It seems that marketers are shifting their focus toward Facebook advertising, despite uncertainties regarding how ads on the social network actually perform.

Digital marketing software provider Kenshoo recently released global growth metrics for Facebook advertising compared to paid-search marketing during the first half (H1) of 2012. The data reveals that marketers are increasing ad budgets with Facebook at a faster rate than with search engines. 

In fact, during H1 Kenshoo’s Social clients grew ad spend on Facebook by 36 percent, while Kenshoo Enterprise and Kenshoo Local clients grew paid-search ad budgets by only 12 percent. 

“Marketers are opening their pocketbooks as Facebook continues to innovate with new ad formats and targeting options,” says Aaron Goldman, Chief Marketing Officer at Kenshoo. “Emerging opportunities like Facebook Exchange and Sponsored Results will only increase the demand for Facebook ad products and the effectiveness of social media advertising in terms of achieving business results.”