Facebook Overtakes Yahoo In Display Ads

Facebook has surpassed Yahoo to become the leading publisher of display ads in the U.S. according to a new report from comScore.

In the first quarter Facebook delivered 176 billion display ad impressions, representing 16.2 percent market share. Yahoo sites ranked second with 132 billion impressions (12.1%), followed by Microsoft sites with 60 billion impressions (5.5%) and Fox Interactive Media with 53 billion impressions (4.9%).

Overall, U.S. Internet users received a record 1.1 trillion display ads during the first quarter, marking a 15 percent increase over the same time period a year ago. Total U.S. display ad spending in Q1 reached an estimated $2.7 billion, with the average cost per thousand impressions (CPM) equal to $2.48.

"Following a severe ad recession that began in late 2008 and continued through the first three quarters of 2009, we've been seeing a strong resurgence in the online display ad market," said Jeff Hackett, comScore senior vice president.

"The first quarter of 2010 posted strong volume in online display ads, coinciding with increasing expenditure from advertisers and higher CPMs for publishers. This pickup in activity should bode well for the online advertising industry as we move forward in 2010."

AT&T led rival Verizon as the top online display advertiser in Q1 with 26.3 billion impressions, accounting for 2.4 percent of display ads. Verizon trailed with 21.9 billion (2%), followed by Scottrade with 16.4 billion (1.5%), Experian Interactive with 15.6 billion (1.4%) and Sprint Nextel with 10.1 billion (0.9%).