Facebook extends display ad market share lead in US, UK

Facebook is not only a place for people to hang out and chat. It's increasingly becoming an advertising powerhouse, too, as new figures released by comScore reveal.

by Helen Leggatt

In just a few hours time Facebook is expected to announce an initial public offering. The deal will put the value of the social network at around $75billion to $100billion, the largest IPO in Internet history.

Just head of that announcement comScore has revealed Facebook's share of U.S. display ad impressions. Figures show the social network's share grew nearly 7 percentage points last year. In 2010 Facebook's share was estimated to be 21%. comScore's latest figures put 2011's share at 27.9%.

Facebook, which has been top in the display ad category since 2009, again leaves Yahoo eating dust in second place with 11% of the market. Microsoft, Google, and AOL all trail with less than 5% apiece.

comScores figures for the UK show that Facebook has an even stronger lead accounting for over 30% of the market in 2011. Yahoo accounts for just 5.2%, Microsoft 5.1% and Google 3.8%.

Tags: advertising, comScore, Facebook, IPO, online marketing, social advertising, social marketing, social network