Global mobile ad spend more than doubled in 2013, according to the latest mobile forecast from eMarketer. The firm’s final $18 billion figure for 2013 has been revised upwards from its January estimate of $14 billion.
Growth was driven by Google and Facebook, with the social network steadily encroaching on the search giant’s dominant position in the market.
Together Google and Facebook accounted for two thirds of mobile spending, up from a combined 58% in 2012. Facebook ate up market share, growing from 5% in 2012 to 18% in 2013, while Google lost its market majority, slipping from 53% to 49%. eMarketer projects the shift will continue this year, with Facebook taking home nearly a quarter of the market and Google’s share dropping to 47% by the end of 2014.
Twitter also made modest market gains, climbing from 1.5% in 2012 to 2.4% in 2013.
Overall, spend grew 105% from $9 billion in 2012. That means Facebook’s mobile revenue quintupled from $473 million to $3.1 billion in only its second year in the mobile advertising business. The report notes that Facebook’s mobile income grew from 11% of its total revenue in 2012 to almost half (45%) in 2013. Facebook is expected to pass the majority mobile revenue benchmark sometime this year, and earn 63% of its revenue from mobile by December.
Google’s mobile revenue growth was also very strong, nearly doubling from $4.6 billion to $8.9 billion. It now makes up 23.1% of Google’s comparatively diverse revenue base.
eMarketer’s revised projections put this year’s expected mobile growth at 75%, climbing to $31 billion by year-end. It projects that by 2018 global mobile spend will hit $95 billion.
In Canada, however, mobile investment lags behind other markets. According to an eMarketer report from mid-2013, Canada’s mobile spend grew 89% in 2012, compared to 120% globally. eMarketer has yet to break down its most recent global figures by country.
