Facebook Introduces Mobile Ad Network

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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg gestures while delivering the keynote address at the f8 Facebook Developer Conference Wednesday, April 30, 2014, in San Francisco.

Image: Ben Margot/Associated Press

By Seth Fiegerman2014-04-30 18:29:53 UTC

Facebook unveiled its new mobile ad network on Wednesday during its F8 developers conference.

The ad network, called the Audience Network, aims to make it easier for mobile developers to pick the appropriate ad formats that work for their app and letting the more than one million advertisers on Facebook better target ads for particular apps.

See also: Facebook Improves App Permissions, Introduces Anonymous Logins

"We've done a lot of work already in the past years to help you build and grow your apps," Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's cofounder and CEO, said during the presentation. "This is really the first time that we are going to help you monetize on mobile."

Facebook has acknowledged it was testing such an ad network since January. Wednesday's formal introduction may help Facebook to boost its mobile ad revenue even more. Mobile ads accounted for 59% of Facebook's total ad revenue in the March quarter, compared to essentially nothing when the company went public in May, 2012.

With Audience Network, Facebook is competing against other ad networks like Twitter's MoPub and Google AdMob.

Facebook stock was up just more than 1% in midday trading following the event.

Topics: Advertising, Business, Facebook