Add a Query-Based Site Search Shortcut in Desktop Chrome
By ON Lab · Sources checked November 6, 2026
For a website that exposes its search term in the results URL, open Chrome Settings → Search engine → Manage search engines and site search. Beside Site search, choose Add. Enter a name, a shortcut and the search-results URL with %s replacing the search term.
Start from a real search result
Google’s instructions say to search on the website you want to add, copy its results-page address, and replace the search term with %s. A website’s homepage and its results-page URL are different inputs.
For the pattern in Google’s documented example, a results address ending in search?q=soccer becomes search?q=%s. The placeholder marks where the new query will go. This example explains the pattern; it is not a ready-made search address for every website.
Add the three fields
- Open Settings → Search engine → Manage search engines and site search.
- Beside Site search, select Add.
- Enter a recognizable search-engine name, your chosen shortcut, and the query-based results URL.
- Select Add.
Google also documents an Inactive shortcuts section. If a relevant suggested site is there, use Activate to add it to your site-search shortcuts.
Test a different query
Google’s site-search guidance describes triggering a shortcut in the address bar with the keyword followed by Space or Tab. Enter your query and run the search.
Our suggested acceptance check is to use a second term, not the one you copied originally. Compare the destination domain and the query shown on the results page. If the original term keeps returning, the setup has not passed that check; inspect where you put the placeholder before relying on the shortcut.
For example, if your first search was for a product manual, test a different product model next. Getting the right website but the wrong model’s results is still a useful difference to record.
Keep the scope clear
This guide covers query-based site searches. It does not establish a universal method for fixed-address keyword bookmarks, changing every managed search provider, or removing features from the search service itself. If your work or school controls search settings, Google notes that an administrator may manage them.
Scope: Chrome’s documented site-search configuration and editorial destination checks. No claim is made that every website supplies a compatible query URL or that this repairs hijacking, regional provider choices or profile defects.