Set your default search engine & site search shortcuts

You can use the address bar (omnibox) as a search box. It automatically uses Google, but you can set another default search engine instead.

If you notice unexpected changes in your search engine, you might have malware. Learn how to remove malware.

Set your default search engine

1. On your computer, open Chrome.
2. At the top right, click More Settings.
3. Click Search engine.
4. Next to "Search engine used in the address bar," click the Down arrow .
5. Select a new default search engine.

If you've tried to set your search engine but it doesn't work, you may have malware. Get help restoring your Chrome settings.

Add, edit, or remove site search shortcuts

1. On your computer, open Chrome .
2. At the top right, click More Settings.
3. On the left, click Search engine Manage search engines and site search.
4. To change site search shortcuts:
   • Add: To the right of "Site search," click Add. After you fill out the text fields, click Add.
   • Edit: To the right of a site search shortcut, click Edit .
   • Set as default: To the right of a site search shortcut, click More Make default.
   • Deactivate: To the right of a site search shortcut, click More Deactivate.
   • Delete: To the right of a site search shortcut, click More Delete.

Tips:

• You can set up shortcuts to search specific sites.
• Shortcuts for your open tabs, bookmarks, and browsing history are included in your site searches. You can edit or turn off these shortcuts, but they can't be deleted.
• When you deactivate a site search shortcut, it moves to the "Inactive shortcuts" section.
• You can also find other suggested sites listed in the "Inactive shortcuts" section. To add them to your site search shortcuts, click Activate.
  • For some search sites, the site appears in the "Inactive shortcuts" section only after you search on that site.

How to fill out text fields

"Search engine" field

Enter a label or name for the search engine.

"Shortcut" field

Enter the text shortcut you want to use for the search engine. You can enter the keyword in your address bar to quickly use the search engine.

"URL with %s in place of query" field

Enter the web address for the search engine's results page, and use %s where the query would go.

To find and edit the web address of the results page:

1. Go to the search engine you want to add.
2. Do a search.
3. Copy and paste the web address of the search results page into the URL field. The address for the search results page is different from the website address.
   • For example, if you search for "soccer," the Google search results URL is http://www.google.com/search?q=soccer.
4. Replace the search term in the URL with %s.
   • For example, if you were using the Google search results URL, your search engine address would be http://www.google.com/search?q=%s.

Use shortcuts to search from your address bar

1. On your computer, open Chrome .
2. In the address bar, enter the text shortcut you created for your favorite search engine or site to search.
3. Press Space or Tab.
   • In Chrome’s settings, you can choose whether the Tab key or Space bar activates your address bar.
4. Enter your search term.
5. Press Enter.

Using a Chromebook at work or school? Your network administrator might choose a default search engine or manage your search engines for you. Learn about using a managed Chrome device.