LinkedIn plans to test mobile ads in its smartphone apps

LinkedIn has revealed plans to run trials of mobile ads in future versions of its iPhone and Android apps.

According to Reuters, the professional social media service will also give greater prominence to its newsfeed in future versions, with Twitter-style advertisements interspersed.

The news comes as the percentage of LinkedIn users accessing the service through its mobile apps has grown to a quarter, up from 15% a year ago, as content publishers (including social networks) grab a greater slice of the mobile display ad market at the expense of traditional ad networks.

As SmartCompany recently reported, in the display sector of the mobile ad market, publishers controlled 52% of US mobile display revenue in 2012, compared to just 39% in 2011, at the expense of ad networks that display advertising in other company’s apps and mobile sites.

Mobile display advertising in the US accounted for 39% of all mobile ads in the US during 2012, with traditional web search ads still accounting for 61% of sales.

“Mobile ad networks are losing market share to publishers, and we expect them to lose even more going forward,” said Karsten Weide, IDC’s vice president of media and entertainment.