BrightonSEO Download This Regex Guide for SEO Pros

What's covered:
Common questions people have
Common regex operators to help you survive
Advanced regex filters for SEO (Google Search Console)
How to use regex in Google Analytics and Google Search Console

Transcript

1. Irregular regex for regular people Slideshare.Net/MyriamJessier @myriamjessier | @chloeivyroseseo Myriam Jessier & Chloe Smith PRAGM & Blue Array
2. We will cover ➔Common questions people have ➔Common regex operators to help you survive ➔Advanced regex filters for SEO (Google Search Console) ➔How to use regex in Google Analytics and Google Search Console 2 ©Pragm | @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
3. What we will not cover ©Pragm | @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
4. In the event that the forces of darkness are accidentally summoned by your REGEX creation, this talk will not be helpful. 4 @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
5. 5 @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
6. 6 @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
7. 7 @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
8. 8 @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
9. What do 'lazy' and 'greedy' mean in the context of regular expressions? 9 @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
10. 10 'Greedy' means match longest possible string. 'Lazy' means match shortest possible string.
11. The greedy h.+l matches 'hell' in 'hello' or in 'hellscape' but the lazy h.+?l matches 'hel'. 11 ©Pragm | 👿 @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
12. Why is my regex extracting more than expected? 12 ©Pragm | If you are using a regex like .* that contains a greedy quantifier you may end up matching more than you want. @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
13. The solution to this is to use a regex like .*? (aka the lazy one). ©Pragm | 13 @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
14. Optimiser le contenu 14 @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
15. This is a regex pattern 15 ©Pragm | @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
16. Trying to read or write a regex can feel like trying to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics. 16 @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
17. Google Sheet Script To Convert Plain English Descriptions Into Regex Statements @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
18. 1. Enter a description (in English) of the Regex filter you need and you’ll get a properly formatted Regex. 18 @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
19. 2. The script uses OpenAI’s GPT3 machine learning model to convert standard English statements into valid Regex. 19 @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
20. 3.Danny, the creator has the best sales pitch for this thing: “Download a copy of my Google Sheet and script to put an end to your tears.” 20 @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
21. La démonstration !
22. Regex for SEO 22 @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
23. 23 Regular expressions are one of the most powerful tools in the SEO toolbox. @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
24. Find all the client queries on Google AFTER a purchase in Google Search Console. 24 ©Pragm | 🛍 @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
25. 25 ^(clean|broken|wash off|shattered|polish|proble m|treat|doesn't work|replace|doesn't start|scratch|repair|manua l|fix|protect|renew|covera ge|warranty)[” “] Remember, you need to select the REGEX option in the dropdown menu!
26. Common Regex Operators 26 ©Pragm | . A wildcard match for any single character. .* A match for zero or more characters. .+ A match for one or more characters. d A match for any single numerical digit 0-9. ? Inserted after a character to make it an optional part of the expression. | A vertical line or ‘pipe’ character indicates an ‘or’ function. ^ Used to denote the start of a string. $ Used to denote the end of a string. ( ) Used to nest a sub-expression. \ Inserted before an operator or special character to ‘escape’ it.
27. Google encourages SEO pros to share regex stuff on Twitter using the hashtag #performanceregex. @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
28. In Google Analytics, it’s magical to find specific patterns. 28 ©Pragm | 🔮 @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
29. You can use it to find all pages within a subdirectory, all pages with a query string, etc. 29 ©Pragm | 🪄 @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
30. 30 By default, UA treats a regex as a "partial match." The expression will be true if the pattern is contained anywhere in the data. @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
31. 31 In GA4, the default regex is a "full match." The data must exactly match the pattern you provide. @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
32. GA4 has ‘Organic Social’ and ‘Paid Social’. When the source is a social network and the medium matches the following regular expression: ^(.*cp.*|ppc|paid.*)$ 32 @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
33. We recommend using the “paid” medium for your paid social traffic with GA4. ©Pragm | 33 @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
34. Match metacharacters 34 ©Pragm | ! Use the backslash (\) to escape regex metacharacters when you need those characters to be interpreted literally. @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
35. For example, the dot in an IP address must be escaped with a backslash (\.) so that it isn’t interpreted as a wildcard. 35 ©Pragm | 🃏 @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
36. If you use regex in a report in Google Analytics and then navigate away from that report, you will lose that filter. 36 @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
37. Not so in Search Console. 37 @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
38. If you use regex in a report in Google Analytics and then navigate away from that report, you will lose that filter. 38 @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
39. Google Search Console imposes a character limit of 4096 characters. Yes, someone decided to find out.
40. Check for Potential Content Injections 40 ©Pragm | Use this regex .*viagra.*|.*cialis.*| .*levitra.*|.*drugs.*| .*porn.*| .*www.*www.* @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
41. Use https://regex101.com/ to see your creations come to life. 41 ©Pragm | Don’t forget to test your regex, just to make sure… @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
42. Real world use Create keyword sets that you can then use in Google Sheets, BigQuery, Tableau, Data Studio, etc. 42 ©Pragm | @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
43. Find long-tail queries with Regular Expressions 43 ©Pragm | RegEx to match any query longer than 75 characters : ^[\w\W\s\S]{75,}$
44. Filter out users finding your website through “commercial” intent terms: 44 ©Pragm | .*(best|top|altern ate|dupe|alterna tive|vs|versus|rev iew*).* @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
45. (?<=\.)(.*?)(?=\.) Lets you extract a domain name. ©Pragm | @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
46. Compare Brand VS Non-Brand Traffic. Filter out brand terms to see the generic keywords you rank for. 46 ©Pragm | Example: hm|h&m|hennes| mauritz| @chloeivyroseseo @myriamjessier
47. ©Pragm |
48. Bibliography Regex For SEO: A Guide To Regular Expressions (With Use Cases) A Marketer's Guide to Using Regex in Search Console [Video] - Annielytics.com Don't Be Tongue-Tied: Learn RegEx Patterns for SEO Beginner Guide To Regex For SEO - JC Chouinard Regular Expressions (RegEx) in Google Search Console - JC Chouinard https://riseatseven.com/blog/google-data-studio-case-when-stat ements/
49. New Bibliography Using CASE WHEN in Google Data Studio to Supercharge Your Reporting Irregular regex for regular people - brightonSEO online - October 2022 by Rough Agenda