diff --git a/profiles/models.py b/profiles/models.py
index d5765c4..c8ffea7 100644
--- a/profiles/models.py
+++ b/profiles/models.py
@@ -185,8 +185,8 @@ class SearchEngine(models.Model):
     url = models.URLField()
     query_pattern = models.CharField(max_length=256)  # This field is the
     # query pattern. It should contain a `{}`, which, when substituted with a
-    # search term (using `.format()`), must yield a URL that can be resolved to
-    # perform the search
+    # search term (using `.format()`), must yield a URL tail that can be
+    # concatenated with `url` to perform a search (eg. `?q={}` for ddg).
 
     def __str__(self):
         return self.name
@@ -194,9 +194,10 @@ class SearchEngine(models.Model):
     def search_url(self, search_term):
         ''' Obtain a url to search `search_term` with this search engine '''
         pattern = str(self.query_pattern)
+        search_term = str(search_term).replace(' ', '+')
         if '{}' not in pattern:
             raise InvalidData("Search engine {}: bad pattern".format(self))
-        return str(self.query_pattern).format(search_term)
+        return self.url + (str(self.query_pattern).format(search_term))
 
 
 class Interest(models.Model):