Yahoo!, long known as the leader in the display ad industry, is going to be handing over its seat if trends continue and predictions are met. While Yahoo! continues to thrive in various markets, especially non–North American markets, Facebook’s astounding growth and increased effectiveness of advertising are likely to make it the new revenue leader.
Specifically, it’s been predicted by EMarketer Inc that Facebook will hit $2.19 billion in display ad sales by the end of 2011. That should account for roughly 17.7 percent of the U.S. market share, easily eclipsing the projected 13.1 percent market share for Yahoo!. This is partially thanks to major advertisers such as JPMorgan Chase, Coca-Cola, and Adidas, but the overall success of Facebook advertising is also increasing.
Facebook is already the leader in the number of display ad impressions. In fact, more people see Facebook ads than see any other two provider’s advertisements combined. The problem is that Facebook has still seen a comparatively low click-through onto those ads, and as a result have seen diminished bids on the CPM system. As Facebook continues to enhance its model, build trust, and prove revenue for advertisers, it should have no problem becoming the clear leader in the display ad industry. But Facebook still has a while to catch up, and Yahoo! is by no means standing still.
[sources include: SFGate]
