How to View Competitor Ads for Free
· Cole Stark · 7 min read
You can view competitor ads for free in each platform's public ad library. Google's Ads Transparency Center shows ads an advertiser ran on Search, YouTube and Display. Meta's Ad Library shows every active ad on Facebook and Instagram. LinkedIn's Ad Library shows ads that ran on LinkedIn.
For the keywords behind search ads, you need your own auction data or a paid tool like Semrush or SpyFu. Below is where to look on each platform, what each library shows and hides, and how to turn what you find into tests rather than copies.
Why view competitor ads
Competitor ads tell you what your rivals think buyers care about. You see the offer, the claim they lead with, the call to action and the page they send people to. Ads that keep running for months are a rough signal that they work.
That's useful for three jobs: finding claims nobody in your category is making, writing a competitor conquesting campaign, and spotting when a rival changes its offer or pricing.
It's less useful as a template. Copying a competitor's ad gives buyers one more reason to treat you as interchangeable.
Where to view competitor ads for free
Each major platform runs its own library. Several exist because of the EU's Digital Services Act, which requires large platforms to keep a public repository of ads, so ads shown in the EU often carry more detail.
| Platform | Library | What you can see | Main limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google (Search, YouTube, Display) | Ads Transparency Center | An advertiser's ads over a date range, by region | No keywords, spend or results |
| Facebook and Instagram | Meta Ad Library | All active ads, with start dates | Inactive ads only for the EU and political ads |
| LinkedIn Ad Library | Ads since June 2023, by advertiser, keyword, country and date | Targeting and impressions only for EU ads | |
| Microsoft (Bing) | Microsoft Ad Library | Ads shown to Bing users in the EU | EU only |
| X | Ads Repository | Ads served in the EU, with targeting and reach | EU only |
| TikTok | Creative Center Top Ads | High-performing ads by region and industry | Can't search one competitor |
Google Ads Transparency Center
Google's Ads Transparency Center is a searchable record of advertisers and the ads they've served on Google. To view competitor ads on Google, search the competitor's name or website, then filter by date and region.
It shows the advertiser's name and location, and who paid for the ads. In some regions, it adds targeting details and how many people saw each ad. It doesn't show which keywords triggered a search ad, what the advertiser spent or how the ad performed.
Meta Ad Library
The Meta Ad Library lets anyone search all active ads running across Facebook, Instagram and Meta's other apps. Search by advertiser or keyword, and filter by country.
Each ad shows when it started running, so you can see which ones a competitor has kept live for months. Ads delivered in the EU stay in the library for a year after they stop running. Social issue and political ads stay for seven years, with spend and reach.
LinkedIn Ad Library
For B2B, LinkedIn's Ad Library is often the most useful place to view competitor ads. Search by company name, payer or keyword, filter by country and date, and open each ad to see its format and who paid for it. It covers ads that ran after June 1, 2023, and keeps each one for a year after its last impression.
You'll see the offers competitors push to your buyers: webinars, reports, demos and free trials. Ads targeted at the EU show much more. LinkedIn lists the main targeting the advertiser chose, like job function, seniority, company size or industry, plus estimated impressions by country. If a competitor advertises in Europe, that's a rare look at exactly who they're targeting.
Microsoft, X and TikTok
Microsoft and X both run repositories that cover ads shown in the EU. Microsoft's Ad Library covers ads served to Bing users in the EU. X's Ads Repository lets you search EU ads by account, country and date, with targeting, impressions and reach.
TikTok's Creative Center has a Top Ads section of high-performing ads you can filter by region, industry and campaign objective. It's good for creative ideas, but you can't look up one competitor's ads there.
Find the keywords competitors bid on
None of the free libraries show search keywords. Two sources fill the gap.
The first is your own Google Ads account. The auction insights report shows which advertisers appear in the same auctions as you, how often, and how often they rank above you. It only covers auctions you're in, but the data is real rather than estimated.
The second is a paid research tool. Semrush's Ads History report shows a 12-month timeline of a domain's Google search ads by keyword, with the ad copy and landing page. SpyFu keeps a long archive of ad copy by keyword, so you can see which ads a competitor kept running. Both estimate from their own sampling of search results, so treat them as directional and expect gaps.
Check live results without skewing your data
Searching your own keywords in Google to see who shows up has two problems. Your results are personalized, and your searches can count as impressions on your own ads.
Google's Ad Preview and Diagnosis tool previews the results page for a keyword without counting impressions. Use it to see which competitors appear on a query in a given location.
And don't click competitor ads to study their landing pages. Each click costs them money, and Google treats clicks that only raise someone's ad costs as invalid clicks. The ad libraries show the destination without a paid click.
What to look for when you view competitor ads
Read competitor ads for decisions, not wording:
- The offer. Free trial, demo, report, webinar or discount. The offer tells you where they think buyers are in the journey.
- The lead claim. Speed, price, integrations, security or ease of use. Note which claim nobody in your category makes.
- Longevity. An ad running for six months has probably earned its budget. One that ran for a week probably didn't.
- The landing page. Is it a dedicated page or the homepage, and does it match the ad's promise?
- Format and placement. Video on YouTube, document ads on LinkedIn, search ads on brand terms.
- Volume and timing. A burst of new ads often means a launch, a pricing change or a new segment.
Keep what you find in a shared document, with screenshots and dates. Checked monthly, it becomes a record of how each competitor's positioning changes.
Turn competitor ad research into tests
The point of taking time to view competitor ads is to find gaps. If every competitor leads with "AI-powered", lead with the outcome. If they all offer a demo, test a self-serve trial. If none has a comparison page, build one.
Then test your version against your current ads, one change at a time, and judge it on cost per customer rather than click-through rate. My guide to PPC for B2B covers campaign structure. My roundup of B2B landing page examples covers the pages those ads should land on.
View competitor ads to find what nobody is saying
The best reason to view competitor ads is to find the claim, offer or audience the rest of your category is ignoring. Check the libraries monthly, note what changed, and use it to choose your next test. Copying their ads only makes you harder to tell apart.
Running that research and the tests that follow is part of my paid search services, alongside paid social for LinkedIn and Meta.
View Competitor Ads FAQs
How can I see my competitors' Google ads?
You can see your competitors' Google ads in the Google Ads Transparency Center. Search for the advertiser's name or website, then filter by date and region to see their search, YouTube and display ads. It doesn't show which keywords trigger the ads or how much the advertiser spends, so pair it with auction insights or a paid tool.
Can you see how much competitors spend on ads?
You usually can't see how much competitors spend on ads. Public libraries show spend only for political and social issue ads, and some reach data for ads shown in the EU. Paid tools like Semrush and SpyFu estimate search ad spend from their own data, which is useful for comparing competitors but not precise.
Can you see competitors' LinkedIn ads?
You can see competitors' LinkedIn ads in LinkedIn's Ad Library. Search for the company name or a keyword, filter by country and date, and open each ad to see its format and who paid for it. Ads targeted at people in the EU show extra detail, including targeting and impressions.
How do I find which keywords a competitor bids on?
You find which keywords a competitor bids on through your Google Ads auction insights report or a paid research tool. Auction insights shows competitors in the same auctions as your own keywords. Tools like Semrush and SpyFu estimate a competitor's paid keywords and ad history across many more searches, with some gaps.
Do competitors know when you view their ads?
Competitors don't know when you view their ads in the public libraries, which work like any other website. Clicking their ads in search results is different: each click costs them money and shows up in their reports. Use the libraries and Google's Ad Preview and Diagnosis tool instead of clicking live ads.