Google in mood to buy more online display ad firms

Google in mood to buy more online display ad firms

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MUMBAI: Google is planning to buy more companies to accelerate its presence in the sprawling online display ad sector.

Speaking to a group of reporters at Cannes International festival of creativity, executive chairman Eric Schmidt said the giant would continue gobbling companies that specialised in managing display ads such as video and banners.

The move will be a challenge for Facebook and comes even as European regulators examine Google‘s dominant web search position.

Recently, Google announced its plans to buy AdMeld in a bid to capture a larger pie in the area of graphical display ads.

We started off with mainly text ads, and now the display business has arrived, which can become a $10-20 billion business, Schmidt added.

Google made approximately $29 billion in 2010 through its small ads that appear alongside the search results.

But analysts feel that Google can be better-off, if it diversifies its business with products such as social networking. This can prevent advertisers moving over to social network sites such as Facebook.

In 2011, Facebook will take over Yahoo to take the top position in online display, according to a report released earlier this week by research firm eMarketer.Consequently, Google is in a buying mood.