• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, June 7, 2021

Browser company Opera is building out a network of advertising technology to support brands, allowing them to reach highly engaged consumers even as more privacy laws go into effect and Google and Facebook rid their platforms of personal identifiers to target ads.

During the past couple of years, Opera customized its basic browser for a variety of industries such as news and gaming.

A browser with pre-populated ecommerce features will come next. The development team is working with Amazon, eBay and others to integrate content feeds, pre-integrated checkout and continue-on features, as well as pricing strategies.  

"We don't need to profile the user outside of his content interests and his content context," he says.

The gaming browser, launched two years ago, also is based on Opera’s standard browser, but is pre-populated with features and services such as Discord, Twitch, and YouTube.

The content in the browser focuses on new releases and other gaming-type information.

Opera Ads also launched in 2019. With a focus on advertising, Opera can support more targeted ads for brands by knowing the type of contentthat its browser users like.

When the user is using the browser, Opera does not serve ads -- the publisher of the website serves the ads. When the user goes to search, they will see the search ads.

Opera monetizes the browser experience through partnerships and global agreements with companies like Google, and shares the revenue. Opera also aggregates content such as news, and videos from publisher partners in its feeds.

Ads are served from the Opera Ads platform and revenue is shared with the publisher. 

Prior to Opera Ads, the company monetized its traffic by connecting to ad networks such as Facebook, Google and others. Since launching the Opera Ads platform in 2019, revenue grew 130%. Opera Ads generated $105,000 per day at launch in May 2019, rising to $160,000 per day in January 2021.

The daily revenue run rate is up 50% year-to-date and is now exceeds $240,000 per day across its mobile products.

The company is tracking more than $80 million in revenue just for Opera Ads on mobile in 2021. Today, the browser reaches more than 380 million Opera users worldwide with a content-based advertising experience.

Opera expects its growth to continue worldwide as it launches several new products such as a self-service ad-manager tool that allows advertisers to take full control of campaigns, from planning to execution, in the Opera ecosystem.

Opera is on track for more than $230 million in revenue for the overall company for 2021.

There is a creative tool that allows advertisers to build their campaigns in the platform, scheduled to launch between August and September.

Premium Ad Solutions now offers advertisers a selection of premium inventories, AI-driven targeting solutions, advanced data analytics, and guided support from the company’s experts.

Further expansion of its DSP & Publisher Solutions for demand- and supply-side platforms that reach more than 90% of internet users worldwide will help to enhance advertisers’ monetization strategies.

The technology also helps to measure retention and time spent with the advertisement.

Opera has successfully completed its Open Measurement SDK certification for Opera Ads from the Interactive Advertising Bureau Tech Lab.

The certification confirms Opera Ads adheres to full transparency, third-party viewability and verification of ad traffic.