advertising

Facebook knows who you are, who your friends are, what you like, and where you live. And still the ads suck. Google, on the other hand, gives you ads based only on what you're searching on, and its ads rock.

Can Google's ad performance be brought to Facebook and other social sites? Jeffrey Davitz is trying to do that with his startup, Solariat. The idea, he says, "is to take the Google model of responding to intention and place it in the context of social networks."

Davitz confirms that Facebook can help an advertiser find very … Read more

Worldwide spending on online advertising rose by 12.1 percent during the first quarter, reports Nielsen.

Across the board: television, newspapers, radio, outdoor, and Internet advertising all saw an increase in advertising spending, up from the same quarter last year. Magazines are the only media section to have suffered, falling into negative spending.

On the whole, ad spending grew by 3.1 percent globally, despite euro zone troubles and recession.

While television remains at the heart of the advertising industry, Internet advertising saw the highest overall increase.

Internet advertising spending saw growth in Europe at 12.1 percent amid … Read more

The Facebook ad bashing continues. The social network is taking another hit regarding its advertising value, and this time it's from the head of the world's largest marketing group.

WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell said he has told Facebook that the social network is great for branding, but not advertising, the MediaGuardian reported today. The statement is another blow to Facebook's efforts to increase its advertising dollars, particularly because the money WPP spends on behalf of its clients accounts for nearly a third of the money spent annually through ad agencies worldwide. Sorrell made the remarks at … Read more

Facebook plans to launch a new mobile advertising feature that will place targeted ads in news feeds based on which apps consumers use, The Wall Street Journal reported today.

In a move to further boost its mobile profile, Facebook plans to roll out the service to developers and advertisers later this month, unnamed sources told the Journal.

The ads will be placed whether or not the user has shown an interest in the company doing the advertising, which is a strange move for Facebook. The company has constantly emphasized its commitment to bringing users advertising content that relates to things … Read more

Mobile applications will drive serious growth in mobile advertising in the coming years, according to a new study.

Juniper Research reported today that in-app advertising will hit $2.4 billion by the end of the year. By 2015, that figure will soar to $7.1 billion.

In-app advertising is widely viewed as the key to success for developers in the coming years. Mobile users are becoming increasingly loath to pay too much for applications, driving prices down. In-app advertising can help soften the blow of charging so little for an expensive app.

"In 2012, it will become increasingly difficult … Read more

After a very public falling-out, Facebook and General Motors may be on the road to rekindling their advertising relationship, according to a new report.

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday, citing sources, that GM and Facebook are in talks to determine what it would take to bring the automobile company back to the social network's advertising platform. The Journal says that Facebook will give GM better data on how the company can increase ad effectiveness.

GM made waves back in May, just ahead of Facebook's IPO, when it decided to pull its $10 million ad campaign from Facebook, … Read more

Yahoo interim CEO Ross Levinsohn has some ideas on how he's going to improve his company's standing among advertisers, according to a new report.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting today, citing sources, that Levinsohn has decided to refocus Yahoo's business on Web ads. In order to achieve his goal, he wants to generate more content and cling to major events like the Super Bowl and Oscars to attract advertisers. One source told the Journal that Levinsohn believes his chances of keeping the reins at Yahoo will rely upon his ability to keep ad agencies interested in … Read more

Zynga users may have noticed something unfamiliar on the Web site -- Facebook ads have crept over to the gaming platform's site, filling the space that used to house Google ads.

The change was first noticed by Inside Facebook and it has the media speculating up a storm about whether this is the beginning of Facebook's advertising service empire.

Now when you connect with Facebook on Zynga.com, you'll see personalized ads and sponsored stories just like they appear in Facebook, the social network says. According to Facebook, you'll see only sponsored stores about activity that'… Read more

Twitter will start its ad services in 50 countries this year as the company continues to grow overseas, the Guardian reported.

CEO Dick Costolo made outlined the expansion of Twitter's mobile business strategy at an advertising conference in Cannes, France. The first markets to have access will be Latin America, including Brazil, and west European countries such as Spain and Germany.

Twitter's advertising products include promoted tweets, promoted trends and promoted accounts.

While other social media and Internet companies are finding it challenging to make money on mobile platforms -- -- Facebook has been dinged particularly soundly on … Read more