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Meta Ad Library: see your competitors' ads in five minutes
The Meta Ad Library shows every active ad from any Facebook or Instagram page. How to use it to analyse your competitors, and what it doesn't tell you.
Published on · Joh · 5 min read
The Meta Ad Library is a free, public tool that shows every ad currently running on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and Meta's audience network. Anyone can use it, without an ad account. It is the first thing I open when I prepare a call with a business: I look at what its competitors do.
How to get there
Search for "Meta Ad Library". Choose the country, the "All ads" category, then type the name of a business or page. You see its active ads, each with its start date, the platforms it runs on and the full image or video.
For ads shown in the European Union, the library also shows extra information, such as estimated reach and the age and gender breakdown.
What to look at
The start date. The most valuable piece of information. An ad launched eight months ago and still active is likely to be profitable: advertisers rarely cut an ad that works, and rarely keep one that loses money. An ad launched three days ago says nothing yet.
The number of variants. Several versions of the same ad, with different hooks, point to an advertiser who tests. Often a sign of a well-run account.
The format. Talking to camera, before and after, testimonial, still image with text. If every competitor in a sector uses the same format, there is room to stand out with another.
The offer and the call to action. Free quote, showroom visit, online simulation, discount. You quickly see what the market promises, and therefore how to be different.
The landing page. Clicking the ad shows where it leads: instant form, dedicated page, home page. What makes a page convert.
What it doesn't tell you
The library shows neither budget, nor number of enquiries, nor cost per contact. An old ad is a hint of profitability, not proof. And it only shows what runs today: an ad cut yesterday is gone.
Copying a competitor's ad is therefore a bad idea. It may work for them for reasons you can't see: their reputation, their price, their area. The tool is for understanding the market, then doing it differently.
The same thing on Google
Google has an equivalent: the Google Ads Transparency Center. It shows the ads an advertiser runs on Search, YouTube and the Display network. Useful for seeing which services a competitor invests in.
How I use it
Before creating ads for a client, I list the competitors in their area and look at the ads that have been running longest. Then I look for the angle nobody occupies. For a pool builder, if everyone shows finished pools in the sun, a video about the summer spent without a pool gets noticed more. Structuring a short video ad.
Further reading: Video ad hooks, with examples and Andromeda and your creatives.
Want to know what your competitors do on Meta? . I look at their ads before the call, and we talk it through.