Facebook May Surprise Search Marketers With Familiar Tech

by Laurie Sullivan, Jan 14, 2013, 1:59 PM

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Technology that makes it possible to capture intent across search engines has moved into Facebook. Some estimate the features provide a lower cost compared with paid-search ads running on Bing or Google. Opening its platform to further integration of search-like features with support from third-party companies on desktop and mobile remains one of several announcements the social site will likely make Tuesday.

Google and Bing have been working to integrate social into search. Perhaps it's social's turn to integrate search-like features. Simpli.fi, for example, officially launched a platform Monday that delivers unstructured data targeting on the Facebook Exchange (FBX). Search Marketing Daily outlined the service in December. The integration uses element-related data, enabling the tool to build, optimize and find niche targets on the fly -- not just on desktop, but also mobile.

Facebook's work to develop proprietary technology platforms would lock in third-party companies. The strategy supports Moontoast co-founder and CTO Marcus Whitney's reminder of Facebook's move away from HTML5 toward native technology.

A Facebook mobile operating system would support the company's move today into its own search platform and device strategy. It makes sense for Facebook to go after the mobile ad market with its own OS, a segment that brings Google riches. Google's share of the U.S. mobile ad market continues to strengthen thanks to its search business, according to eMarketer. The analyst firm estimates that Google share sits at 56.6% of U.S. mobile ad revenue, compared to the next-highest competitor, Facebook, at 8.8%.

Google earned $315 million in U.S. mobile display ad revenue last year -- about 17% of the U.S. mobile display market. Facebook earned more U.S. mobile display revenue than any other ad publisher in 2012. eMarketer estimates that Facebook took 18.4% share of the U.S. mobile display advertising market in 2012 -- about $339 million.

eMarketer estimates that Facebook generated $4.23 billion in ad revenue in 2012, accounting for 83.9% of an estimated $5.04 billion in total revenue. Payments revenue reached $811 million in 2012 -- up from $557 million a year earlier, according to the analyst firm.

"Thumb up and thumb down photo from Shutterstock"

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