What does Google and Facebook’s mobile ad dominance mean for advertisers?

According to digital marketing research company eMarketer, Google and Facebook together now have control of 75% of the global mobile advertising market. Facebook has also recently announced that it will be launching a new mobile advertising network called the Facebook Audience Network, which will continue to increase its market share going forward.

Google has a projected mobile advertising revenue growth of around 40% for 2014, and Facebook is estimated to have grown its revenue by an impressive 55% from 2013 to 2014.

Google is still the dominant force in terms of total market share, but Facebook’s growth rate is consistently raising its profile and influence in the mobile advertising sphere.

The dominance of two platforms raises questions about how companies will change the design and target of their mobile campaigns.

It doesn’t mean that there is a limited platform choice for campaigns as other platforms for advertising will remain and may be useful for specific types of campaigns or target markets, but the benefits of using Google and Facebook will often be stronger.

The primary motivator for choosing an advertising platform is the type of interaction with consumers that it offers and whether that will best suit a campaign’s objectives. Factors that influence that decision include; website clicks, awareness, click-to-call capabilities, existing app preferences and likes, all of which offer measurability to a campaign.

The Facebook audience network
Facebook’s new offering will put it in company with Google Adwords and will offer strong targeting features for advertisers as Facebook has access to detailed user information.

Advertisers will be able to target users very specifically using the well known existing Facebook targeting algorithms. They will also have access to an extensive Facebook advertiser network and the product will allow advertisers to display high-quality ad units that will suit the look and feel of their existing apps.

Google mobile adverts
Google has an established mobile ad offering and has integrated multiple benefits in its platform including; targeting multiple devices and software versions; using enhanced campaigns to add campaign extensions such as attaching a redeemable voucher to an ad (currently only in the USA); location extensions that allow you to add business information such as addresses and contact numbers; and a click-to-call extension that allows a user to call immediately from the ad on their mobile device.

Google ads also appear on content websites, in apps and in videos and there is a feature that allows users to download apps directly from adverts.

Facebook’s new offering is great for developers and advertisers and will keep Google on its toes as both tech giants vie for market share.

But the fact remains that these are the two largest players in the mobile advertising space, with 75% of the market.

Other companies are attempting to strengthen their mobile offering, including Twitter, LinkedIn, Amazon and Alibaba, but advertisers will always be primarily attracted to platforms that have access to larger chunks of the online market, that are easier to manage and that are able to deliver quality results at competitive prices for advertisers.