Facebook Dominates Online Advertising

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Facebook produced 297 billion online display ad impressions last quarter, dominating an industry that delivered almost 1.3 trillion display ads in the period, ComScore reported.

The popular social networking site held about 23.1% market share, according to the study. This marks an increase of 13.9% from its 9.2% market share in the same period last year, ComScore said, and a rise against its 16.2% share in the previous quarter.

Yahoo took the second spot, with 140 billion impressions and 11% of the market, while Microsoft ranked third, with 64 billion hits and a 5% share, the report determined. Fox, which had 48 billion impressions, was ranked fourth with 3.8%, ComScore said.

Google, AOL, Turner Network, Glam Media, eBay, and ESPN rounded out the top 10 list, according to the report.

Overall, the display ad market enjoyed strong gains after a weakened 2009. In fact, the market grew 22% overall year-over-year, the ComScore Ad Metrix online advertising intelligence service reported.

"The U.S. online display advertising market exhibited considerable strength in the third quarter with nearly 1.3 trillion ad impressions delivered," said Jeff Hackett, ComScore senior VP. "Just one year ago we were still in the midst of an advertising recession, but several growth drivers have contributed to sustained improvements over the past few quarters. The ability to buy specific audiences is enabling a greater number of display ads to be delivered on target, display formats are improving at a rapid rate, and the quality of creative is getting better every day. As publishers prove the value of online display ad campaigns, digital should continue to carve out a bigger piece of the advertising pie."

Communications giant AT&T was the top online display advertiser last quarter, attaining 21.1 billion impressions and garnering 1.6% of display ads, the report said. Investment firm Scottrade took the No. 2 spot, with 14.9 billion hits and 1.2% market share, while telecom Verizon scored 14.6 billion impressions and attained 1.1% share, ComScore found. Other top advertisers included Experian, Progressive, Netflix, Apollo Group, IAC-Interactive, eBay, and Walt Disney.

On average, the U.S. Internet user was delivered more than 6,000 display ads over the course of the quarter, ComScore said.

Last year, display ad impressions grew 21% year-over-year, as the online advertising sector increased its share of media spending, according to ComScore's 2009 Digital Report. An 8% increase in ad reach and a 12% increase in average frequency helped drive this growth, last year's study found.