Social networks are fast displacing search engines as the top players in display advertising, with Facebook and Twitter on course to dominate Google and Yahoo in the space by 2017.
A new forecast from eMarketer sees the two leading social networks claiming some $14 billion in display ad spending in two years, or nearly 34% of the estimated $37 billion category. Facebook will account for the major portion of those sales, booking $10 billion to Twitter’s $4 billion. eMarketer sees Facebook display revenues almost doubling Google’s in 2015, $6.8 billion to $3.5 billion.
Twitter looks to pass Yahoo in display revenue for the first time this year by a slim margin of $1.34 billion to $1.23 billion. Though Yahoo figures to register growth in the segment for the first time since eMarketer began tracking it in 2009, its share will decline from 7.2% in 2013 to 4.6% in 2015. Google’s share is forecasted to drop from 13.7% last year to 11.1% in 2017.
eMarketer’s display forecast notes that both Facebook’s and Twitter’s gains come thanks to the mobile revolution. In 2015, mobile display spending will surpass desktop for the first time—$14.7 billion to $12.4 billion.
Source: eMarketer
