How to search any site from chrome’s address bar

Cameron Summerson is ex-Editor-in-Chief of Review Geek and served as an Editorial Advisor for How-To Geek and LifeSavvy. He covered technology for a decade and wrote over 4,000 articles and hundreds of product reviews in that time. He’s been published in print magazines and quoted as a smartphone expert in the New York Times. Read more.

Chrome is the browser of choice for many people, and if you’re looking to supercharge your search game, there’s a quick and easy way to search all of your favorite sites directly from the address bar (or as Google calls it, the Omnibox). Let’s talk about it.

We’ve already covered searching Google Drive from the omnibox, and this same basic method can be used to search any site across the board. Even if a site doesn’t have a dedicated search, you can use Google to search only that site, which is super rad. We’ll cover both methods here: sites with a dedicated search function, as well as sites that you’d rather use Google for.

How to Use a Website’s Search Tool from the Address Bar

For the sake of example, let’s say you use Amazon all the time. Instead of going to the site and hitting up Amazon’s search bar for what you’re looking for, you can shave seconds off your time by just doing it directly from Chrome. You can go ahead and start planning what you’ll do with all that extra time.

To do this, we’re going to set up a custom search engine within Chrome using Amazon-specific parameters. So go ahead and jump to Amazon, then search for something. You’ll need the URL after a search has been executed. It’ll look like this:

The search string is fairly lengthy, but you’ll need to copy the entire thing. We’ll change a bit of it in the coming steps.

Next, go ahead and click the three-dot button in the top right corner in Chrome, then choose Settings.

From here, scroll down to the “Search Engines” section, and click “Manage search engines.”

Under this menu, click “Add” next to the Other Search Engines section header.

In the first box, enter the name of the site you’ll be searching. In this example, we’re using Amazon.

In the second box, entire a shortcode—again, related the site you’re searching. I’m going with “amn” here, but you can use whatever shortcode you want.

Finally, paste the link you copied earlier. But here’s the important bit: you’ll need to change search query to %s in the URL. So, basically, remove the term you searched for from the string and replace it with %s . So this:

At the end, it should look like this:

Click “Save” at the bottom, and you’re finished.

From now on, you can just type “amn” and the space bar in the omnibox, followed by your search query to quickly search Amazon.

Again, this can easily be modified for whatever site you like, just simply remove your search query from the link and replace it with %s .

How to Search a Specific Site using Google from the Address Bar

If a certain site doesn’t have a search function (or the search function is lacking), then you can also search specific sites using Google. In turn, you can use this search to create a custom search engine in Chrome to make it super fast and easy.

For example, let’s say you really like a site called How-to Geek, and you want to be able to search it for tech knowledge at a moment’s notice. You can search Google for just pages on How-To Geek using a very similar trick to the above.

First off, you’ll need to know how to tell Google you what site you want to search. It’s actually really easy, as it’s something that’s built into Google natively. Use this command:

Once you enter that, it basically tells Google that you want to search that one particular site for the query.

In this scenario, I searched the site for “Android,” so the URL looks a little something like this:

That’s what we’re going to use to create our custom Google search.

Back in Chrome, click the three dots in the upper right corner, then select “Settings.”

Scroll down until you see the Search Engines category, and click on “Manage Search Engines.”

Click “Add” next to the Other Search Engines header.

In this dialog box, enter the name for your custom search in the first spot. We’re just calling this one “Google HTG Search,” but you can change the name accordingly (especially if you’re using a different site).

In the second box, enter a custom search keyword, which is what you’ll use to execute the command. We’ll use “htg” here, but again you can change it accord to your needs.

Lastly, we’ll enter the custom URL. You’ll use the exact URL you copied earlier, but change one key piece. At the very end of the URL, you’ll remove the search term and replace it with %s. So, in our example, this:

Make sure to only change the term after the plus sign at the end—everything before that is necessary to properly execute the command.

So, the end result should look like this (again, assuming you’re following along with our exact scenario here):

At that point, you just need to enter the search term—in our case, “htg”—followed by a space and your query. Bam, you just searched a specific site using Google.

This is a really quick and simple way to execute a search for any site on the web, which will provide more meaningful results for a specific topic. I have dozens of these searches set up, which decreases the amount of time I spend digging through results exponentially.

In both of our examples, you need only modify the search string for your specific needs.

Chrome has a really useful feature for its desktop version which lets you directly search into a specific website just by using the URL bar. The same URL bar which you often use to type URL’s and search keywords that automatically turn into a list of results pulled directly from websites.

Let’s see:

1. OpenВ Chrome.
2. Type in the website address you want to visit in the URL bar.В Note:В Do not rely on the autocomplete function as well as the automated search suggestion, instead, just type the complete URL.В For example, .
   
3. As soon as you type the complete URL of the website you want to visit (make sure it’s correct), press the ‘Tab’ button on your keyboard.
4. This will modify the URL you entered and display “Search the8-bit.com” instead of just ‘the8-bit.com’.
5. Enter the search term audaciously, press enter and you’ll see the result.

Search results

Tip: A simple backspace will take you back to the normal website URL loader.

You may buzz: “Why is this useful in any tone?”

Look, there are many websites that exist on the far-flung internet space. Out of them, there are only a few that make it to your apprehension. And even less make it to your daily reading list.

And because of that, sometimes, you might want to search for a specific post or a mention on a particular website that you’d have read or might want to read. And almost all of the websites don’t have fast page load speeds as that of Google’s homepage. So, loading and searching on lethargic websites can lay a toll on your time.

Content heavy websites take even longer to load. A perfect example of that would beВ The Verge . In my case, as an expeditious reader of the tech news giant, sometimes, I crave to read something related to a particular topic, for example, iPhone apps.

Now, instead of waiting for the website to load and then typing the keyword in the internal search, I can easily search for that same keyword using thisВ method. And it works scrupulously.

Other mainstream browsers like Firefox and Edge do not offer a clear-cut option to do this. However, it would be really great if Firefox added the same functionality, as it’s the second most used browser on PC. Speaking of the Edge browser, nothing much has ever been expected from it anyways.

Chrome’s address bar doubles as a way to do a quick Google search, but you’re not limited to searching Google. In that same bar, you can search any site or app.

This is great if you search specific apps frequently—for example, Gmail, Google Drive, or Twitter. You can search any site without having to open it first, just like you don’t have to go to google.com to search Google. Type a keyword, hit tab, and you’re good to go.

Adding these custom search engines doesn’t take long, and the time they can save you adds up. Here’s how to get started.

Did you know that Google can double as a calculator and a translator? Check out our

Search any app from Chrome’s search bar

To get started, open Chrome’s settings by clicking the three dots at top-right.

Click Search engine then Manage search engines, or go directly to chrome://settings/searchEngines .

From here, you can add new search engines.

Doing so looks a little tricky.

. but don’t worry: it’s actually quite straightforward.

For Search engine, add the name of the site; for example, Twitter .

For Keyword, you can use anything you want. Google’s defaults tend to use the URL; for example, twitter.com .

The URL is a little more complicated but not that bad. Go to the site you’re creating a search engine for, then search for something. I like to use something easy to spot, like asdf .

Copy the URL from the search bar, then head back to the Chrome settings tab and paste the URL. Finally, replace the search term asdf with %s . Like this:

Click Add, and you’re done. You’ve added a custom search engine to Chrome. Now type your keyword in the address bar to see the text Press Tab to search twitter.com.

Press the Tab key, and you can run your search right in the address bar. You can also just type the keyword and press Space—it works the same.

Now you can search Twitter without opening twitter dot com. For a real challenge, try to think of something to search for that brings up zero toxic results.

Of course, Twitter is just one example. This method works for any website with a search box, provided you can copy a URL. Try it with any app you search often.

How to search a site without a search bar

Some sites don’t have a search function, including the one you’re looking at right now. That doesn’t mean you can’t add a custom search engine for it.

Start by doing a site-specific search on Google. For example, if you want to search Zapier, type a sample search term followed by site:zapier.com .

Copy the URL, same as above, and replace the sample search term with %s .

You can use this method to search any website with a quick keyword.

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If you want Google Chrome to give you instant search results, you can enable this groovy feature that is otherwise turned off. But, this service comes at a high cost to your privacy.

Google Chrome has a feature that lets you bring Google’s instant search to the address bar. By default it’s turned off, and for possible good reason. The Chrome address bar instant search essentially allows Google (or your current search engine) to track everything you type into the address bar. If you’re okay with that, you can enable it. Disabling it is done from the same spot in Chrome settings.

Chrome’s Instant Search

Open up Chrome and click the Wrench >> Settings option.

Scroll down the settings page and click or unclick the Enable Instant for Faster Searching (omnibox input may be logged).

If you’re enabling instant search, Chrome will display an extra confirmation window. This window asserts that your data may be logged if your current default search engine supports this feature. If you agree with it, click OK.

Google’s official privacy policy on Chrome Instant Search.

Policy: Any text you type in the address bar is sent to Google so predictions can be retrieved. If you select a prediction from the address bar menu, press Enter, click the search results page that appears, or pause for three seconds with the same text in the address bar, Google logs your text as a search. Otherwise, Google treats the text you typed as partial query data, which is stored for up to two weeks and then deleted.

That’s all there is to enabling or disabling Instant search results in Chrome. If you don’t mind Google or another search engine knowing everything that you type in the address bar, then having it enabled is a rather groovy feature. But if you are more privacy-minded, it is definitely something you’ll want to keep turned off.

Posted August 22, 2018 by Nick LaFave under General

Searching Google directly from the address bar of your browser is something most of us take for granted. Gone are the days of having to go to Google.com before entering your search. Chrome’s address bar, or “omnibox,” performs a Google search for terms entered; but you can also use it to search nearly any site directly. This can be a real time saver when you want to search a site like YouTube or Amazon directly. You can even use the address bar to search for files in Google Drive! Setting up this process is easy, and quite customizable.

When you use the search feature within many sites, they are automatically added to Chrome as a search engine. For example, I use amazon.com regularly. Typing amazon.com in the address bar displays a message “Press tab to search amazon.com.” Pressing tab or the space bar allows me to use the search function of Amazon directly from the address bar.

Make a Better Search Shortcut

Searching with the full URL is convenient, but I’m looking for an even more efficient shortcut and creating one is easy.

1. Right click in the address bar / omnibox and select “Edit Search Engines…”
   Sites that have been automatically added appear alphabetically under “Other search engines.”
2. Scroll down to find amazon.com
3. Click on the “more actions” icon (3 dots) and select “edit.”
4. Change the keyword from “amazon.com” to something simpler. Many people only use 1-2 letters, but it’s a matter of personal preference. I changed my keyword to “am”.
5. Click “Save” to finish.

Now when I type “am” followed by tab or space in the address box I’m able to search Amazon directly.

How to Add a Site That Hasn’t Been Automatically Added

1. Perform a search directly on the site you wish to add. I suggest a search that consists of one word, like “test” in my example.
2. Copy the search results URL from the address bar.
3. Right click in the address bar / omnibox and select “Edit Search Engines…”
4. Click “ADD” beside “Other search engines.”
5. Name the search engine (the name of the site is fine).
6. Type a brief keyword. This is what you will type in the omnibox to start your search.
7. Paste the URL from step 2. Replace the keyword you searched with “%s”.
8. Click “ADD.”

My Custom Search Engines

Below is a list of some sites to get you started. You can save time by copying and pasting the URLs. Feel free to modify the description/keyword to suit your own preferences.

Search Youtube for Videos, not Google!

We all love Google. It is a great tool to find information on the internet. But there are specialized websites that you visit very frequently i.e Youtube. Similarly, some information doesn’t require multiple opinions, like the definition of a word. So why not lock these websites on your Web Browser for quick search results?

Having varying views on a single topic is undoubtedly enriching, but in certain cases, they can cause much frustration. And there is no meaning in lengthening the time period to complete a task by visiting multiple websites.

Luckily, Chrome has a great feature that lets you search a website for information without having to visit it. You don’t even need to visit Google. Just go over to the Chrome Address Bar, select a specialized Search Engine and type in what you are searching for. This feature is called Omnibox.

Setting Chrome Omnibox

First Step:

First right click on the search bar. It will open a pop-up. You will find ‘Edit Search Engines‘ at the very bottom of that pop-up. Click on it.

Second Step:

If you followed the first step correctly you should now be on the Chrome Settings page-Manage Search Engines.

Now, to add a new Search Engine you have to click on the ADD button. Go ahead, click on it.

3rd Step

Once you click on the ADD button, it will open the Search Engine pop-up. This pop-up contains three separate fields. This is where you actually get to specify what new Website you want to add as a Search Engine. So, let’s learn what goes where.

1st Field-Search engine.

In the first field, type in the Website name.

2nd Field- Keyword

In this field specify a short keyword for the Website. If you constantly find yourself deprived of creative ideas, type in the first 3 alphabets of the Website name you want to add as a new search engine. this key is important. So, whatever key you specify, make sure it’s easy to remember.

3rd Field-URL

This is a bit tricky. Go to the website you want to add as a new Search Engine and randomly search for something. Go with Something!

Once you get the results, copy the URL and paste it into this field. But, you need to modify the URL a bit. Does it sound too complicated already? Let’s try some real-life examples.

In the below table you will find entries for the 3 fields that you will have to fill if you want to add Investopedia, Wikipedia or Youtube as a new search engine.

Investopedia as Omnibox

Wikipedia as Omnibox

Youtube as Omnibox

Even if you don’t want any of the three Websites mentioned above as your Omnibox, try the procedure once for the sake of it.

Trigger the Omnibox Search!

Suppose, you have added Wikipedia as your new Search Engine. Open your Chrome browser and type ‘Wiki’ in the search bar and hit Space. In order to do so, you have to type Wiki because that is the keyword we used to trigger this particular Omnibox. It should activate the Omnibox immediately.

Adding Other Websites

Let’s search for Something again! Let’s add dictionary.com as our new Omnibox so that we can directly use this Omnibox when we need to look for the definition of a word. Go to the website and type in Something in the search bar. The Search Results Web page should have the following URL.

We need to change a small part of this URL. We will do it by replacing ‘something’ with %s. After you do it you will have a new URL which will be something like this-

Now follow the previously explained instructions to add this link to the new Search Engine Pop-up.

Once you have filled all the fields with the required texts, hit the button ‘ADD’. Now let’s try it!

Open Chrome Browser and type ‘Dic’, which is the Keyword for this particular Omnibox. and then type the word you want to search the definition for.

Simple right! hopefully, the instructions were easy to understand. But if you face any difficulties setting an Omnibox of your choice, do make sure to leave a comment below and we will get back to you.

We all know that Google Chrome Web Browser is fast when compared to other browsers. Apart from that feature, it also allows us to search right from the address bar or Omnibox. When we want to Google search using Chrome, we just type our search query in Chrome address bar and it shows the search results. We do not need to open Google and then enter the search text. Chrome address bar or Omnibox, also saves the website as the search engine in the Chrome browser.

When you want to search anything from previously visited websites, you just need to type the website address and press “Tab” on your keyboard. It shows the search engine specific to that website and you can search anything specific to that website.

Chrome web browser saves the website you visit as the search engine. It assigns the website address as the keyword and when you type that keyword in the address bar and press tab, it shows search engine specific to that website. Those keywords can be changed as you want.

Use Chrome Address Bar to search Bookmarks and History

Apart from all these things, now you can search Bookmarks and History items using Chrome Address Bar. There might be many bookmarks saved in our Chrome browser. We can get to bookmarks or history section and search through them, but we need to go to bookmarks or history sections every time we search. If you follow very few steps for one time, we can search for bookmarks or history items directly from the address bar thereafter.

Here are the few steps to be followed, to search bookmarks and history Chrome Address Bar next time,

STEP 1: Type “chrome://settings/searchEngines” in the Chrome Address Bar and hit enter. You can even right-click on the address bar and select “Edit search engines”.

STEP 2: It opens up the “Search engines” pop up window. First section will be “Default search settings” and the next section will be “Other search engines”.

STEP 3: Go to the “Other search engines”. Here, you can see list of websites you visited are added as search engines. Scroll down to the bottom of this section and you will see three text boxes to search engine name, keyword and URL. In the last text box (URL Section), you need to give the location or website for which you want to create the search engine.

STEP 4: As we want to search for bookmarks, give name as “Bookmarks Search” in the first text box, keyword as “bookmarks” and URL as “chrome://bookmarks/#q=%s”. Keyword helps you to directly search in bookmarks.

For example, next time when you enter keyword (bookmarks) in the address bar and press “Tab”, it changes to Bookmarks Search bar and you can search directly in the bookmarks section. Click on “Finished” button.

STEP 5: Now, when you type “bookmarks” (specified keyword while creating the search engine) in the address bar, press “Tab” and give your search query.

It searches the text in Chrome Bookmark Manager and shows you the search result.

STEP 6: In the same way, to search for History through address bar of Chrome, create a search engine for History with “Search History” as the name, “History” as the keyword and in URL place “chrome://history/#q=%s”.

STEP 7: To search in History, type “History” in the address bar and press “Tab”.

Give your search term and results are shown from the history.

Conclusion

These are some simple steps to be followed for one time to search bookmarks and history right from the Chrome Web Browser. There is an extension called Bookmark Search which does the same thing. If you do not want to load your Chrome browser with extensions, you can avoid installing that and follow this process.

Have you created search engines of your own to reduce the task? Please, let us know what all you have done and want more can be done using Chrome Address Bar through comments.

The omnibox API allows you to register a keyword with Google Chrome’s address bar, which is also known as the omnibox.

The following keys must be declared in the manifest to use this API.

• Manifest
• Examples
• Types
  • DefaultSuggestResult
  • DescriptionStyleType
  • OnInputEnteredDisposition
  • SuggestResult
• Methods
  • setDefaultSuggestion
• Events
  • onDeleteSuggestion
  • onInputCancelled
  • onInputChanged
  • onInputEntered
  • onInputStarted

When the user enters your extension’s keyword, the user starts interacting solely with your extension. Each keystroke is sent to your extension, and you can provide suggestions in response.

The suggestions can be richly formatted in a variety of ways. When the user accepts a suggestion, your extension is notified and can take action.

# Manifest

You must include an omnibox keyword field in the manifest to use the omnibox API. You should also specify a 16×16-pixel icon, which will be displayed in the address bar when suggesting that users enter keyword mode.

Note: Chrome automatically creates a grayscale version of your 16×16-pixel icon. You should provide a full-color version so that it can also be used in other situations that require color. For example, the context menus API also uses a 16×16-pixel icon, but it is displayed in color.

# Examples

You can find samples of this API on the sample page.