The research also found that there has been a rise of 22 per cent since the start of the year of those searching for an “IFA” on Google.

The report comes ahead of the UK government’s programme of reforms, known as the Retail Distribution Review, that is designed to remove potential bias from financial advisors’ advice and raise the quality of IFA’s knowledge.

“These figures paint a positive picture for the IFA brand and the industry as a whole, as it appears an increasing number of people who are researching their financial advice options online understand that they need to include the word ‘independent’ to find an advisor who can access products from the whole of the market place,” Karen Barrett, chief executive of Unbiased.co.uk.

“With such a surge in online consumer searches, IFAs need to ensure their online activity reflects their firm and areas of expertise in the best possible light.  Having an up to date, consumer friendly website is essential to ensure you don’t miss out on these possible new clients, and adding new content will keep your website ‘fresh’ which will help to raise your position on Google search results pages.”