5 Smart Ways to Spy On Your Competitors’ Ads

 In today’s hyper-competitive digital world, understanding what your competitors are doing—especially in the ad space—is not just smart. It’s essential. The good news? You don’t need to hire a private investigator or go undercover. There are legitimate, effective tools and tactics to ethically spy on your competitors’ ads and use those insights to fine-tune your own marketing strategies.

Here are five smart ways to keep tabs on what your rivals are doing with their advertising—and how to turn that intel into a competitive edge.

1. Leverage Meta’s Ad Library (Facebook & Instagram)

If your competitors are running Facebook or Instagram ads, Meta’s Ad Library is a goldmine.

What It Does:
The Ad Library lets you search any brand page and view all active ads they’re running across Meta platforms. You can see the creative, the copy, and even how many versions of the ad are live.

How to Use It:

  • Go to Meta Ad Library

  • Enter your competitor’s page name

  • Filter by country and platform

Pro Tip: Pay attention to the longevity of certain ads. If an ad’s been running for weeks or months, it’s probably converting well.

2. Use SEMrush or Ahrefs for Paid Search Ads

When it comes to Google Ads and paid search campaigns, tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs offer a behind-the-scenes look at your competitors' strategies.

What You’ll See:

  • Keywords they’re bidding on

  • Ad copy they’re using

  • Estimated spend and traffic from PPC

  • Historical ad performance

Why It’s Smart: You can identify high-performing keywords you might have missed and see exactly how competitors are positioning themselves in search.

3. Spy with SimilarWeb or BuiltWith

Want a more holistic view of a competitor’s ad tech stack or traffic sources? These tools are your secret weapons.

SimilarWeb

  • Shows where traffic is coming from (paid, organic, referral, display)

  • Reveals top referral sites and ad networks

BuiltWith

  • Lets you peek into their marketing and ad technologies (like Facebook Pixel, Google Ads, retargeting tools)

Tactical Use: If you notice they’re using display ad networks like Taboola or Outbrain, you can test those channels too—or even advertise on the same platforms they do.

4. Check Out LinkedIn Ads and Sponsored Content

If your competitors are targeting B2B or professional audiences, LinkedIn is likely a big part of their strategy.

How to Spy:

  • Visit their LinkedIn company page

  • Click on the “Posts” tab and look for “Sponsored” tags

  • You can also use the LinkedIn Ads Library (currently in limited rollout, but useful where available)

Bonus Tip: Engage with their content through a neutral account to trigger more of their retargeting and nurture ads. You’ll see how they structure their funnels.

5. Sign Up for Their Emails & Retargeting

Want to get inside their sales funnel? Pretend you’re a prospect.

What to Do:

  • Subscribe to their newsletter

  • Abandon a cart (if they’re ecommerce)

  • Download a lead magnet

  • Follow their socials and engage lightly

Why This Works: You'll start receiving their email sequences, retargeting ads, and offers—giving you a front-row seat to their ad funnels, pricing strategies, and messaging tactics.

Bonus: Use a dedicated inbox to track all competitor emails in one place without cluttering your main inbox.

Final Thoughts: Don’t Copy—Outsmart

While it’s tempting to mimic what your competitors are doing, the real value lies in understanding why they’re doing it—and how you can do it better. Use these tools not to imitate but to innovate. Spot the gaps, test variations, and always bring your brand’s unique value to the forefront.

In marketing, knowledge isn’t just power—it’s profit. So be smart, be strategic, and always be watching (ethically, of course).

Have a favorite tool or tactic for tracking competitor ads? Drop it in the comments—we love a good marketing hack.

Comments

  1. HONEYKAITApril 13, 2025 at 1:07 AM

    Very Good information provided by this blogger in opinion on the competitors ads

    ReplyDelete

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