Result of research firm ComScore shows that Facebook has beaten Yahoo portfolio sites in number of ad impressions. Facebook’s total U.S. display ad count for the first quarter of this year was 176.3 billion, according to ComScore, followed by Yahoo with 131.5 billion and Microsoft with 60.1 billion. For the first quarter of last year, Facebook had trailed Yahoo but also Fox Interactive Media (parent company of MySpace), which has since dropped from 109.3 billion impressions to 53.8 billion. Rounding out the list is AOL, which chalked up 32.1 billion impressions in the first quarter of 2010.
No wonder rule of higher fire is applicable here. Facebook has more than 400 million users out of them approximately 90 million users daily visit the site to play games, update their status or to interact with friends. Such a large number of active users on a single platform will definitely affect the Ad impressions.
Still Yahoo makes more money then Facebook as it displays ads on many other sites also just like Microsoft. And Facebook shows only on its own website hence in numbers of impression Facebook won the battle but war of revenues is in the favor of Yahoo.
Earlier Facebook have been serving ads on its site in partnership with Microsoft. There was an investment of 240 million dollars in 2007. This partnership was broken this year to get rid of traditional banner ads. Today the display ads on Facebook are mostly its much-touted “social ads,” which often connect to other Facebook profiles or brand pages.
For a social media marketing manager it is not easy to decide where he shall place his Ad? On Facebook or some other ad vehicle? With people, Senators and councils shouting at Facebook’s privacy policy and news of closing the free service may alter the figure of Ad impressions in coming months.
Source Cnet
