Facebook's mobile chops take it to No. 2 in US ad sales
The social network still trails behind Google, the top seller of mobile ads, but it soars past other competitors, according to a report from eMarketer.
Facebook is on track to be the second largest seller of digital advertisements in the US in 2013 thanks to its mobile ads, according to figures released by eMarketer on Thursday.
With mobile ad spending increasing quickly this year, Facebook shot past most of its competitors to follow Google in ad sales. The social media is expected to sell $3.17 billion in ad dollars this year, according to eMarketer. Its report cites the general growth of mobile as the source of Facebook's rise. Overall, mobile ad spending is expected to make up 22 percent of all digital advertisement spending in 2013, said eMarketer, compared to only 3 percent in 2010.
Facebook surprised the industry this year when it revealed its success with selling mobile ad units. eMarketer actually expected Facebook to land behind Yahoo, but the decline of Yahoo's ad sales gave the social network the leg up.
Facebook's growth has been good globally as well. Its share of global mobile revenues is expected to jump from 5.34 percent last year to 16.91 percent this year, according to eMarketer. Google still takes the top spot, of course, with 48.76 percent of the global market share.
Here's how some of the other networks stacked up in US sales in 2013:
- Microsoft's share will fall from 6.2 percent last year to 5.9 percent this year.
- Yahoo's share is expected to decline to 5.8 percent in 2013, from 6.8 percent last year.
- Twitter will have about a 1 percent share, taking in $420 million.