10 Tips for Free Competitor Research Using Ad Libraries

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Lee Gannon

With so many different tools available for competitor research it can be a bit overwhelming. 

I’ve lived and breathed paid ads over the past eight years, and in this article I’m going to share with you 10 tips on how to conduct competitor research for free using ad libraries. 

Grab a notebook and let’s dive in!

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TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Tip #1: Familiarise yourself with all the available ad libraries

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The first step is to know what options you have available.

Here are the primary ad libraries available for the top 3 ad platforms: 

LinkedIn Ad Library

linkedin ad library interface screenshot

Meta Ads Library

meta ads library interface screenshot

Google Ads Transparency Center

google ads transparency center interface screenshot

Within each library you can study creatives for your competitors and relevant brands. 

Using them on a quarterly basis to spy on your competitors is a key habit to develop. 

Tip #2: Leverage time and location filters

 

You can filter by time and location within each ad library to understand: 

  • Which markets are my competitors investing in?
  • How many creative variations are my competitors testing?
  • Are they testing localised campaigns outside of english?

You won’t know exactly how much your competitors are investing but you can use the volume of ads as a proxy to estimate the level of investment, and interest for a given market. 

If you spot certain markets where you’re finding organic traction AND you see your competitors have gone through the commitment of localising these regions,these are great signals for you to consider running a pilot campaign. 

Tip #3: Estimate platform demand by volume of creatives

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We touched on using the volume of as a proxy to estimate the level of investment for a market.

The same logic applies to also understanding the demand for a specific ad platform. 

Let’s use a hypothetical example, imagine you see the following for your competitor:

  • LinkedIn Ads = 20 active ad variations in the past month
  • Meta Ads = 10 active ad variations in the past month
  • Google Ads = 5 active ad variations in the past month

Based on the volume of ads you can assume LinkedIn could be their primary platform followed by Meta, and finally Google. Look up your competitors and take note of their volume of ads by platform.

You’ll never know with 100% certainty but it’s a good approximation for at least the effort they are expending on each channel, if not their level of success.

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Pro tip: get buy-in from leadership to test new ad platforms by showing them how active your competitors are within those channels, this creates FOMO which is quite powerful. 

Tip #4: Build a swipe folder of ad inspiration

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A swipe folder is a simple collection of screenshots of ads, landing pages, and offers that stand out.

As you’re going through the ad libraries take note of the ads that catch your attention from competitors, relevant brands, and from scrolling through social platforms.  

Inspiration comes from all sources and by building this swipe folder you can:

  • Better communicate and share guidance with your creative team
  • Avoid reinventing the wheel with tested concepts
  • Reduce the time to produce new creatives

This can be as simple as a folder in a Google Drive, it doesn’t need to be complicated.

If you want to be organised about it you can also group ads by concept, such as:

  • Social Proof
  • Thought Leadership
  • Product Marketing

The most important piece to takeaway from this is you have some sort of folder to refer to. 

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Pro tip: create a shared slack channel for people across teams to upload examples of great ads they come across to crowdsource inspiration. 

Tip #5: Research brands in adjacent industries 

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Oftentimes your competitors might be behind the ball when it comes to advertising. 

In these instances researching them won’t be very helpful or worthwhile. 

Instead what you can do is research brands in adjacent industries, for example:

  • eCommerce 
  • E-learning
  • Retail 

You can take what works in other industries and adjust it to fit in yours. 

Creativity is often taking what works from one sphere and applying it to another. 

Tip #6: Build a matrix to document your competitors’ movements

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If you want to take your competitors’ research to the next level, build a documented matrix. 

This can be as simple as:

  • Competitor Namesome text
    • Month/Year
    • Channel
    • Ad Count

It will take a bit of work to put this together but the primary benefit is you can now monitor your competitors’ activity by ad platform on a quarterly basis. 

Here’s a simple example of what this can look like in Google Sheets: 

A dashboard displaying various tables and a bar chart.
Pro tip: if you’re looking for a role in paid media, do a competitor research analysis on the brand you’re applying for. It's a great way to differentiate yourself against other candidates. 

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Tip #7: Build a checklist to uncover strategic insights

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When reviewing your competitors’ ads in the library you’ll want to think deeper than just the surface level of the styles and examples of ads in front of you to uncover strategic insights. 

Create a simple checklist to remind yourself to think about: 

  • Are the ads running to gated or ungated content?
  • Is there a mixture of content that focuses on demand creation or capture?
  • What stage of the funnel are their ads focused on? (ex: ToFu, BoFu)
  • What mixture of offers are they testing? (ex: Conferences, Webinars) 
  • Are they driving to a landing page or lead form? 

Compare the insights you uncover against your current approach.

If you notice 3 of your competitors are promoting events and you’re not then it’s worth testing. 

Tip #8: Review the ad formats being used 

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This was touched on slightly before but it deserves to be in its own tip. 

As you’re reviewing competitors in the library take notes of the ad formats being used. 

For example, when it comes to LinkedIn are they testing: 

  • Image 
  • Video
  • Spotlight
  • Carousel
  • Document
  • Conversation

If you notice a large volume of a certain ad format it’s safe to say it must be working. 

Compare the formats they are using against your own to inspire future experiments. 

For videos take special note of aspect ratio, short vs long form, and other nuances like humour. 

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Pro tip:assign your competitor research tasks to an intern or junior person as pulling these insights is quite time-consuming and  can be done by an entry level team member.

Tip #9: Clickthrough to review landing pages in use

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The remarkable thing about these libraries is that you can click through on the ad and view the landing pages your competitors are using. This insight is  not otherwise easily discoverable. 

This all of sudden opens up a lot of homework for you to perform landing page teardowns. 

  • What are the calls to action on the landing page?
  • How is the page structured compared to yours?
  • Do they have better social proof than you?

Now suddenly your swipe folder can be filled with print screens of their entire landing pages. 

Which can be shared with your team to test new page variations. 

Pro tip:

If you’re using Google Chrome you can use the extension called GoFullPage to take screenshots of entire pages with the click of a button. 

Tip #10: Review your competitors’ UTM string

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To close out on our final tip, I wanted to share a more advanced approach.

When you’re clicking through to the landing page of your competitors’ ads take note of the UTM string in place to potentially uncover insights on how they’ve set up their campaigns. 

By reviewing the URL structure I might gather the following information:

  • Network = g | they’re advertising on Google Search
  • Device = c | they’re running ads on Desktop devices
  • Keyword = crm software | they’re bidding on crm software
  • Matchtype = e | they’re using exact match 
zoho.com crm landing page

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Hope you found this article helpful! 👏

Connect with me on LinkedIn and let’s keep the conversation going. 

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People Also Ask

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How can I ensure the insights gained from ad libraries are effectively integrated into my marketing strategy?

Establish a systematic process for documenting and analyzing the information gathered from ad libraries. Regularly share these insights with your marketing team to inform campaign planning and creative development, ensuring alignment with current industry trends and competitor strategies.

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What are the ethical considerations when using ad libraries for competitor research?

While ad libraries provide publicly available information, it’s important to use this data responsibly. Avoid directly copying competitors’ ads; instead, use the insights to inspire and inform your unique strategies, maintaining originality and respecting intellectual property.

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How frequently should I review competitors’ ads in ad libraries to stay updated?

Conduct reviews on a regular basis, such as quarterly, to stay informed about competitors’ advertising activities and market trends. More frequent reviews may be necessary in rapidly changing industries to ensure your strategies remain competitive.

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Can ad libraries provide insights into the performance of competitors’ ads?

Ad libraries typically showcase the creatives and targeting details but do not provide direct performance metrics. However, by analyzing factors like ad longevity and variations, you can infer which ads might be performing well for your competitors.

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How can I use ad libraries to identify emerging trends in my industry?

By regularly reviewing a diverse set of competitors and industry leaders in ad libraries, you can spot recurring themes, new product offerings, and innovative ad formats, helping you stay ahead of emerging trends.

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Lee Gannon
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