Tech giants shaping the mobile Web are driving ad dollars at a much faster rate than previously forecast.
Mobile ad spending in the US jumped 180 percent this year to nearly $4 billion, according to eMarketer. That’s up sharply from the firm’s earlier 80 percent growth forecast.
The data suggest that Google, Facebook, Pandora, Twitter and others are navigating the mobile transition better than expected.
Facebook impressed Wall Street during its third quarter, with a fast-rising mobile ad business that reached $150 million for the period.
Google said at the end of last quarter that its mobile advertising went from a yearly run rate of $2.5 billion in 2011 to $8 billion in 2012.
Indeed, Google is poised to dominate mobile advertising for years to come, with Facebook coming in second.
By 2014, when US mobile advertising tops $11 billion, Google’s share will be 58 percent and Facebook’s 11 percent, according to eMarketer.
Pandora and Twitter rank third and fourth, with $225 million and $135 million in mobile ad dollars this year, respectively.