Enclose exact phrases in quote marks. That instructs the search engine to look for those particular words in that particular order. Whenever you can, use specialized search engines that search narrow databases. For example, Lycos has a bunch of specialized search functions that allow you to hunt for specific content on the Web. Use more than one search engine when you're looking for something.
Every search engine works a little differently and produces different results.
Next time you're looking for something on the Web, take the time to try the same search on these six search engines. Between them, you'll cover the vast majority of the Net. So ask other surfers for recommendations whenever you can. The best place to find like-minded people are in appropriate newsgroups devoted to the subjects you're interested in. The Holland Sentinel, Wowcom.net, holland, sentinel, news, west michigan, michigan, tulips, classifieds, tourism, travel, dutch, reformed, Lake Michigan, newspaper.