The ads, which include text and photos, target users that might want to go to a local hair salon, hire a wedding photographer, or are close to buying other products, said Tim Kendall, Facebooks director of product marketing for monetization. The service lets companies target users based on the information they put on their profiles, he said.
“You basically just have a greater diversity of people using our ad system — lots of businesses, lots of local businesses finding success,” Kendall, 32, said in an interview. “Its really been a steady, successful growth pattern.” He declined to provide specific revenue data.
Closely held Facebook, the worlds most popular social- networking site, is adding customers at a time when online ad growth is slowing for companies such as Google Inc. In April, Google, the worlds most popular search engine, reported its first sequential drop in quarterly sales since it went public in 2004.
The automated ad system, which Facebook unveiled in 2007, lets companies make small edits to their ads during campaigns and suggests words for advertisers to target users. The ads, which appear on users Facebook home pages, allow 25 characters in the title and as many as 135 characters in the body of the text and an optional photo.
Sales Staff
Facebook also has a dedicated sales staff to help companies with more interactive promotions, called “Engagement Ads.” They can include features such as video and let users do things like become “fans” of a brand. The company also shows some ads sold by Microsoft Corp., the worlds largest software maker.
“Everything is starting to solidify for them,” said Debra Aho Williamson, an analyst with research firm EMarketer Inc. in New York. “Theyre definitely getting the hang of it.”
Facebook, based in Palo Alto, California, was founded by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004. Revenue may climb 70 percent this year, Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said in April.
The site surpassed News Corp.s MySpace in May to become the leading social-networking site in the U.S., reaching 70.3 million users, according to ComScore Inc. Facebook passed its rival on a worldwide basis last year, ComScore said.
The company also has been helping advertisers target users when they become fans of certain products or brands. Users can visit fan pages where they learn more about the products and connect with others.
Last month, Russias Digital Sky Technologies paid $200 million for less than 2 percent of Facebook, valuing the company at $10 billion.