Stop Guessing What Customers Ask: Copy-Paste Regex Filters for Search Console

Most solo founders never inspect the queries bringing visitors to their websites.

They guess what customers want to know. Then they write another generic blog post, publish it, and wait.

There is a faster method: mine your existing Google Search Console data for the exact questions people already use.

With a few copy-paste regex filters, you can turn raw search queries into a practical content plan in minutes. No developer is needed. You do not need an expensive SEO platform.

This process connects three important areas:

• SEO: Use real query data from Google.
• Answer engine optimization: Turn customer questions into clear pages that ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and other answer engines can understand.
• Website security: Make sure the pages you want cited are accessible, fast, and trustworthy.

The Search Console Regex Library includes more than 30 copy-paste patterns. Here is how to use the most useful ones.

Why Search Console is the fastest content research method

Keyword tools estimate what people might search for.

Search Console shows queries for which your site has already appeared in Google results. That makes the data especially useful for small websites with limited time and budget.

Open the Google Search Console Performance report to review:

• Impressions: How often your site appeared
• Clicks: How often someone visited
• CTR: How often an impression became a click
• Average position: Where your result generally appeared
• Queries: The words and phrases people searched

A query with impressions but few clicks is often a content opportunity. A question where your page ranks on page two may need a better answer, clearer structure, or a dedicated page.

❌ Guess: “People probably want a general guide to website optimization.”

✅ Evidence: “People are searching for ‘how to improve website SEO without coding’ and my page is already receiving impressions.”

The second option gives you a much better starting point.

Step 1: Open the correct Search Console report

Follow this workflow:

1. Open your verified property in Google Search Console.
2. Select Performance and then Search results.
3. Set the date range to the last three months or six months.
4. Select the Queries tab.
5. Click + New or + Add filter.
6. Choose Query.
7. Select Custom regex or Queries matching regex.
8. Choose Matches regex.
9. Paste one of the patterns below.
10. Review the impressions, clicks, CTR, average position, and landing pages.

Search Console uses RE2-style regular expressions, so use straightforward patterns. Avoid advanced lookbehind expressions and complicated syntax.

Start with a longer date range if your website is new. A new site may not have enough data in 28 days to reveal useful patterns.

Step 2: Find question-based queries

Start with this broad question filter:

^(who|what|how|why|where|when|which)\b

This captures queries beginning with common question words, such as:

• how to optimize a website
• what is answer engine optimization
• why is my website slow
• where to find SEO keywords
• who needs an SEO audit
• when should I update my homepage
• which schema markup should I use

For yes-or-no questions, use:

^(can|could|should|is|are|does|do|will|would)\b

For tutorial and problem-solving intent, use:

^how to

These filters are useful because question queries often reveal the exact language customers use. That language can become:

• An H2 heading
• An FAQ question
• A page title
• A short answer near the top of an article
• A video topic
• A product documentation page

For longer, more specific questions, apply a second query filter:

^\w+(\s\w+){4,}$

This finds queries with at least five words. Longer queries often reveal a more specific problem and a clearer content opportunity.

Step 3: Copy-paste filters for high-value query groups

Use the table below to move beyond basic questions.

Search intent	Regex pattern	What to create
WH questions	`^(who	what
Yes-or-no questions	`^(can	could
How-to queries	^how to	Tutorials and step-by-step pages
Comparisons	`\b(vs	versus
Commercial intent	`\b(best	pricing
Brand terms	`yourbrand	your brand`
Local searches	`\b(near me	nearby)\b`

Replace yourbrand|your brand with your actual brand variations. For example:

smartanalytics|smart analytics

To find non-branded searches, use the brand pattern with Doesn’t match regex. Then apply your question filter separately.

This helps answer a critical question: are people discovering your site through generic problems, or are they already looking for your company?

Step 4: Find comparison and alternative opportunities

Comparison searches often indicate that someone is close to making a decision.

Use:

\b(vs|versus|alternative|alternatives|better than)\b

This can reveal queries such as:

• SEO audit tool vs SEO platform
• Ahrefs alternatives for small businesses
• is a free SEO audit better than a paid tool
• website analyzer versus manual audit
• best alternative to expensive SEO software

Build comparison pages only when you can provide a fair, useful explanation.

Include:

• Who each option is for
• Important features
• Limitations
• Pricing differences
• Ease of use
• Data access
• Whether login or payment is required
• Which option fits a solo founder or small business

❌ Weak comparison: A page that repeats competitor names without helping someone decide.

✅ Useful comparison: A clear table that explains the best choice for different budgets, skills, and use cases.

Comparison content can support both traditional rankings and AI search optimization because answer engines often receive prompts that include “versus,” “alternative,” or “which is better.”

Step 5: Separate commercial queries from research queries

Use this commercial-intent filter:

\b(best|pricing|price|cost|buy|hire|service|software|tool)\b

Review the landing pages connected to these queries.

If commercial searches are landing on a vague homepage or an unrelated blog post, create a more focused page. Add direct information about:

• What the product or service does
• Who it helps
• What problems it solves
• How the process works
• What the visitor should do next

Do not force a sales pitch into every answer. Match the page to the query.

Someone searching “what is AEO” needs an explanation. Someone searching “best free SEO audit tool” needs a practical comparison. Someone searching “SEO audit pricing” needs clear cost information.

Intent matching is one of the most important SEO ranking factors because it determines whether your page actually satisfies the searcher.

Step 6: Turn query data into an AEO content brief

Once you have filtered the queries, create a simple brief for each topic.

Use this format:

Primary question: Copy the exact Search Console query.

Direct answer: Write a concise answer in 40 to 60 words.

Related questions: Add similar queries from the filtered list.

Evidence: Include examples, steps, data, screenshots, or first-hand experience.

Next action: Link to a relevant service, tool, guide, or contact page.

For answer engine optimization, place the direct answer near the top of the page. Then expand with supporting detail.

Use descriptive headings that match real questions:

• What is answer engine optimization?
• How does ChatGPT find websites to cite?
• What makes a page useful for Perplexity?
• How can I improve my website SEO without a developer?

Clear structure helps people scan the page and makes it easier for systems to extract a complete answer.

For more context, review this AEO guide.

A simple SEO, AEO, and security workflow

Query research is only useful when the resulting content can be found, understood, and trusted.

Use this three-part check:

1. SEO

Match the page to the real query. Improve the title, headings, internal links, page speed, and supporting content.

2. AEO

Answer the main question directly. Define important terms. Include related follow-up questions. Use structured data where it accurately describes the page.

This supports your chances of appearing in traditional search and improving ChatGPT SEO ranking and Perplexity SEO optimization signals.

No tool can guarantee a citation. However, a page with a clear answer, strong evidence, good structure, and useful context gives answer engines more reasons to understand and reference it.

3. Security

Do not send people or answer engines to a page with obvious technical problems.

A slow, inaccessible, or insecure website creates a poor experience and weakens trust. Check for exposed files, SSL problems, leaked credentials, outdated libraries, and other vulnerabilities before promoting new content.

Run the free website audit and Vulnerability Check. The security scan is included with the main audit, so you do not need a separate login or paid security platform for a first review.

Your 15-minute query mining routine

Repeat this once a week:

1. Open Search Console and select the last three months.
2. Filter for WH questions.
3. Export or copy the highest-impression queries.
4. Mark queries with low CTR or average positions between 8 and 30.
5. Group similar questions into one topic.
6. Check comparison, commercial, brand, and local filters.
7. Choose one page to improve or one article to create.
8. Add the exact customer language to your headings.
9. Write a direct answer before expanding the topic.
10. Check the finished page with a free SEO and AEO analyzer.

The goal is not to publish more content.

The goal is to publish content based on questions customers are already asking.

Final takeaway

Search Console query data is one of the fastest content research sources available to a solo founder. It shows where Google already sees a connection between your website and real searches.

Use regex to isolate:

• Question queries for AEO opportunities
• Comparison queries for decision-stage content
• Commercial queries for product and service pages
• Brand queries for support and trust content
• Local queries for location-based visibility

Then improve the page, answer the question clearly, and keep the technical foundation secure.

When you are ready to check the full picture, use Smart Analytics. It is a completely free SEO and AEO audit tool with no login, no email requirement, no paywall, and full reports every time. It checks traditional SEO, AI search visibility, and website security in one place.