According to comScore’s finding, Facebook has overtaken Yahoo and Microsoft to claimed top spot for the first time after serving 176.3 billion display ads during the first 3 months of 2010. If this impressive statistic continues for the next 3 quarters, it means that Facebook could serve more than 700 billion display ad a year or 1.9 billion per day.
Besides Facebook’s growing popularity, another reason why Facebook could top Yahoo (131.6) and Microsoft (60.2) is because the data don’t include ads that were delivered to other Web sites through their networks.
Although this statistic looks impressive, by revenue, Facebook has a long way to go before catching up with Yahoo. In 2009, the number 2 search engine earned $6.5 billion in revenue while Facebook is only half-way through the billion dollar mark.
comScore Chief Marketing Officer Linda Abraham also pointed out “that the data partially reflected the impact of a Facebook redesign that allowed the company to squeeze more ads on some pages. She said Facebook’s decision to take over a small amount of advertising it outsourced to Microsoft earlier this year didn’t appear to be a major driver of market share. A Facebook spokesman said it could have been a minor factor.”
Whether Facebook’s growth is coming at the expense of rivals “remains to be seen,” Ms. Abraham said. “The data has to play out over the next couple of months to definitely say that.”
Source: WSJ
