Yahoo replaces Google as default search engine in US for Firefox

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer said the deal would help the company compete in search

Yahoo have said that they will stand behind Zhang (Getty)

Yahoo has struck a deal to become the default search engine on the Firefox internet browser in the US, replacing Google and its ten year partnership with the company.

Yahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer called the five-year deal with Firefox’s parent company Mozilla “the most significant partnership for Yahoo in five years”.

“At Yahoo, we believe deeply in search,” say Mayer in a blog post. “It’s an area of investment and opportunity for us. It’s also a key growth area for us”.

Yahoo holds around 10 per cent of the market share for US desktop computers, followed by 20 per cent for Microsoft and 67 per cent for Google.

Firefox is similarly placed, accounting for 10 per cent of US browser use on desktop, tablet and mobile compared to 33 per cent for Google Chrome.

Mozilla confirmed that "Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, eBay, Amazon, Twitter and Wikipedia will continue to be built-in as alternate search options” but users will have to change the settings to use these.

A spokesperson for Mozilla said: “In most countries, including the UK, Firefox users will not see a change. In the US, Yahoo will become the default search, Baidu in China and Yandex in Russia."

Yahoo says the partnership will include a redesign of the search engine with a “clean, modern, and immersive search experience”.

How to change the default search engine on different browsers

Google Chrome

Click the menu button in the top right of the browser (underneath the minimise, maximise, close buttons) then click ‘Settings‘ and select the service you want under ‘Search’. Click ‘Manage search engines…’ to add a new one.

Internet Explorer

In the address bar at the top of the browser click the downward facing arrow next to the magnifying glass and click the ‘Add’ button. You can then select the search engine you want from the gallery.

Safari

Select the ‘Safari’ menu in the top left of your screen and then hit ‘Preferences’. Under the ‘General’ tab select the search engine you want from the drop-down box. This can also be changed by clicking the magnifying glass in the search bar.

Firefox

On the search to the right of the address bar select the drop down menu next to the current search engine’s icon. Select from the list available or click ‘Manage search engines…’ to add a new one.