Mobile Advertising: Google Is Losing Market Share to Facebook

Google’s (GOOG) market share in the mobile ad space is expected to fall to 31.70% in 2017 from 36.90% in 2014. In contrast, Facebook’s market share is expected to grow from 18.50% in 2014 to 20.30% in 2017. In the following chart, you can also see that Twitter’s (TWTR) market share will rise 22.20% in the next three years.

In 2014, Google’s (GOOG) market share was 41.60% with respect to all digital ad spending—compared to Facebook’s 10.80%. Even though Google is a heavyweight in the digital ad market, Facebook seems to have more upside potential as the global market goes “mobile.”

On September 12, 2015, Google announced that it was working with Twitter to take on Facebook’s “Instant Articles.” However, in addition to Facebook, Apple’s (AAPL) News app and Snapchat’s Discover also offer similar services to users. The joint venture between Google and Twitter is expected to be launched by the end of 4Q15 in collaboration with publishers who will make content and news available on mobile platforms. After the launch of this service, users will be able to view complete articles on their mobile devices by just “clicking” on a link.

You can get diversified exposure to Google by investing in the PowerShares QQQ ETF (QQQ). This ETF held ~8.10% in the company on August 31, 2015.

You can get more diversified exposure to Google by investing in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY). SPY held ~2.10% in the company on the same date.