Display advertising currently represents about 32 percent of total US online advertising, according to the IAB. That’s roughly $6.7 billion. Google already dominates the roughly $8.5 billion US search market. But Google’s Tim Armstrong told the Bear Stearns Media Conference in Palm Beach, Florida yesterday that Google expects, in the not-too-distant future, to have a “very significant” position in online display advertising, and if the company didn’t achieve that he would be “very disappointed.”

Armstrong added, according to Dow Jones, that Google’s platform “will evolve over time so that it won’t distinguish between search and display ads.” Discussing Google’s display outlook, Armstrong’s remarks focused on opportunities associated with YouTube. But the impending DoubleClick acquisition, which European regulators appear poised to approve, will also bolster Google’s position in display.

At the conference, Armstrong addressed a range of other online advertising issues such as behavioral targeting and advertising on social networks, indicating that Google now had a team dedicated to improving monetization of social media.

Related Topics: Google: Acquisitions | Google: Business Issues | Google: YouTube & Video

About The Author: Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land. He writes a personal blog Screenwerk, about SoLoMo issues and connecting the dots between online and offline. He also posts at Internet2Go, which is focused on the mobile Internet. Follow him @gsterling. See more articles by Greg Sterling