Custom Filters in Google Search Console – New Reports

Yesterday’s morning brought us great news about implementing a few changes to Google Search Console reports. Among the changes, we’ll find the improvement of data filtering in the compare 2 periods mode (we got a better data view, the ability to compare several metrics).

However, another change, which I personally find more interesting, is the brand new option of choosing a custom data filter (regex). This option provides users with the ability to more advanced data analysis.

You can find the custom filter in the search results report by going to the Page or Query sections.

What Value Does the Google Search Console Custom Filter Bring?

Above all, we can now use regex (regular expressions) to filter and adjust the report results to our needs. On their blog, Google provides us with an example of how to use the new filtering option.

Let’s assume that we have an online store, named “cats and dogs”, but most of the users type our name in as “cats & gods” or “c&d”. To obtain search results data for the brand query you have to count in all name variations that appear in the actual search. Thanks to the new filtering option we can generate one report for all search results after typing in “cats and dogs|cats & dogs|c&d” in the custom filter.

Need more real-life examples? Not a problem!

Let’s have a look at the furniture manufacturer offering their products in many European countries – “Black Red White” that users usually name as “BRW” when entering a search query. After typing in “black red white|brw” in our GSC custom filter, we get a report including keywords containing “brw” and “black red white” (also e.g. “brw furniture”, “brw store”, “black red white furniture”, etc.). With that option, the company has a better insight into brand keyword performance.

Another example? One of our clients: So Lovely Box. Many users can search for them by entering the company’s name without spaces. To try the function out I created a filter:

In the filtered data you can see both phrases in different configurations:

Also, the custom filter will be a great option for names including special characters.

A great example will be our client whose case study you can read on our website: Z Klocków. In this case, we have polish special characters and the users can also search for Z Klocków, Zklocków, Z Klockow, Zklockow. The custom filter will allow me to see the search results from all of these phrases in one report:

In the custom filter you can also use other types of regular expressions:

As a data analysis absolute lover, I’m already excited about all possible ways to use this new filter and conclusions I will be able to draw with its help. It’s another change in Google Search Console that I’m writing about recently and must admit – I like the direction Google develops their product, keep it up!