Most marketers analyze competitors with the wrong mindset. They saw a successful ad and thought, “I should do this!”
This is the secret to mediocrity.
Competitors don’t always know what they’re doing. Their campaign may be underperforming, and blindly following them can lead you into the same loophole. You also don’t want to participate in a copy war and be Indistinguishable from each other.
This is the fact: Competition Analysis Not to copy. It’s about learning.
In this guide, I will show you how to become a marketing detective, not a stolen one.
Competitors may not always understand better. But you Do Still wondering what your competitors are doing because:
- Competitors may actually know something you don’t know: Maybe they found an effective creative approach. Maybe they have cracked the lower CPA code on budget allocation and ad position. You don’t want to imitate their campaigns; you’re reversing the work and why.
- They can help you baseline performance: No context, $100 per click seems crazy. But in industries like law or insurance, this may be for the course. Competitor data puts your expectations in reality.
- They help you find gaps and opportunities: Sometimes the most valuable insight is what the competitors don’t do. An underserved audience, overlooked messaging angles or outdated positioning are opportunities you can use to develop a differentiated, sharper value proposition.
- They reveal market trends before hitting you: If your competitor starts transferring messaging or offering, it is not random. It may indicate seasonal trends, algorithm changes or change consumer sentiment. Discover the waves and ride them out.
Let’s explore how to peek into competitors’ advertising strategies:
1. Click on the Advertising Library from the main advertising platform
Most major advertising platforms offer “ad library” or transparency centers where users can view inactive ads, ad details, keyword search data, and more.
Here are the top platforms you should explore:
Meta-advertising library
The MetaAd library allows you to see all active and inactive ads, and any page runs across metaplatforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Audience Network, Messenger and Threading.
Select an ad category and search for keywords and advertisers. For example, these are the ads we’ve been running:
You can click View Ad Details to see more information about each ad. You can also click the Call Action button on each ad to see which landing page the ad will send paid traffic.
You can also add filters such as language, platform, media type, activity status, and date range.
If you click the Brand Content tab, you can also search for specific brands or creators and view their paid partner content:
However, they need to “declare” them on the platform or they won’t appear.
Google Advertising Transparency Center
Just like the version of Meta, the Google Advertising Transparency Center displays business ads on Google search, maps, games, shopping, and YouTube.
Search for an advertiser or website and you will see all ads:
However, you won’t be able to see the target keywords or audience for these businesses. You must use competitive intelligence tools (see below).
Tiktok Advertising Library
The Tiktok Advertising Library shows all ads operated by advertisers on the platform. You can see the idea (for example, a short video), and when the ad runs, how many unique users see it and a summary of the targeting of the ad.
You can even see who paid for the ad (in this case, Loewe’s Tiktok ads may be paid by the agents they are responsible for, Publicis):
If you don’t do any searches, you can actually see the entire ad database:
LinkedIn Advertising Library
The LinkedIn ad library shows all ads that an enterprise runs on its platform. You can search by company name or keyword.
Unfortunately, LinkedIn shows only some details: copy, creative and landing pages you can click on.
2. Using Competitive Intelligence Tools
The ad library is great, but they don’t show you all the information. For example, the Google Advertising Transparency Center does not show you the keywords your business is targeting.
To see this you need to use a competitive intelligence tool like Ahrefs Website Explorer.
Insert your competitor’s field into Website Explorer Then go Paid keywords Report.
For example, this is Shopify’s keyword for Google ads. You can also view the landing pages they use, the estimated paid traffic they receive, and the CPC. If you hover over a magnifying glass, you can also see the actual Google ad:
If you want to see all ads your website runs on Google, go to Paid advertising Report:
If you want to view its landing page, go to the Paid Page report:
3. Using the Advertising Intelligence Platform
You have social media and search ads. What about displaying ads? To monitor your competitors’ display ads, you will need a tool adbeat.
Enter the competitor’s domain and you’ll be able to see the ads they’ve been running, ad channels, ad ideas of size and type, where ads are running, and more.
Very cool.
4. Explore Advertising Repository
Sometimes the best ideas come from real-world examples. A selected advertising repository provides a combination of top performing, creative and experimental advertising across the industry.
Here are some useful ad libraries:
Even better, build your own sliding file. Screenshot ads you see on social media or Google, store them in a concept or passable repository, and then organize them through branding, dates, messaging angles, or creative formats.
5. Do it yourself
Sometimes, the most effective research comes from potential customers encountering competitor ads.
Here’s what you can do:
- Search for keywords related to your industry and products: Please note which competitors will always appear and the messaging they use. Consider using a VPN to get more accurate search results (especially for local searches).
- Repositioning: Visit their website and browse their products or services. Then, monitor their retargeting ads for you in the next few weeks. Often, this reveals their repositioning strategies and messaging at different stages funnel.
- Sign up for their newsletter: Email marketing is usually consistent with advertising campaigns. Monitor their promotions, product launches and seasonal events.
- Follow them on social media: Many brands will run dark posts or audience-targeted campaigns that you can occasionally capture and analyze.
Collecting data is only half the battle. The real value comes from the steps that turn competitive research into feasible.
What can you do with all your competitors’ advertising? Here are some ideas:
- Compare their ads over time: It may be effective if a competitor posts a title or CTA for several weeks. Identify the information they keep and its abandonment.
- Point a consistent topic or message: If multiple competitors emphasize things like “fast delivery” or “24/7 support”, this could be a table bet in your industry. Make a unique spin to stand out.
- Analyze its landing page: Follow competitor ads to their destination page for a complete customer journey. How do they build quotes? What call action do they use? These insights can inspire improvements to your own transformation paths.
- Develop trans: Position your product as the answer to the gap in competitors’ commitments. If they emphasize “speed”, maybe you emphasize “deep” or “reliability”.
- Explore underused platforms: Note that your competitors are not active on Pinterest, Reddit or Tiktok? This may be your chance to test and win early.
The final thought
The goal is not to replicate the competitor’s approach, but to understand what works and improve it.
The most successful advertisers not only respond to their competitors; they engage in competitive insights to create unique, audience-centric movements rather than fitting into them.
Remember: Don’t copy. study. Iteration. promote. Soon after, your competitors will be the ones who monitor your ads for inspiration.
