SEO Bite #5 – Use Regex to Find Untapped Keywords

You can use Regex (short for “Regular Expression”) and Google Search Console to find untapped keywords for free.

1. Open Google Search Console > go to “Performance” > click on “Search Results”:

2. Click on “New” > select “Query…”

3. Click the dropdown > select Custom (regex):

4. Copy the regex below for keywords with informational intent:

\b(how|what|why|when|where|is|can|does|which|who|guide|tutorial|tips|advice|definition|meaning|example|list|ways to|steps|best time|history|facts|overview|benefits|explanation)\b

Copy this regex for keywords with commercial intent:

\b(buy|purchase|discount|cheap|sale|deal|offer|order|shop|price|quote|for sale|bargain|special|promo|promotion|coupon|buy online|order online|best price|best deal|low cost|affordable)\b

5. Enter the regex into the field > click “Apply”

6. Click on the filter > select “Position:”

7. Select “Greater Than” > enter “50:”

8. Add the opportunities to your keyword database:

In most cases, if a keyword is ranking beyond #50, it’s either new or the target page isn’t relevant enough.

For example, my “learn SEO” page is ranking #57 for “is SEO easy to learn.”

Even if I integrate this concept into the page, it still likely won’t perform well because it doesn’t specifically answer that question.

Especially when Google is showing a clear preference for subjective content from Reddit and Quora:

Which brings me to:

SEO Bite #5: Examine what’s ranking for the prospective keyword. If there’s substantial variance in results, it’s probably best to create a new page.

Here’s an example:

Notice that Google is serving up different results for these keywords. Based on this, it’s clear that creating a dedicated page for “is SEO easy to learn” is the right move.

-Gotch