CTR for Facebook Ads in the U.S. Doubled in Q3 2012

What can you learn from 520 billion Facebook ad impressions in more than 190 countries for 282 clients during the first nine months of 2012?

A whole lot, as marketing and technology company TBG Digital found. The company, which specializes in Facebook advertising, shared its findings in a new report. Among the major findings was that the average cost per click (CPC) dropped to levels not seen since 2010, and the click-through rate (CTR) nearly doubled in the U.S. during the third quarter.

According to TBG Digital’s “Global Facebook Advertising Report: Q3 2012,” the average CPC on Facebook in the U.S. during the third quarter dropped 40 percent, while the average CPC in Canada fell 27 percent. Across all five of the global countries included in the study (Canada, France, Germany, the U.K. and the U.S.), the average CPC dropped 34 percent. TBG Digital notes that much of this drop is attributed to the U.S., which accounts for a large percentage of the data set’s impressions.

The average CPCs for Facebook ads have dropped to 2010 levels, according to the study. “We expect to see CPCs rise as competition for inventory increases,” TBG Digital notes.

Meanwhile, the average CTR for Facebook ads in the U.S. surged 99 percent in the third quarter, and the average CTR in Canada rose 37 percent. CTRs across all five territories in the report rose by an average of 11 percent. TBG Digital notes that the third quarter was the first full quarter since Facebook gave advertisers access to its mobile user base, which may have influenced ad engagement in the U.S., where there has been the biggest interest in mobile ad placement targeting.

“In an unchanging environment, a rise in Click Through Rates could be attributed to improvements in ad creative and its targeting,” the report notes. “Other countries have not seen such a large increase in CTR, possibly due to those territories having a higher percentage of Offsite campaign impressions.”

TBG Digital also offered an overview of Facebook’s different ad offerings:

The report also looked at the CTRs and CPC index for Facebook page post ads:

According to Bloomberg, Facebook, which will announce its third-quarter earnings today after U.S. markets close, may announce third-quarter sales that are 29 percent higher than the same period last year. However, this would reflect slowing growth