Facebook Ads' Performance Found Lacking

While Facebook ads cost more than traditional banner ads, they only perform half as well, according to a survey [PDF] by Webtrends (via Mashable). The study looked at 11,000 campaigns on Facebook to establish benchmarks for companies looking to advertise there. Webtrends found that the average click-through rate for Facebook ads in 2009 was 0.063% and 0.051% in 2010 - half as much as industry standard of .1%, Mashable points out. The cost per click was also $0.27 and $0.49 for those periods, respectively.

Android Conquers World

Google Android has become the leading global smartphone platform, according to new data from Canalys. Shipments of Android-based smart phones during Q4 2010 reached 32.9 million (32.6% share), while devices running Nokia’s Symbian platform trailed almost 6% at 31 million (30.6% share) worldwide. Apple iPhone came in a distant third with 16.2 million devices running the iPhone platform shipping globally in Q4 2010, trailing Android by more than 50% with 16% share. In total 101.2 million smartphones shipped worldwide during Q4 2010, an almost 89% jump from 53.7 million in Q4 2009.