In the digital advertising world, keeping tabs on your competition is crucial for staying ahead. While not exactly enemies, your competitors can impact your business if you’re not aware of their strategies. This article outlines nine effective methods for “spying” on your competitors’ ads, enabling you to maintain an adaptable, current, and successful advertising strategy.

Unveiling 9 Techniques to Monitor Competitor Ad Campaigns

A deep dive into competitor analysis requires a thorough examination of their ads and keywords. Here are nine powerful tools to uncover your competitors’ advertising strategies.

1. Leveraging the Facebook (Meta) Ads Library
2. Visiting Websites for Retargeting
3. Utilizing Facebook’s Features
4. Employing SEO Tools
5. Conducting Google Searches
6. Exploring the Google Ads Transparency Center
7. Navigating the TikTok Ads Library
8. Harnessing Competitive Intelligence Tools
9. Utilizing Ad Intelligence Tools Let’s explore each method in detail.

1. Leveraging the Facebook (Meta) Ads Library

The Meta/Facebook Ads Library provides a comprehensive view of all active advertisements across Meta’s platforms, encompassing:

• Ad copy and creative elements
• Ad status (active or paused)
• Launch date
• Targeted Meta platforms
• Ad category For instance, here’s a sample SoFi ad:

One limitation is the requirement to know the competitor’s name for searches. Keyword-based searches can yield broad results due to the absence of filtering options. Key insights to gather:

• Ad variations: Exploring variations in copy, creative, and audience targeting can inspire your own Facebook A/B testing strategies.
• Product/service range: Identify the breadth of products or services advertised and any recurring themes or styles.
• Target audience segment: Determine the specific audience segment targeted by the ad. Curious about the true effectiveness of your Facebook ads? Evaluate them using our free Facebook Ads Performance Grader!

2. Visiting Websites for Retargeting

A robust digital advertising strategy incorporates retargeting. This involves displaying ads to users who have previously interacted with a business’s website, across various online platforms. By repeatedly visiting a competitor’s website, engaging with different pages, and taking specific actions, you can observe their retargeting efforts on social media and other websites in the following days or weeks. Key observations:

• Tailored ads: Identify any variations in ads based on your on-site actions.
• Visuals and positioning: Analyze the visual elements and brand positioning employed in the ads.
• Retargeting timeframe: Observe the time lag between your website visit and the appearance of retargeted ads.
• Ad specificity: Determine if the ads are generic or tailored to the specific product, service, or page you interacted with.

Source

3. Utilizing Facebook’s Features

Upon encountering a competitor’s retargeted ad on Facebook, you can gain deeper insights by clicking on the ad itself. Look for the three dots in the upper right corner:

This reveals options explaining “Why you saw this ad.” In the example below, Meta highlights that the ad from impact.com is displayed based on the advertiser’s choices and my Facebook activity.

Clicking on “Advertiser choices” reveals that impact.com targets users on a hashed (anonymized) list, aged 25 and above, located in the United States.

4. Employing SEO Tools

Comprehensive SEO tools like Ahrefs and Semrush offer competitive analysis features that provide insights into competitors’ organic and paid performance. For instance, Semrush enables you to analyze a website’s top paid keywords and even sample text ads through the “Domain overview” option under the “Competitive analysis” tab.

Clicking on “view details” unveils information on copy, position tracking over time for individual keywords, as well as:

• Estimated traffic volume
• Cost for paid keywords

Insights to look for:

• Targeted keywords
• Keyword volume and cost-per-click
• Estimated ad spend
• Landing page associations for keywords
• Analyze landing page copy, imagery, and positioning For a deeper understanding, refer to our comprehensive guide on competitive keyword analysis. Struggling to find the right keywords? Explore our Free Keyword Tool!

5. Conducting Google Searches

Even without dedicated SEO tools, a simple Google search using a competitor’s brand name or service offering can reveal valuable information. This method shows whether they’re running ads, along with their ad copy and landing page, although detailed keyword data and position tracking may not be available. Key observations:

• Ad copy approach
• Keyword targeting (branded vs. non-branded)
• Competitor bidding on branded keywords In the example below, a search for “zendesk” reveals Zoho ranking higher than Zendesk for the targeted keyword.

6. Exploring the Google Ads Transparency Center

For a comprehensive view of competitors’ Google Ads campaigns, utilize Google’s Transparency Center, functioning as an ads library.

This resource allows you to search for text, image, and video ads from competitors or other businesses, providing inspiration for your own campaigns. For a step-by-step guide on navigating the Google Ads library, refer to our detailed resources. Curious about your competitors’ Google Ads performance? Download our latest Google Ads Benchmarks for valuable insights!

7. Navigating the TikTok Ads Library

To ascertain if competitors are advertising on TikTok, turn to the TikTok Ads Library.

The TikTok Ads Library enables you to find your competitors’ ads (if running ads) or explore other ads on the platform. For a comprehensive guide on utilizing the TikTok Ads Library for ad creation, refer to our article outlining 10+ strategies.

8. Harnessing Competitive Intelligence Tools

While the tools discussed earlier primarily focus on SEO with additional competitive intelligence features, dedicated competitive intelligence tools like Similarweb offer comprehensive ad intelligence capabilities. Similar to Semrush, Similarweb empowers you to:

• Uncover competitors’ keywords
• Analyze search ad positions
• Estimate ad impressions
• Determine traffic share from specific ads
• Access keyword data

Source The choice between these tools depends on your specific needs. Opt for Semrush if your focus is on SEO, backlinks, and organic performance. Choose Similarweb if your priorities lie in market research, data enrichment, and customer journey mapping.

9. Utilizing Ad Intelligence Tools

Lastly, explore dedicated ad intelligence tools like Adbeat. By entering a brand name, the free version provides insights into:

• Monthly ad impressions
• Channel breakdown (native, direct, programmatic)
• Ad creative sizes and types
• Publisher websites featuring the ads
• Longest-running ad and page durations

Additionally, browse a gallery of the brand’s ads, including details on ad date, type, and size:

Integrate these Tools to Elevate your Ad Strategy

Monitoring competitor ad campaigns provides invaluable insights to refine your advertising approach and spark inspiration for copy and creative elements. By incorporating these nine tools into your competitive analysis toolkit, you can maintain a competitive edge in the ever-evolving advertising landscape.

1. Leverage the Facebook (Meta) Ads Library
2. Visit Websites for Retargeting
3. Utilize Facebook’s Features
4. Employ SEO Tools
5. Conduct Google Searches
6. Explore the Google Ads Transparency Center
7. Navigate the TikTok Ads Library
8. Harness Competitive Intelligence Tools
9. Utilize Ad Intelligence Tools