What financial topics do people search for? An analysis of search queries using text mining

Abstract

Billions of web searches are recorded every day; however, little is known about the types of financial information that users search for. While many studies have investigated information exchanges in financial forums, this is the first study to identify the financial information needs of Internet users in Malaysia through an analysis of search queries. We identified financial topics and discovered subtopics of interest using text mining. We found that topics with high search volume were related to financial products and services, and very little was related to concepts and information that would increase financial knowledge. The results of this study can be used to develop more strategic online financial education content that not only meets users’ financial information needs but also increases their financial knowledge, especially when the financial knowledge of the global population has remained low over the years.