Facebook is trialling a new ad network that could potentially challenge Google's grip on mobile advertising. 

Mobile first

Facebook announced this week it was testing a new way to deliver Facebook ads in third-party apps that are outside of the social network.

“In this test, we’ll be extending Facebook's rich targeting to improve the relevancy of the ads people see, provide even greater reach for Facebook advertisers, and help developers better monetize their apps.

“While we have run similar tests in the past, this current test is more like a mobile ad network,” wrote Facebook product manager Sriram Krishnan. 

Networking

This marks the first time Facebook is delivering ads directly to mobile apps, instead of using another ad network. Facebook's use of the the term “network” is interesting, and potentially alarming to Google.

While Google's ad products are well-established and efficient models, they don't necessarily have the demographic insights that Facebook has – courtesy of 1 billion users. 

If Facebook can offer these insights when it comes to precise targeting of mobile ads, it might just be a game changer.

To find out more visit developers.facebook.com.

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