The firm, Cowgill Holloway has produced a league table of the most searched terms. The term ‘crowdfunding’ was significantly higher than the terms ‘business loan’ and ‘bank loan’, suggesting that awareness of certain forms of alternative finance is on the up.

However, searches for ‘asset finance’ and ‘invoice finance’ remain very low, indicating that there is still work to be done in building awareness of all the options, rather than those which have perhaps received more media attention in recent months.

The research also follows recent statistics showing that just 230 businesses benefited from the bank referral scheme[1] which was set up just over a year ago by the government, highlighting the work to be done in ensuring that businesses aren’t effectively stunted by inaccessibility of finance.

“I don’t think anyone will be surprised to see the popularity of such search phrases rising, but what has been interesting to note is that searches for ‘crowdfunding’ have actually overtaken searches on traditional forms of finance,” director of Cowgill Holloway Business Funding, Benjamin Day, said. “We’ve also seen big budgets spent on digital advertising for these newer types of funding meaning people are seeing these brand names appear at the top of the advertising rankings – as well as the organic ranking – even when people are searching for funding quite generally.”

The firm recently launched its business funding arm, Cowgill Holloway Business Funding, to meet client demand. The service will review any arrangements that a company currently has in place and, if need be, source a more suitable option or an alternative product. They will also work with businesses looking for their first source of finance as well as more established companies looking for new funding lines.

The team looks at the full spectrum of options, from loans, asset and invoice finance to stock finance, and alternative finance, according to Day.

“Businesses we are meeting with are increasingly enquiring about alternative means of securing finance. They are ambitious and are demanding options. No longer does a one size loan model fit all; it’s a complex matchmaking process to find a bespoke solution to bring business goals within reach, sometimes incorporating a number of finance methods,” he said. “This is why we launched our business funding arm – the sheer range of solutions available can be overwhelming and for a business owner already spinning many plates, it’s near impossible to survey the market with enough attention to be confident that you have the right solution.”

See also: Crowdfunding UK small business: everything you need to know