Facebook is about to launch a mobile advertising network that could potentially take on Google’s. According to Re/code, Facebook will launch its mobile advertising network at the end of this month during the annual F8 developer conference. Re/code didn’t have much more information about the network, but the move makes sense for Facebook. Facebook has incredibly rich data on its users, allowing advertisers to target specific segments of the population.
Right now, though, those ads only appear on Facebook’s own apps and website. With a mobile ad network, other app developers will be able to show Facebook-powered ads in their own apps, providing these developers a new way to monetize their apps without charging users for them. For Facebook, a mobile ad network will allow it to expand its reach beyond its own borders, much as Google has done with its AdMob network and as Twitter is trying to do after its purchase of MoPub last year for $350 million.
Last week, Twitter announced it would be adding advertisements for apps to its Twitter apps and for its MoPub network, and Facebook is likely to promote similar types of ads, as they have been successful for Facebook in the past.
Facebook began testing a mobile ad network in January.
