Change Default Search Engine in Chrome (Desktop & Mobile) – Add or Set a Website as Custom Search Engine | Popular Search Shortcut URLs
Your web browser's search engine is your primary gateway to the internet. While Google Chrome defaults to its own search engine, you have the power to choose the tool that best fits your needs, whether you prioritize privacy, unique features, or a different user experience.
This comprehensive guide will walk you through the simple steps to take control of your browsing and change the default search engine in Chrome. We’ll cover everything you need to know for desktop, Android, and iOS devices, along with tips for managing your search engine list like a pro.
Why Change Your Default Search Engine?
While Google is the most popular search engine, several excellent alternatives offer distinct advantages. Users often switch for reasons like:
Enhanced Privacy: Search engines like DuckDuckGo and Brave Search are built with privacy at their core, promising not to track your search history or create user profiles.
Unique Features: Bing often excels with its image search capabilities and Microsoft Rewards program. Ecosia uses its ad revenue to plant trees.
Unfiltered Results: Some users prefer search engines that aim to provide less personalized or "bubbled" search results for a broader perspective.
Work or School Requirements: Sometimes a specific search engine is required for professional or academic projects.
Specialized Search: Use YouTube, Amazon, or Wikipedia for niche searches.
How to Change the Default Search Engine in Chrome (Desktop)
The process for changing your search engine on a Windows PC, Mac, or Linux computer is identical and straightforward.
Open Chrome Settings: Launch Google Chrome. In the top-right corner of the browser, click the three-dot menu icon (
⋮) and select Settings from the dropdown menu.Navigate to Search Engine: In the Settings menu on the left, click on Search engine.
Choose Your Search Engine: Your default search engine in Chrome is set to Google. Next to “Google,” click the Change button. A list of popular search engines will appear — including Google (pre‑selected), Yandex, Microsoft Bing, Yahoo, and DuckDuckGo. Select your preferred search engine, then click Set as default to apply the change.
Select Your New Default: Simply click on the search engine you wish to use. The change is saved instantly.
From now on, any search you type into Chrome’s address bar (also known as the omnibox) will use your newly selected search engine.
How to Manage Your Search Engine List on Desktop
On the same "Search engine" settings page, click the Manage search engines and site search option. This is your central hub for customization.
How do I add a custom search engine to Chrome?
Chrome makes it easy to add almost any site's search function to your browser.
Visit the Website: First, navigate to the website whose search you want to add (for example,
wikipedia.orgoryoutube.com). Perform at least one search on that site. This action "teaches" Chrome that the site has a search function.Return to Settings: Go back to
Settings>Search engine>Manage search engines and site search.Find and Add: Scroll down to the "Inactive shortcuts" section. You should see the site you just used listed. Click the Activate button next to it.
Set as Default (Optional): Once activated, the new search engine will appear in your main list. You can then click the three-dot icon (
⋮) next to it and select Make default.
For easy demonstration, follow the steps in below example.
Example of Creating YouTube Search Shortcut in Chrome
For example, you often search videos on YouTube, so let’s add YouTube as default search engine in Chrome. Navigate to following settings in Chrome.
Click three dots … on top right corner of screen in Chrome browser → Settings → Search engine → Manage search engines and site search → Site search.
On this page, under ‘Keyboard shortcut’ select either ‘Space or Tab’ or ‘Tab’ option as you will need it later.
Click ‘Add’ button next to ‘Site search’ and add search engine. In the popup window, type or paste following text.
Search engine: type ‘YouTube’
Shortcut: type any unique, short and easy letters; for example, I might enter ‘dozro’.
URL with %s in place of query: In this field, type or paste proper search URL of the website. If you don’t know, open YouTube website, perform a search such as ‘hi’ then copy the URL from address bar, paste it here and then replace ‘hi’ with %s.
So, instead of above process, you can simply enter this search URL of YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%s in the field. Click Save.
To test the shortcut, I will enter my shortcut text ‘dozro’ and then press search tab on keyboard and browser will replace Google search with YouTube search in the address bar. Now type any search term in the browser address bar to perform direct search in YouTube.
Pro Tip: As you type the shortcut key (dozro in this example), web browser will show the shortcut in the results in shape of a button and you can simply select ‘Search YouTube’ option there, instead of pressing tab.
How do I remove a search engine from Chrome?
You can easily clean up your search engine list. In the Manage search engines and site search menu, find the search engine you want to remove, click the three-dot icon (⋮) next to it, and select Delete.
Note that you cannot delete the default search engines that come pre-installed with Chrome, but you can remove any you have added yourself.
Activate or Deactivate Search Shortcuts
To the right of each shortcut, click three dots and select ‘Deactivate’ option. You can also delete a shortcut or make it as default search engine. Inactive shortcuts appear below the active shortcuts in Chrome settings.
Pro Tip: For shortcut field, enter some short, unique and memorable characters, you often use for search. For example, for Google Translate, you can enter ‘trans’ or ‘translate’ as shortcut text. For Amazon, you can use ‘ama’ or ‘amazon’ as shortcut text.
How to Change the Default Search Engine in Chrome on Mobile
The process is slightly different for Android and iOS devices.
Change Default Search Engine on Chrome for Android
Open the Chrome app on your Android device.
Tap the three-dot menu icon (
⋮) in the top-right corner.Tap Settings.
Under the "Basics" section, tap Search engine.
Select your preferred search engine from the list provided. The change is saved immediately.
Make any Website as Default Search Engine in Chrome Android
In mobile phone, open any search capable website such as YouTube in Chrome, click ‘three dots’ and checkmark the ‘Desktop site’ option. Perform any search in search bar of YouTube (or any other search capable website). Now click three dots, Settings, and then Search Engine. You can see that now YouTube is appearing as a Search Engine option. Just select it.
Change Default Search Engine on Chrome for iPhone and iPad
Open the Chrome app on your iPhone or iPad.
Tap the three-dot menu icon (
...) in the bottom-right corner.Scroll down and tap Settings.
Tap Search Engine.
Select your new default search engine from the list and tap Done.
By following these simple steps, you can fully customize your Google Chrome search experience to perfectly match your browsing habits and preferences, no matter which device you're using.
Search Shortcut URLs of Popular Websites
Similarly, you can add more search shortcuts for other websites. After clicking on ‘Add’ you will fill relevant fields – for example in ‘Search engine’ field enter Twitter, Yahoo or Amazon – for the websites. However, for your ease, I have listed here ‘search URLs’ for some websites are as follows.
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=%s
Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/search?q=%s
Yahoo: https://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=UTF-8&fr=crmas_sfp&p=%s
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%s
Google Books: https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=%s
Gemini: @gemini
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/search?q=%s
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=%s
Google Translate: https://translate.google.com/?source=osdd&sl=auto&tl=auto&text=%s&op=translate
Walmart: https://www.walmart.com/search?q=%s
Quick FAQ
Q: How do I reset Chrome’s default search engine to Google?
A: Go to Settings → Search engine → Select Google from the drop‑down.
Q: Can I add a custom search engine on Chrome mobile?
A: No, Chrome mobile only allows selecting from the built‑in list.
Q: What is the shortcut method to search directly on a site?
A: Create a custom search engine with a short keyword in Manage search engines.
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