According to the projections recently shared digital advertising research firm eMarketer, Internet search giant Google will probably dethrone popular social network Facebook to become the top-notch earner in US display ads in
2012; and will, in the process, fortify its dominant presence in online advertising.

Going by the figures projected by eMarketer, display ads on Google will likely account for 15.4 percent - or $2.31 billion - of the US display ad expenditure this year; pushing Facebook down to the second spot, with the social network approximately claiming 14.4 percent, or $2.16 billion, of the display ad dollars.

Google will apparently surpass Facebook in terms of US display ads because the Internet search company's clout in the display ads arena has been on the increase of late; thanks largely to the video advertising growth witnessed on its YouTube subsidiary, and the expansion of mobile advertising via Admob, a firm which Google acquired in 2009.

Other than Google and Facebook, the other top US display ad earners, as per eMarketer's projections, will be Yahoo, Microsoft, and AOL; all of which have advertising networks across their digital content properties.

Meanwhile, along with projecting that Google will take Facebook's crown in US display ads this year, eMarketer has also drawn attention to the fact that the weaker-than-anticipated display ad demand has delivered a strong blow to the publishers, with bigwig brands withholding their splurge on expensive digital campaigns.