Regular expressions can be a bit daunting to understand. This is particularly so if your previous coding experience is minimal. As a pay-per-click manager you are often responsible for creating dashboards via Google Analytics and other analytic platforms.
The quickest way to create powerful insights in Google Analytics is by using regular expressions. The purpose of this blog post is to list some of our favorite regular expression resources.
This Google Analytics RegEX finds all keywords with the words awesome, best, and top. Regular expressions are fantastic tools to help create meaningful filters and are essential for the best Google Analytic’s hacks.
Following is a list of three of my favorite regular expression guides/tutorials. LunaMetrics has put out the crown jewel of entry level regular expression education. I highly recommend you download their PDF is you’re just beginning your RegEx journey.
As of 6/28/13 I was compelled to add Annie Cushing’s very worthy regex guide to the list, bumping the list up to 4.
Regular Expressions for Google Analytics by LunaMetrics
W3Schools Javascript Guide to Regular Expressions by W3Schools
Learning to Use Regular Expressions by David Mertz
Regular Expressions: Don’t Use Google Analytics without them by Annie Cushing
Before you start using regular expression tools to test our your regular expressions I recommend you begin by using Google Analytic’s advanced search REGEX feature. Understand the basics of RegEx, what you can do with it, and what you want to do with it. Once, you feel comfortable with things step it up a notch by creating some extremely powerful regular expression statements. The following three tools are particularly adept at helping test your RegEx creations. Some learning curb will apply.
Online Regular Expression Testing Tool
Expresso – Desktop RegEx Tool for PC
Regular Expression Widget for Mac
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