Facebook is beating Google in 'the battle for eyeballs'

While Google is still king in the world of Internet advertising, Facebook is building itself out to be the leader in display advertising, according to a new report.

Facebook is slowly but surely becoming an advertising powerhouse. Although it is still a far cry from search giant Google, the social networking giant is starting to get noticed. A recent report by Enders Analysis said Mountain View "remains the king of Internet advertising, due to its dominance of search" but Menlo Park is "winning the battle for eyeballs and advertising in the Internet display arena."

The research firm estimates Google's display ad revenues will rise to $2.5 billion in 2012 while Facebook's will hit $5.3 billion in 2012. Although Facebook leads in display ads, Google remains the Internet's largest advertising player, with revenues expected to hit $35 billion in 2012.

In short, Enders Analysis suggests that while Google has a greater global reach than Facebook, the latter's rising rates of engagement and usage is cementing its dominance in the display ad market. Many publishers will become increasingly reliant on one or both of the Internet giants for audience and revenue growth, according to the report.

Google knows very well that the social space is becoming more and more important in the advertising world. This is why it has tried time and again to build its own social network. Its latest attempt, Google+, is the most successful attempt yet, but so far it has only managed to carve itself out a small niche in the market, and hasn't really managed to challenge numero uno. On the other hand, Google has big pockets and is eagerly updating Google+ on a frequent basis. The war between the two is only just beginning.

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