Zynga’s off-Facebook games platform Zynga.com now displays Facebook ads and sponsored stories, as part of what could be the beginnings of a Facebook ad network across the web.
Inside Facebook has published the following article:
According to the Facebook Help Center, “When you connect with Facebook on Zynga.com, you’ll see personalized ads and sponsored stories. The Facebook ads you see on Zynga are the same ads you see on Facebook.com.”
Those ads appear in the sidebar, which is where we’ve previously seen Zynga serve ads via Google AdSense. The site still runs Google ad services, as seen with the Fab.com banner at the bottom of the screenshot below.
Last year, Facebook told us it had agreed to work with Zynga to provide ads on their properties beyond Facebook, though at the time it was unknown what the “Zynga Platform” would be. Facebook is sharing a percentage of ad revenue with Zynga, but those percentages have been redacted from regulatory filings available here.
Both Sponsored Stories and traditional Facebook ads — those with headlines and body copy — appear on Zynga.com. It’s unclear whether ads for competing games are prevented from being displayed on the site. We’ve reached out to both companies for more details.
[Update 6/22/12 9:52 a.m. PT - Facebook provided the following statement, “We have had a close relationship with Zynga for a number of years and we think we can deliver value to Zynga and to the people playing their games by showing the same ads that they see on Facebook. We will not be showing ads on other sites at this time.” Facebook did not clarify whether competing game-related ads would appear next to Zynga.com games.]
How do you feel about ads and sponsored stories on Zynga? Do you find the idea annoying, or do you consider them necessary for generating revenue to keep Zynga games going? Please leave your comments below.
