Improve a broad search by adding three things: the subject in specific words, the context you are working in, and the type of source you want. Then judge each result with a few set questions.
Say what you actually want
Before typing, finish this sentence: 'I want to find out how to ... so that I can ...'. Tomás's sentence might be 'I want to find out how to explain a first video call to someone who has never used one, so that I can plan a thirty-minute session.' That sentence already contains better search words than 'video calls'.
Specific words narrow the field. 'Beginner', 'step by step', 'older adults' and 'tablet' can narrow irrelevant results on search tools that support those terms or operators; the effect depends on the query and the search tool. If you do not know the right term, run one broad search first just to learn the vocabulary people use, then search again with those words.
Add subject, context and source terms
Think of a query as three layers. The subject is the thing itself: 'video call setup'. The context is your situation: 'for beginners on a tablet'. The source term describes the kind of page you want: 'guide', 'lesson plan', 'library', 'community learning'. Combining them tells the search engine far more than any one layer alone.
Some search tools support operators. On tools that support them, quotation marks may request an exact phrase and a minus sign may exclude a term. Support varies, so inspect the tool’s guidance and the actual results rather than assuming the syntax always works. Trying a second query after reading the first results is a normal part of searching.
Judge results and keep a record
Reading a result list is a skill in itself. Look at the address and the description before clicking. Ask who published the page, whether it is trying to sell something, when it was last updated, and whether it answers your exact question or a nearby one. A page can be accurate and still be the wrong one for your purpose.
Keep a short note as you go: the page title, the address, the date you looked, and one line on what it told you. When you return a week later, you will not need to repeat the search, and if you share advice with others you will be able to say where it came from.
See the idea
in a real situation.
Tomás is organising a small workshop for older neighbours who want to video-call their grandchildren. He types 'video calls' into a search engine and gets product adverts, news about a company, a technical forum thread and a page on business meetings. None of it helps him decide how to teach a first-time user.
Tomás searches: video calls. The first page of results has a phone-company advert, an article about a software firm's earnings, a forum thread about camera drivers, and a guide to business conferencing. He closes the browser feeling the topic is too big.
Version 1: how to teach beginners a first video call step by step
Version 2: video call guide for older adults tablet large print
Version 3: "first video call" beginner lesson plan community learning -business
He opens a result from version 3 and notes: 'Library guide, updated this year, written for beginners, includes a practice-call checklist. Useful for session structure. Does not cover tablets, so check version 2 results for that.'
Questions he asks of each result: Who wrote this? When was it updated? Does it match my audience? Is it selling something? Does it answer my question or a nearby one?
↗Each version adds subject, context or source terms, so the results move closer to his real need.
↗On a search tool that supports those operators, the quoted phrase and excluded term can help narrow the result set. The reader still needs to inspect relevance and source quality.
↗The note records what the page covers and what it does not, which points to the next search.
Before your next search, write the sentence that says what you want to find and why, then turn it into a query with subject, context and source terms.