Manage Or Change Default Search Engine In Google Chrome

Every web browser has a default search engine – when you first install it, a particular engine is set for all standard searches from the search/address box (omnibox). The default search engine for Google Chrome is, unsurprisingly, Google.

But what if you want to change the default engine from Google to something else, add a new one or delete an existing one? It is easy to change the default search engine in Chrome or delete one but it is a little harder to add a new one. I’ll cover each of these options, beginning with how to change the default search engine:

  • Click the wrench (spanner) icon then select ‘Settings’ to open the Settings page
  • On the Settings tab, click ‘Manage search engines’ in the Search section
  • Select the one you want to use as your default search engine and click the ‘Make default’ button that appears in that row – ‘(Default)’ should now appear immediately after that search engine name
  • Close the Settings page – any searches you do in the address bar (omnibox) will now use your new default search engine.

Remove A Search Engine

  • Click the wrench (spanner) icon
  • Select Settings to open the Settings page
  • On the Settings tab, click ‘Manage search engines’ in the Search section
  • Select from the list the one you want to remove and click the ‘x’ that appears at the end of that row to remove that engine

Note: you can’t remove it if it is the Default search engine – to do this you would first have to change the Default to a different one (see section above) and then you can remove it.

  • Close the Settings page – that engine has now been removed from the list.

Add A New Search Engine

Updated Feb 2015 – the method below still works but a much easier method is described here – it relates to quick keyword searches but gives the simplest way to add a new search engine.

  • Click the wrench (spanner) icon
  • Select Settings to open the Settings page
  • On the Settings tab, click ‘Manage search engines’ in the Search section
  • In the ‘Other search engines’ section below the Default search options:
  • In the ‘URL with %s…’ box, you will need to type in the web address for the search engine’s search page

This is the tricky bit as you need to know the web address for the search engine’s search page (this is not just the address of the search engine itself). The search page URL is usually of the format http://www.searchenginename.com/search?q= but the important thing to note is that the search?q= part means a search for a query that = something.

Don’t worry if this is confusing, it will all become clear in the examples below!

The easiest way to find this search page address is to open a new tab, browse to the search engine and do a search for abc. Now copy and paste the web address of the search page results into the ‘URL’ box but replace the term (abc) with the variable %s

You may have to add /search?q= if it is not already there – here are some examples:

Example 1 – to add Bing

1. Browse to Bing.com and search for abc
2. The results page URL is something like: http://www.bing.com/search?q=abc&go=&qs=n&sk=&sc=8-3&form=QBLH&filt=all
3. Copy and paste this into the ‘URL’ box but delete all the text after search?q= and type in %s instead i.e. you should end up with http://www.bing.com/search?q=%s in the ‘URL’ box as shown below

search

Example 2 – to add Yahoo.com

1. Browse to Yahoo.com and look for abc
2. The results page URL is something like: http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=AghRGibiby.LIyX4EifvqqabvZx4?vc=&fp_ip=gb&p=abc&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-701
3. Copy and paste this into the ‘URL’ box but delete all the text after /search and type in ?q=%s i.e. you should end up with http://search.yahoo.com/search?q=%s in the ‘URL’ box

Example 3 – to add Startpage

Startpage protects your privacy during Google searches, offers a clean and quick interface, and even features free anonymous proxy surfing – see my review here.

1. Browse to Startpage.com and search for abc
2. The results page URL is something like: https://startpage.com/do/search
3. Copy and paste this into the ‘URL’ box but add ?q=%s i.e. you should end up with https://startpage.com/do/search?q=%s

Now that you have the correct search page address in the URL box, continue:

  • In the ‘Add a new search engine’ box, type in a nickname for the search engine e.g. Bing
  • In the ‘Keyword’ box, type in the shortcut name you want to use for the search engine e.g. Bing.com – you can use this to do quick keyword searches in Chrome
  • Now click the empty space below the 3 boxes you have just filled in and your new engine has been added – if you want to change it to become the Default, follow the steps at the top of this article.

1 thought on “Manage Or Change Default Search Engine In Google Chrome”

  1. WOW!!!!!! This is so great, thanks to this website I was able to add Google as my default search provider after I accidentally erased it trying to get rid of Funmoods!! THANKS :D

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