Why Financial Advisors Shouldn't Ignore Bing: Search Is Changing

For years, when financial advisors talked about getting found online, “Google” was essentially synonymous with search.

That may be changing.

Google is still by far the dominant search engine, but new research suggests that its position may be influenced by something beyond search quality: habit.

A study conducted by researchers from Stanford, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania found that 33% of Google users who were paid to switch to Bing for two weeks continued using Bing after the trial ended. Even more interesting, 64% of those participants said Bing was better than they expected, while 59% said they had simply gotten used to it.

The study involved 2,354 desktop internet users and tracked their actual search behavior rather than relying solely on what participants said they preferred.

The takeaway for financial advisors isn’t that Google is disappearing.

It’s that the search landscape may be more competitive—and more fragmented—than it has been in the past.

And that means advisors shouldn’t build their entire digital marketing strategy around one search engine.

Google Isn’t the Only Place People Search

Google remains the dominant player in search. But Bing has a meaningful share of the market, particularly among desktop users, and Microsoft has continued investing heavily in search and AI through Bing and Copilot.

At the same time, people are increasingly discovering information through AI-powered search experiences.

That creates a different environment for financial advisors.

Instead of asking only:

“How do I rank on Google?”

Advisors should increasingly be asking:

“How do I make my business discoverable wherever prospective clients are searching?”

One-Third of Google Users Stayed With Bing

The most surprising finding from the recent study may be what happened after participants stopped being paid to use Bing.

Researchers gave habitual Google users incentives to switch to Bing for two weeks. Once the trial ended, 33% continued using Bing.

That doesn’t mean one-third of all Google users are suddenly moving to Bing.

But it does challenge the assumption that people use Google exclusively because they believe it is always the better search engine.

The researchers found that exposure itself changed how participants viewed Bing.

Among people who continued using Bing:

• 64% said Bing was better than they expected
• 59% said they had gotten used to Bing
• Users’ perceptions of Bing’s quality increased by 0.6 standard deviations after using it.

In other words, some people may not be choosing Google over Bing after carefully comparing the two.

They may simply be using Google because Google is what they have always used.

Habit May Be More Powerful Than Marketers Realize

The study looked at several factors that could contribute to Google’s dominance, including search quality, default settings, switching costs, perceptions of competing search engines, and user attention.

One of the most interesting findings was what happened when users were simply given a choice.

Making it easier for users to choose their preferred search engine increased Bing’s share by only about 1.1 percentage points in the experiment. Researchers estimated that choice screens would increase Bing’s market share by approximately 1.3 percentage points.

That suggests that simply telling people, “You can use Bing instead,” isn’t enough.

People have to actually experience the alternative before their perceptions may change.

And that’s an important lesson for marketers.

The search engines people use today aren’t necessarily the only search engines they will use tomorrow.

What This Means for Financial Advisors

For financial advisors, this shift matters because search is one of the most important ways prospective clients research financial questions.

Consider what someone might search before ever contacting an advisor:

• “How much money do I need to retire?”
• “Should I convert my IRA to a Roth?”
• “When should I claim Social Security?”
• “How can I reduce taxes in retirement?”
• “What is a fixed indexed annuity?”
• “Do I need long-term care insurance?”
• “How much life insurance do I need?”
• “How do I create retirement income?”

A prospect doesn’t necessarily care which search engine answers those questions.

They care about getting a useful answer.

That means advisors have an opportunity to build visibility by consistently creating content that answers the questions their ideal clients are asking.

Your SEO Strategy Shouldn’t Stop at Google

The good news is that advisors don’t necessarily need a completely separate marketing strategy for Bing.

Many of the fundamentals of strong SEO apply across search engines.

Create Content That Answers Real Questions

Instead of writing generic articles about financial planning, create content around specific questions your prospective clients are asking.

For example:

Broad: “Retirement Planning”

Specific: “How Much Income Do I Need to Retire at 65?”

The second topic gives a search engine—and a prospective client—much more information about what the page is actually about.

Make Your Website Easy to Understand

Your website should quickly communicate:

• Who you serve
• Where you serve them
• What you help with
• What makes your firm different
• How someone can take the next step

This matters regardless of whether someone discovers you through Google, Bing, social media, an AI search tool, or a referral.

Build Topical Authority

One blog post isn’t going to establish an advisor as an authority.

A stronger approach is to create interconnected content around the subjects your ideal clients care about.

For example, an advisor focused on retirees might create content around:

Retirement Planning → Social Security → Retirement Income → Tax Planning → Roth Conversions → Annuities → Long-Term Care → Estate Planning

This creates a deeper library of useful information that can support visibility across multiple search platforms.

Bing Is Also Becoming Part of the AI Search Conversation

There’s another reason Bing deserves attention.

Microsoft has increasingly connected Bing with its AI ecosystem, including Copilot.

Bing Webmaster Tools now includes AI Performance reporting, which gives website owners insight into how their content is appearing in AI-generated answers, including citations and the queries associated with those citations.

That changes the conversation around search optimization.

It’s no longer only about:

“Where does my website rank?”

It is increasingly about:

“Is my content being discovered, referenced, and surfaced when people ask questions?”

For financial advisors, that’s particularly important because financial decisions often begin with research.

Don’t Abandon Google. Expand Your Strategy.

The lesson from the Bing study isn’t that advisors should stop optimizing for Google.

Google still dominates search, and it would make little sense for an advisor to ignore it.

The lesson is that search behavior isn’t permanent.

The study showed that when habitual Google users actually tried Bing, a significant percentage continued using it after the trial ended.

That should make marketers think differently about search visibility.

Instead of asking:

“Which search engine should I optimize for?”

Ask:

“How can I build content that is valuable enough to be discovered anywhere?”

That’s a much more sustainable strategy.

A Strong Digital Presence Works Across Platforms

A financial advisor’s digital marketing foundation should include:

A professional website Clearly communicates who the advisor serves and what they offer.

Search-optimized content Answers the questions prospective clients are actually asking.

A strong local presence Makes the firm easier to discover in location-based searches.

Consistent business information Keeps the firm’s name, location, contact information, and services accurate across the web.

Reviews and reputation signals Give prospective clients additional reasons to trust the firm.

Clear calls to action Make it easy for visitors to take the next step.

These aren’t exclusively Google tactics.

They’re fundamentals of being discoverable online.

Search Is Becoming More Fragmented

For years, the online discovery journey for a financial advisor could be summarized fairly simply:

Google → Website → Contact Form → Appointment

Today, that journey can look very different.

A prospective client might discover an advisor through:

Google

Bing

Microsoft Copilot

AI-powered search

Social media

YouTube

Online reviews

A local search

A referral

The platforms may change, but the underlying marketing strategy remains the same: be useful, be visible, establish trust, and give people a clear next step.

As we discussed in our recent guide to financial advisor marketing strategy, an effective marketing strategy isn’t about relying on one tactic. It’s about creating a system that consistently puts your firm in front of the right prospects.

Search should be treated the same way.

The Bottom Line for Financial Advisors

Google isn’t going away.

But advisors shouldn’t assume that Google will always be the only search engine that matters.

The finding that 33% of habitual Google users continued using Bing after a two-week trial is a reminder that consumer behavior can change when people are exposed to alternatives.

And as Bing becomes increasingly connected to Microsoft’s AI ecosystem, the opportunity extends beyond traditional search results.

For financial advisors, the answer isn’t to abandon Google or create an entirely separate marketing strategy for every platform.

It’s to build a strong digital presence that can be discovered across the evolving search landscape.

Create useful content. Answer real questions. Strengthen your local presence. Build a trustworthy website. Make your expertise easy for search engines—and increasingly, AI systems—to understand.

Because your next prospect may not find you where your last prospect did.

And the search engine they use may not be Google.