You probably use Google more than you care to admit, so what if we told you that you could be getting even more value out of your Google searches? Today, we want to share some strategies to customize your Google search results by making your searches more effective from the outset.

Use Quotes to Find Specific Instances

Here’s a trick that teachers use to catch plagiarism in papers and essays. You can search for a specific phrase, wrapped in quotes, to discover where it came from. Google will then return searches for known quotes and passages, helping you find out where exactly the phrase came from in the first place.

Use Asterisks If You’re Unsure of a Word

This one’s helpful for finding lyrics, quotes, or phrases, but mostly if you’re unsure about a specific word or instance. Just replace the instance of the word with an asterisk. The search engine will then show you results, taking into account that there should be a word in place of the asterisk.

Use the Minus Sign to Narrow Down Search Results

It’s easy to run a Google search only to get results that have nothing to do with what you’re looking for. You can omit certain words or phrases through the use of the minus sign in your search. 

Use a Colon to Search Specific Websites

If you want to run a search on a specific website, you can use a colon in conjunction with your chosen search query to narrow down the results. This is helpful if you don’t want to see results from other sources and are instead trying to find something from one specific website.

We hope you find these tips helpful! Make sure you keep an eye on our blog for more great ways to make the most of your technology.