• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, June 13, 2013

As part of its ad consolidation effort, Facebook is scrapping sponsored results -- the search ad unit it rolled out last year.

The format allows advertisers to target search ads to users looking for a particular app, brand page or place on Facebook, with ads labeled as "Sponsored." Facebook told the blog Inside Facebook that it is eliminating sponsored results in July, since the ad type has been essentially supplanted by higher-peforming app install ads and page post link ads.

The company also introduced sponsored results prior to the launch of Graph Search -- its revamped search engine -- earlier this year, leading to a broader rethink of search advertising on Facebook.

Graph Search is still being tested with a smaller number of users before being rolled out widely later this year. Up to now, search hasn't been a centtral feature of Facebook's service or how it makes money.