Facebook Widens Lead In Online Advertising, Accounting for 1 in 4 Ads Delivered

Online advertising spending rose dramatically in the third quarter, with Facebook snatching nearly 1 of every 4 online display ads, according to results of a comScore report released Monday.

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During the quarter, Facebook widened its first-place lead by snatching market share away from its competitors. Of the nearly 1.3 trillion ad impressions delivered to Internet sites, Facebook accounted for 23.1%. That's a substantial improvement over the 9.2% market share the social networking company enjoyed during the same period last year.

Yahoo (YHOO), for example, ranked second with 11% market share. Microsoft (MSFT) retained its No. 3 spot, with 5% of the market. At the start of the year, these two sites, as well as others, had roughly half a percentage point to one percent more market share, according to comScore's first quarter results. In the world of online display ads, apparently, all boats don't ride with the tide.

"Just one year ago we were still in the midst of an advertising recession, but several growth drivers have contributed to sustained improvements over the past few quarters. The ability to buy specific audiences is enabling a greater number of display ads to be delivered on target, display formats are improving at a rapid rate, and the quality of creative is getting better every day," Jeff Hackett, comScore senior vice president, said in a statement.