Sep 26, 2017

Facebook ad rates soar 171% in 2017

Sara Fischer
Expand chart

Data: AdStage; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon / Axios

Facebook, Twitter and other tech platforms offer marketers the ability to reach niche audiences with scale and at an efficient cost. But as Facebook's ad load continues to slow, its ad auction has become increasingly competitive, causing the average cost for every 1,000 impressions (CPM) and the average cost per click (CPC) on Facebook to skyrocket, according to data from AdStage.

  • The average CPM on Facebook ads has increased by 171% since January 2017
  • The average CPC on Facebook ads has increased by 136% since January 2017

Twitter has also seen increases:

  • Twitter's CPM increased by 27% since January 2017.
  • The average CPC on Twitter increased by 18% since January 2017.

Why it matters: Facebook has been warning investors for months that ad revenue would "come down meaningfully" this year as the newsfeed becomes more saturated. Increasing CPM's helps make up for any revenue losses that would stem from that reduction in ads served. The average click-through rate has remained consistent on both platforms.

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