According to EMarketer, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) is set to pass Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) in display advertising revenue for 2012. Google will have a whopping 15.4% share of the U.S. market in display advertising.
EMarketer reports that Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) should earn $2.31 billion from its online display ads unit this year. These display ads are the picture ads which appear to users, when they’re browsing the Internet, and according to the report, they are much more lucrative than simple text ads. They also make up most of Google’s ad revenue.
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is believed to hold on to a 14.4% share of the market, and generate $2.16 billion from its display ads.
These findings contradict the February report by EMarketer, which predicted that Facebook would beat Google. The social networking giant had passed Google in revenue the year before, and analysts believed they would do the same this year. However, Facebook has missed its mark in advertising revenue, especially in the mobile sector, where Google is much stronger.
EMarketer research indicates that Facebook’s decision to wait until this year to push the mobile unit to earn revenue has cost them, and in the meantime, Google has captured the top position in the market. Video ads on Google’s YouTube and AdMob, which is Google’s mobile advertising unit, which was purchased two years ago, have boosted revenue, helping the tech giant blow by Facebook.
EMarketer predicts that the mobile advertising sector is about to boom, with approximately a 21.5 % growth this year. This brings the possible revenue generated to $15 billion in the U.S., and Facebook and Google have both contributed major funds to this number. Analysts predict that by 2014 Google and Facebook will hold 37% of the market share, and will make the competition much stronger for the smaller companies.
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) and Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) are both well known names in the tech sector, both to average Internet users, and to investors. The former is a stock which many investors have become wary of, following its downhill slide to less than half its IPO price. However, some analysts, such as Gene Munster predict that Facebook will come back up, and indicate that it is a good long term investment. Google on the other hand is currently trading upwards of $720 per share, and the company is doing well, thanks in large part to its Android mobile OS, and its advertising unit.