First, Google always redirects

http://www.google.com/

to that address. Try changing your home page to

https://www.google.com/

so you get a cleaner URL. But it will still be there...

Second, when you click in the address bar, Firefox should select the whole URL and when you type the first character of your search, that should immediately replace the URL. You shouldn't have to take any special action to get rid of the unwanted address. Yours isn't working that way?

Just out of curiosity, if Google is your home page, why not type in the search bar in the page?

Also, if you use Firefox's short search bar, it wouldn't have this issue, but I know there isn't always space on the main toolbar for everything.

Thanks... sometimes it does select the whole address but only for a second - so the cursor lands here at the end of this - https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl and whatever I type gets appended.

I can press tab to get to the other search area at the top of the page and then again to get to the google search box in the middle of the screen. I prefer to click as little as possible so that's why I'm searching for a solution that would either leave the address box highlighted so my typing replaces the address or completely blank it out and leave the cursor there so I can truly use it as a search box. Basically want to hit "new tab" and then have the next keystrokes be all about the search I'm trying to do.

I know - one extra tab shouldn't matter, but in safari I can just click command t (new tab) and then start typing.

Actually I just changed my homepage to https://www.google.com and it stays highlighted so I can just begin to type! Problem SOLVED. Thanks.