- We analyzed 12,186 search terms around ETFs, brokerage accounts and brokers (October 2025 to September 2026). After cleanup, 6,368 distinct searches remain with around 2.6 million searches per month.
- Demand among ETFs is shifting: “msci world” loses 30% to 135,583 searches, “ftse all world” grows by 25% to 25,717.
- “neobroker” is growing by 265% to 16,558 searches. The median top bids for brokerage accounts and brokers are €7.79, for ETF selection €2.33.
- For all 19 evaluable investor questions, Google shows an AI Overview. None of the 55 sources cited there is a neobroker; Finanztip, justETF and Finanzfluss are cited five times each.
Investors search Google for ETFs, for a brokerage account, for brokers and for answers to their questions about investing. We analyzed these searches: how large the demand is per area, which ETF searches are growing, what a click costs, when in the year people search the most and which websites Google cites as sources in its AI Overviews.
How we analyzed the searches
The basis is 12,186 search terms from the Google Ads Keyword Planner via DataForSEO, for Germany, October 2025 to September 2026. Searches are monthly averages over these twelve months; the tailwind compares them with the twelve months before. Bids are the upper Google Ads bid estimates for the top of the page.
Three adjustments matter:
- Identical searches count once. Google lists closely related spellings with identical numbers. We merged them, leaving 6,368 distinct searches.
- Searches for individual stocks are excluded. “rheinmetall aktie” alone has 1,714,167 searches per month. Such searches concern a company's share price, not a broker. They remain only if they contain “kaufen”, “depot”, “broker” or “sparplan”.
- Login and service searches are excluded. These include sign-in, hotline, outage and cancellation.
In total, 3,517 terms are excluded.
Around 2.6 million searches per month in eight areas
| Area | Searches per month | Share | Top bid (median) | Top bid (high range) | Tailwind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand searches | 824.183 | 31 % | 3,74 € | 49,70 € | −22 % |
| ETF selection | 735.068 | 28 % | 2,33 € | 20,10 € | −20 % |
| ETF general | 554.571 | 21 % | 2,94 € | 40,62 € | −13 % |
| Brokerage account and broker | 182.503 | 7 % | 7,79 € | 352,02 € | −18 % |
| Stocks and trading | 155.456 | 6 % | 6,19 € | 81,28 € | +10 % |
| ETF savings plan | 134.065 | 5 % | 3,13 € | 15,05 € | −18 % |
| Investing | 42.426 | 2 % | 3,17 € | 7,89 € | −17 % |
| Children's account | 10.451 | 0 % | 6,42 € | 36,81 € | −10 % |
- Brand searches824,183
- ETF selection735,068
- ETF general554,571
- Brokerage account and broker182,503
- Stocks and trading155,456
- ETF savings plan134,065
- Investing42,426
- Children's account10,451
Source: Google Ads Keyword Planner via DataForSEO, Germany, October 2025 to September 2026, identical spellings counted once, excluding searches for individual stocks
Together, the ETF areas account for around 1.4 million searches per month, more than half of the demand. Almost all areas are below the previous year.
ETF demand is shifting away from the MSCI World
With 135,583 searches per month, “msci world” is the largest term in ETF selection, but it is 30% below the previous year. Broader indices are growing:
| Search term | Searches per month | Top bid | Tailwind |
|---|---|---|---|
| msci world | 135.583 | 2,39 € | −30 % |
| ftse all world | 25.717 | 3,28 € | +25 % |
| vanguard ftse world | 23.967 | 3,15 € | +24 % |
| etf vergleich | 16.250 | 3,10 € | −19 % |
| emerging markets etf | 10.050 | 6,61 € | +17 % |
| dividenden etf | 8.017 | 2,65 € | −30 % |
For the question “msci world oder ftse all world”, Google's AI Overview cites justETF and extraETF as sources.
Beginners search for basics and calculators
The strongest growth among ETFs comes from beginner searches:
- “etf sparplan für anfänger”: 1,832 searches, +322%
- “etfs kaufen für anfänger”: 2,173 searches, +236%
- “etf was ist das”: 11,758 searches, +50%
Calculators are searched a lot: “etfrechner” has 80,000 searches per month, “etf plan rechner” 41,067 and “sparplanrechner” 14,950. The top bids there are €1.30, €1.84 and €1.33. “etf sparplan” itself has 36,567 searches at €3.68.
Account opening and broker comparison have the highest bids
The median top bids for brokerage accounts and brokers are €7.79, more than three times as high as for ETF selection. For searches with intent to sign up, they rise further:
| Search term | Searches per month | Top bid | Tailwind |
|---|---|---|---|
| neobroker | 16.558 | 6,54 € | +265 % |
| broker vergleich | 5.625 | 7,96 € | −24 % |
| depot vergleich | 4.292 | 11,40 € | −22 % |
| online broker | 3.142 | 11,61 € | −22 % |
| aktien kaufen | 11.150 | 10,50 € | −58 % |
| depot eröffnen | 1.250 | 15,62 € | −25 % |
- depot eröffnen€15.62
- online broker€11.61
- depot vergleich€11.40
- aktien kaufen€10.50
- broker vergleich€7.96
- neobroker€6.54
Source: Google Ads Keyword Planner via DataForSEO, upper bid estimate for the top of the page
The highest bid in the entire data set is for “lynx depot eröffnen” at €352.02 with 16 searches per month. For your account, we calculate with the value of an account opening and a funded savings plan.
Brand searches: Trade Republic leads, Scalable Capital is growing
With 824,183 searches per month, brand searches are the largest area. “trade republic” alone has 420,750 searches, 21% fewer than the previous year. “scalable capital” grows by 6% to 118,458 searches, “scalable capital tagesgeld” by 433% to 9,237.
Brand searches are also bid on: “trade republic depot eröffnen” reaches €20.58 with 809 searches, “ing depot eröffnen” €17.87 with 980 searches.
Children's accounts: few searches, high bids
“kinderdepot” has 3,992 searches per month at an €8.00 top bid, “kinderdepot vergleich” 2,017 searches. Bids are higher on brand searches: “ing kinderdepot” reaches €20.95 with 537 searches.
Most investors search in January
This is how demand develops over the year (index 100 = monthly average):
Source: Google Ads Keyword Planner via DataForSEO, October 2025 to September 2026
In January 2026, demand is 45% above average, in September 2026 24% below. We plan the budget accordingly.
AI Overviews: Google answers every investor question itself
We searched Google for 20 typical investor questions, for example “welcher etf ist der beste” (which ETF is the best), “sind neobroker sicher” (are neobrokers safe) or “trade republic oder scalable capital” (query on October 24, 2026). For one question, DataForSEO returned no result. For all 19 others, an AI Overview appears above the search results.
The AI Overviews cite a source 55 times, spread across 28 websites:
- Finance portals and guides: Finanztip, justETF and Finanzfluss five times each, extraETF four times, Zendepot three times.
- Consumer advice center (Verbraucherzentrale): four times, for example for “sind neobroker sicher” and “lohnt sich ein etf sparplan”.
- Banks and financial service providers: Commerzbank three times, plus DKB, Sparkasse, Sparkasse Hannover, Raisin, MLP, Nürnberger, R+V and the Targobank magazine once each.
- Neobrokers: no citation. Even for “trade republic oder scalable capital”, the AI Overview cites WirtschaftsWoche, Finanzfluss and Zendepot.
23 of the 55 citations come from websites that also appear among the top five regular search results. So Google often cites pages that rank further down.
How we build online marketing for online brokers
- Separate campaigns per area. Account opening, ETF savings plan, children's account and your brand get their own campaigns, their own budget and their own goals.
- Account openings with value. We store the value of an account opening as a goal in the account so that bids steer toward these sign-ups.
- Measure sign-ups. We set up server-side tracking for account openings and savings plans.
- Questions asked of AI systems. We determine which questions your customers ask AI systems and which providers currently appear in the answers.
- Answer pages for ETF questions. For every question your customers have, we write content that AI answers use as a source, for example on accumulating and distributing ETFs or on the advance lump sum (Vorabpauschale).
- Budget by season. More budget in January, less in late summer.
We exclude these searches
- Searches for individual stocks without a purchase or account reference, such as “rheinmetall aktie” or “nvidia aktie”
- Login, hotline, outage and cancellation
- Jobs, salary and training
Conclusion: ETF beginners, account comparison and your own answer pages
More than half of the demand is for ETFs, and beginner searches are growing the fastest. Account opening and broker comparison have the highest bids. For all 19 evaluable investor questions, Google shows an AI Overview; as sources it cites finance portals, the consumer advice center and banks, but no neobroker.
