Facebook sets the pace in online ad growth

As marketers spend more of their advertising budgets online, they’re focusing more and more on Facebook, research firm eMarketer says.

In 2010, U.S. online display advertising revenue on Facebook was $1.21 billion, up 116% from $560 million in 2009 and up 476% from $210 million in 2008, eMarketer says.

In a comparison eMarketer compiled of Facebook, Yahoo, Google and AOL for the years 2008-2010, it noted that Yahoo sites consistently accounted for the largest volume of U.S. online display ad revenue. But though Yahoo accounted for six times Facebook’s online ad revenue in 2008, at $1.31 billion to Facebook’s $0.21 billion, by 2010 Yahoo was ahead of Facebook by only 19%, at $1.44 billion to $1.21 billion.

Here’s how eMarketer listed the U.S. online display ad revenue (in billions of dollars) for the four ad venues for 2008, 2009 and 2010:

Yahoo $1.31, $1.25, $1.43

Facebook $0.21, $0.56, $1.21

Google $0.19, $0.51, $0.47

AOL $0.58, $0.51, $0.47