GSC Question Finder
Use cases
Filters GSC queries using two regex strategies: a strict pattern matching 50+ question indicators (who, what, when, where, why, how, installing, cost, vs, regulations) and a loose pattern for auxiliary verbs (can, could, will, would, do, does, did).
Deduplicates entries keeping the highest-impression variant and removes punctuation while preserving word boundaries.
Platform
Browser-based (no installation required)
Input
Google OAuth credentials
GSC property URL
Output
CSV with question queries and metrics
Features
- Two regex patterns: strict (100+ question and task terms, DIY-skewed) and loose (auxiliary verbs)
- Streamlit app adds a custom pattern editor, pattern tester and question-mark toggle
- Question-mark queries included in the app; the script exports pattern matches only
- Deduplication keeping the highest-impression variant
- Configurable lookback period in the script (default 360 days)
- Results sorted by impressions descending
How to use
- 1 Web app: upload any GSC query CSV, no authentication needed
- 2 Script: set up OAuth credentials in Google Cloud Console
- 3 Script: configure DOMAIN and DAYS variables, then authenticate via browser
- 4 Choose the pattern: strict, loose, or custom (app only)
- 5 Run the extraction and review matched queries
- 6 Export filtered questions to CSV
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need OAuth credentials, or can I just upload a CSV?
- Both routes exist. The Python script authenticates with the Search Console API using a client_secrets.json OAuth file and pulls the last 360 days of queries itself. The hosted Streamlit app skips authentication entirely: you upload any CSV containing a query column, so a standard GSC UI queries export works.
- Why does the strict pattern include words like 'slating', 'repointing' and 'welding'?
- The strict list was built for a home improvement site, so alongside generic question words (who, what, how, vs, cost, best) it carries a lot of DIY and trades vocabulary. If your niche is different, use the app's Custom pattern option and swap in your own terms; the loose pattern is generic but noisier.
- Are queries containing a question mark included?
- In the Streamlit app, yes, via a checkbox that is on by default. In the Python script there is a bug: question-mark queries are collected into a dataframe that is never merged back, so the exported CSV only contains regex pattern matches.
- Can short words like 'can' cause false positives?
- Yes. Matching is on whole words but anywhere in the query, so 'watering can' matches via 'can' and 'free will' matches via 'will'. Expect some non-questions in the output and skim the results before using them for content planning.
- How are near-duplicate queries handled?
- Punctuation is stripped and whitespace collapsed first, then duplicates of the cleaned query are removed. The script sorts by impressions descending before deduplicating, so the highest-impressions variant is the one kept.
Want me to run this for you?
I run this tool as a managed service, or build something custom around your data. You get the insights without touching the code.
Related Tools
Find quick-win keywords ranking positions 5-19 that are missing from your on-page content.
Identify your highest-traffic pages from Search Console data with performance metrics.
Visualise Google Search Console data with interactive Altair charts.
Analyse Search Console data by URL folder structure.
Find keywords where multiple pages compete for the same query.
Generate JSON-LD structured data for common schema types.
Need something built for your business?
This tool started as bespoke client work. I build custom scripts, data pipelines, and full apps for SEO and product data problems that off-the-shelf tools don't solve.
Tell Me What You Need