Facebook's Mobile Ad Network Launch Lights A Fire Under Google

Facebook recently announced that it is launching its very own mobile advertising network. The way it works is simple: advertisers can pay to target you with ads within apps or websites based on your Facebook data with the ultimate goal being to show you more relevant ads wherever you are on the Internet (including outside of Facebook).

This is exactly what I’ve been waiting for, for quite some time. As I previously wrote about what separated Google from everyone else (Twitter, Facebook, etc), I highlighted Google AdSense as one of Google’s major keys to success and something these other companies needed to try and emulate in their own ways to be just as successful, if not more.

And for Facebook, this is it.

It’s also just the beginning for Facebook, which is super exciting to think about. As the company begins to build its business around mobile while the world starts to transition to mobile devices for more and more things, Facebook’s mobile ad network will be its bread and butter. As Zuck pointed out on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt earlier this month, he expects Facebook to make a lot more money off mobile than desktop and this is exactly how they are going to do it.

By allowing third-party apps and websites to run Facebook ads, not only does it expand Facebook’s ad reach, but it also further entrenches Facebook as a platform in the web ecosystem, making it that much more important to developers and publishers.

Additionally, lets not forget Zuck’s comments about Facebook doing search at some point. I would imagine its foray into search isn’t going to be that far off and you can bet that mobile will be a huge factor in search and the way Facebook approaches it.

This is all very good news, it’s no surprise that Facebook (FB) was up more than 6% in today’s trading.