Google and Meta are expected to account for less than half of ads in the US in 2022.

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For years, Google and Meta have dominated digital advertising in the U.S. Now, they are losing ground to giants like Amazon, TikTok and Microsoft.

In a major shift, Google and Meta’s combined market share of the US digital advertising industry is expected to fall below 50% for the first time since 2014, according to research group Insider Intelligence. This will result in Google accounting for 28.8% and Meta for 19.6%, down from their peak of 54.7%, with 34.7% belonging to Google and 20% going to Meta, in 2017, their best year yet.

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Source: Axios
So what has changed? How does it affect advertisers? Let’s explore this topic in why choose our service detail so you can make informed decisions about how to best use them to your business’ benefit.

The big change
Google and Meta are facing an increasingly competitive landscape with powerful new players.

Now we have publishers, social networks, streamers, e-commerce companies and more players fighting for attention.

Our everyday experiences are saturated with screens. From our work computer to a mobile phone or television, every second a consumer spends on their device offers an opportunity for brands to deliver impactful advertising.

Companies are fiercely competing for a share of the $300 billion digital ad market as global advertisers' budgets shrink amid rising interest rates and inflation.

Many companies are emulating Google and Facebook by creating self-service advertising platforms that offer a simple way for advertisers to buy ads.

Companies like Amazon, TikTok, and Microsoft already capture a lot of first-party data while providing value to their users. Tracking first-party data allows new players to understand people’s preferences, needs, and wants, which will also help sell things to them more accurately.

This precision leads to more effective use of marketing dollars on ads and less and less reliance on third-party data. In the wake of privacy measures implemented most prominently by Apple, that has become more of a necessity.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said the revenue losses are partly due to Apple's user privacy updates that hamper tracking capabilities and targeted ads.

As a result of this increased competition and new privacy challenges, Google and Meta's market share is plummeting.

A new player on the scene: Amazon
Amazon is becoming a major player in digital advertising. After acquiring Sizmek in April 2019, Amazon Advertising now controls the world’s largest ad server and e-commerce platform.

Like eBay and Walmart, Amazon now leverages its robust digital ad network to increase product visibility on its marketplace.

Amazon didn’t stop there: it expanded its advertising business on the site over its own e-commerce platform. This has allowed them to offer advertisers more options to target users and measure their results.

Amazon is now the biggest threat to Google and Meta’s market share and is growing rapidly. The company has expanded its advertising business to more than $30 billion a year and is expected to capture nearly 13% of the US digital advertising market by 2024.


Microsoft: B2B announcements
Microsoft is also making its presence felt in digital advertising. The company recently acquired LinkedIn Ads, which had become a major player in the B2B market. With access to more than 610 million professionals, Microsoft can now offer advertisers a larger pool of potential customers and gain insights into their behavior.

LinkedIn offers unique ad targeting features not available on any other social platform. It allows you to specify key identifiers such as job title, seniority level, and industry so that only the most relevant ads are shown to your target audience.

Microsoft has also been making significant investments in its search engine, Bing. In 2018, Microsoft invested heavily in developing a smarter, more user-friendly search experience for users across all devices, making it a viable option for advertisers looking to reach new customers.

Since then, Bing's market share has grown from 5.79% to nearly nine percent of the global search market , while market leader Google had a share of around 83 percent.

In December 2021, Microsoft made a strategic move by acquiring Xandr – an advanced programmatic advertising platform owned by telecommunications giant AT&T. Through Xandr’s data-driven technology platform, advertisers and content owners can join forces and build powerful first-party ad solutions across a broad network.

With this move, Microsoft has opened itself up to new big partnerships like the one it has with Netflix. Netflix's new ad-supported Basic is powered by Microsoft's large-scale technology platform + Xandr.

Microsoft's advertising properties include Bing Search, Xbox, MSN, and many other websites that use Xandr to sell digital ads.


TikTok is here to stay
TikTok is making a big splash in digital advertising. It is estimated that by 2024, TikTok will surpass US$8 billion in advertising revenue, placing it firmly in fifth place in terms of market share behind Microsoft (Linkedin).

TikTok, a newcomer to the advertising world, has made significant progress in ensuring that advertisers experience an effortless process.

Similar to the Meta Business Manager interface, TikTok has its own pixel that can be installed on websites for optimization purposes.

TikTok's popularity is largely due to the platform's ability to reach younger audiences and create engaging content. It also gives advertisers new opportunities to reach millennials and Gen Z, who are increasingly spending more time on their phones.

With its massive audience reach and ability to precisely target specific audiences, TikTok is here to stay.


What does this mean for advertisers?
As you can see, the digital advertising landscape is changing rapidly, and so are business opportunities. By leveraging multiple platforms for their campaigns instead of relying solely on Google or Meta, advertisers can reach a wider audience and gain more visibility for their products or services.

Additionally, by understanding how each platform differs from one another, from targeting capabilities to cost per click (CPC), advertisers can develop effective strategies that maximize their ROI while staying within budget constraints.

Anticipating new opportunities and capitalizing on them can make all the difference in delivering effective campaigns.

Now is the perfect time for brands to take advantage.

Conclusion
It's clear that Google and Meta have lost some of their dominance in digital advertising in recent years, although they remain very relevant.

That’s why, by adopting new technologies like Amazon Advertising, TikTok Ads, and Microsoft Ads, advertisers can optimize their campaigns and reach larger audiences than ever before.

When selecting the platform for your product or service, always keep in mind your target audience and which one will generate the most conversions. Set key performance indicators, then test content to see what works best. After collecting data, you will have a clearer understanding of how to proceed efficiently.

Brands need to produce new content, distribute it, and gain insights into its performance to refine their long-term strategy across organic or paid channels. Remember, if you need content, you’ve come to the right place. Simply reach out to Rock Content to learn more about our content creation offerings.

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