Search operators, used to drill down on search engine results, can help you get to exactly what you're looking for, but only if you know what to exclude or home in on. Search engine front-end SortFix takes a graphical approach to including and excluding phrases and terms from standard searchs. Type in "iPod Touch," for example, and you can drag the "8gb" and "online sale" phrases to the "Add to Search" box while moving "rumours" into "Remove" to avoid all the pre-launch press. The controls could certainly use some cleaning up—I had to grab, then let go, to drag the terms in Firefox on Ubuntu—and it might take longer than your usual typing, but SortFix is at least a handy way to see what phrases are popping up in your results.

Tags: google | search | search engines | search operators | search techniques | yahoo