## Apex Technology Blog
Apex Technology has been serving the Carolinas since 1998, providing IT Support such as technical helpdesk support, computer support and consulting to small and medium-sized businesses.
[ Categories ](https://trustapex.directivesites.com/blog/categories "Categories")
[ Tags ](https://trustapex.directivesites.com/blog/tags "Tags")
[ Categories: All Categories ](https://trustapex.directivesites.com/javascript:void(0); "Categories")
Search...Suggested keywords
[ x ](https://trustapex.directivesites.com/javascript:void(0);)
# Tip of the Week: How to Customize Your Google Search for Better Results
[Apex Technology Blog ](https://trustapex.directivesites.com/blog/categories/blog) [Tip of the Week](https://trustapex.directivesites.com/blog/categories/tip-of-the-week)
[Tim Campbell](https://trustapex.directivesites.com/blog/blogger/tim-campbell)
Monday, 11 August 2025
[ 0 Comments ](https://trustapex.directivesites.com/blog/tip-of-the-week-how-to-customize-your-google-search-for-better-results#comments)
[  ](//trustapex.directivesites.com/images/easyblog_shared/August_2025/08-11-25/BrowserSearch_667674235_400.jpg "Tip of the Week: How to Customize Your Google Search for Better Results")
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.
[ ](https://trustapex.directivesites.com/javascript:void(0);) [ ](https://trustapex.directivesites.com/javascript:void(0);) [ ](https://trustapex.directivesites.com/javascript:void(0);)
Tags:
[Internet](https://trustapex.directivesites.com/blog/tags/internet) [Google](https://trustapex.directivesites.com/blog/tags/google) [Tip of the Week](https://trustapex.directivesites.com/blog/tags/tip-of-the-week)
[ Your IT Guy Is Not Your CIO (And It's Costing Your... ](https://trustapex.directivesites.com/blog/your-it-guy-is-not-your-cio-and-it-s-costing-your-charlotte-business-a-fortune)
[ Unleash the Power of VoIP for Your Business ](https://trustapex.directivesites.com/blog/unleash-the-power-of-voip-for-your-business)
About the author
[  ](https://trustapex.directivesites.com/blog/blogger/tim-campbell)
[Tim Campbell](https://trustapex.directivesites.com/blog/blogger/tim-campbell)
[ ](https://trustapex.directivesites.com/blog/blogger/tim-campbell)
Tim Campbell is the President of Apex Technology which he founded in 1998. In 2009, Apex launched its Managed IT Services division. Since its inception, Apex has become the premier Managed IT Services Companies in the Charlotte metro area specializing in Managed IT, Security, Data Backup & Cloud Computing Solutions.
Author's recent posts
[More posts from author](https://trustapex.directivesites.com/blog/blogger/tim-campbell)
[ Wednesday, 05 August 2026 5 Essential Steps to a More Secure Wireless Network ](https://trustapex.directivesites.com/blog/5-essential-steps-to-a-more-secure-wireless-network)
[ Monday, 03 August 2026 Building a Business Workspace That Fits In Your Backpack ](https://trustapex.directivesites.com/blog/building-a-business-workspace-that-fits-in-your-backpack)
[ Friday, 31 July 2026 The Power of Modern VoIP ](https://trustapex.directivesites.com/blog/the-power-of-modern-voip)
Comments
No comments made yet. Be the first to submit a comment
**** Already Registered? [Login Here](https://trustapex.directivesites.com/component/users/login?return=aHR0cHM6Ly90cnVzdGFwZXguZGlyZWN0aXZlc2l0ZXMuY29tL2Jsb2cvdGlwLW9mLXRoZS13ZWVrLWhvdy10by1jdXN0b21pemUteW91ci1nb29nbGUtc2VhcmNoLWZvci1iZXR0ZXItcmVzdWx0cw==&Itemid=101)
Thursday, 06 August 2026
Subscribe to the blog (Please fill in your email address to subscribe to updates from this post.)
**Captcha Image**