Microsoft Set to Overtake Yahoo in Global Ad Market Share

Cross platform range of devices multichannel omnichannelWhile Google and Facebook maintain the top two positions, Yahoos attempts to maintain its position as a top global ad seller seem doomed to failure, with Microsoft predicted to snatch the number three spot this year.

While Yahoos ad revenue will grow by 2.7 per cent this year after seeing a decline in 2013, its overall share of the $140bn (£81bn) worldwide digital advertising market will drop to 2.52 per cent this year, a report by eMarketer predicts.

Microsoft, in contrast, will grow its net worldwide ad revenues by more than 20 per cent this year to hit $3.56bn, accounting for 2.54 per cent of the global market and enough to push Yahoo into fourth.

Google will actually lose market share in 2014, dropping by almost half a percentage point, but this loss is less a reflection of the companys waning influence and more an indication of its maturing ad business. It still remains the leader in global revenue share, with 31.45 per cent of the market, over 20 per cent higher than Facebook, its nearest rival, and will grow its ad revenues 15 per cent this year to £44bn. On average, the market is growing at 16.7 per cent, according to eMarketers estimates.

Facebook and Twitter are seeing the largest shifts this year, with Facebooks share growing from 5.82 per cent in 2013 to 7.79 per cent, and Twitter claiming a 0.79 per cent share of the market, up from 0.5 per cent, nearly doubling its net ad revenues year-on-year. Both the social networks are benefiting from the shift in users behaviours on mobile devices, seeing significant growth in terms of mobile ad revenue spend and market share.