Cases
- Some modifiers such as best can appear in mixed-intent queries, so landing-page analysis matters.
- This broad set is useful for reporting, but you may want smaller subsegments for deeper analysis.
Example Matches Table
| Query | Match | Why |
|---|---|---|
| best seo reporting tools | Match | Contains best and tools, both of which indicate evaluation intent. |
| gsc dashboard pricing | Match | Pricing is a classic commercial modifier. |
| start trial for seo dashboard | No | This is more directly transactional than commercial. |
| how to build a dashboard | No | No commercial modifier appears, so it stays informational. |
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
- Report mid-funnel visibility separately from awareness traffic.
- Benchmark comparison and pricing page performance.
- Find which commercial modifiers your market uses most often.
Pro Tips
- Pricing and best can overlap with high-intent queries, so compare this against transactional intent rather than treating it as isolated.
- Expand the modifier set with vendor-specific language such as platform or solution if needed.
- Review CTR by modifier because best and pricing often behave differently.
- Use export data to cluster commercial demand into comparison, pricing, and review subgroups.
Variations
Include platform language
Adds a common commercial noun used in B2B and SaaS searches.
Related Regex Recipes
Regex for Transactional Intent
Use this regex to isolate transactional intent in GSC when searchers are signalling they want to take action rather than keep researching.
Regex for Consideration Stage Queries
Use this regex to isolate consideration-stage queries in GSC when searchers are actively evaluating options and narrowing the field.
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