wihoho extensions

Guide · Productivity

How to search any website from Chrome's address bar

Quick answer: Install the free OmniSearch extension. In the address bar type os, press Space, then a keyword and your search, for example “os yt cat videos”, and the results open right away. Add any site by right-clicking its search box and choosing “Add a keyword for this search”.

Going to a site first just to use its search box wastes a step. Chrome can do site search shortcuts, but they're buried in settings and only work one site at a time.

OmniSearch

Step by step

  1. Add OmniSearch to Chrome

    Install OmniSearch from the Chrome Web Store. It's free with no account.

  2. Search with a keyword

    Click the address bar, type os and press Space, then type a keyword and your search, such as “yt lo-fi music” or “amazon usb c cable”, and press Enter.

  3. Add your own sites

    On any site, right-click its search box and choose “Add a keyword for this search”. Or paste a results URL in the side panel and OmniSearch finds where the search term goes.

  4. Search several sites at once

    Combine keywords like “yt+amazon headphones” to open results on both.

Tips

Other ways to do it

Chrome's built-in site search (Settings → Search engine → Manage search engines and site search) lets you type a shortcut and press Tab to search a site. It works well if you only need a few sites and don't mind setting each one up by hand.

Add OmniSearch to Chrome, it's free

More about OmniSearch · Privacy policy

Questions

Does it read the pages I visit?

No. It only reads a site's search box when you choose “Add a keyword for this search”.

How is this different from Chrome's own site search?

OmniSearch adds sites from a right-click, understands shortened keywords and multi-site searches, and keeps a suggested list ready.

Is it free?

Yes.

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