Set default search engine and site search shortcuts

You can use the address bar (omnibox) to search the web. In some countries, Google Search is Chrome's default search engine. In others, you may be asked to choose your default search engine. You can change your default search engine anytime.

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, select More More and then Settings.
  3. Select Search engine.
  4. Next to "Search engine used in the address bar," select the Down arrow Down arrow.
  5. Select a new default search engine.

Tips:

Manage search engines and site shortcuts

You can add, edit, or remove site search shortcuts and set a default search engine.
  1. On your computer, open Chrome.
  2. At the top right, select More More and then Settings.
  3. On the left, select Search engine and then Manage search engines and site search.
  4. To change site search shortcuts:
    • Add: To the right of "Site search," select Add. After you fill out the text fields, select Add.
    • Edit: To the right of a site search shortcut, select Edit Edit.
    • Set as default: To the right of a site search shortcut, select More More and then Make default.
    • Deactivate: To the right of a site search shortcut, select More More and then Deactivate.
    • Delete: To the right of a site search shortcut, select More More and then 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 section "Inactive shortcuts."
  • You can also find other suggested sites listed in the section "Inactive shortcuts." To add them to your site search shortcuts, select Activate.
    • For some search sites, the site appears in the "Inactive shortcuts" section only after you search on that site.

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.

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