7 min read Marketing

How To Track Your Competitor’s Facebook & Instagram Ads for Free: A Comprehensive Guide

How To Track Your Competitor’s Facebook & Instagram Ads for Free: A Comprehensive Guide
Photo by Will Francis / Unsplash

Have you ever wondered how your competitors manage to craft those seemingly perfect Facebook ads that keep attracting your target audience?

If so, you’re not alone. 

Tracking competitors’ Facebook ads can offer valuable insights into their strategies, helping you refine your own campaigns and stay ahead in the marketing game. 

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the steps to effectively monitor and analyze your competitors' Facebook ads. By the end, you'll be equipped with actionable tactics to boost your own advertising efforts. 

Your ads need to grab attention so you have to quickly tell your audience what makes you different and what makes you better than the competition. 

Let’s dive in!

Track Competitor’s Facebook Ads: A Step-By-Step Guide

  • View Your Competitor’s Facebook Ads for Free
    • Step 1: Go to the Facebook (a.k.a. Meta) Ad Library
    • Step 2: Search for your competitor
    • Step 3: Click on your competitor’s page name from the search results
    • Step 4: Click on ad details to view more information about a particular ad
    • Step 5: Add search filters
  • Insights from Monitoring Your Competitor’s Facebook Ads
    • Content Type
    • Impressions
    • Ad Duration
    • Discount Offers and Deals
    • Landing Pages
    • Copy and Design
  • What to do with competitor ad information
  • Start tracking your competition’s Facebook ads 
  • Frequently Asked Questions
    • How do I monitor my competitor's ads?
    • Which is the tool to spy on competitor ads?
    • Can you track Facebook ads?

View Your Competitor’s Facebook Ads for Free

Step 1: Go to the Facebook (a.k.a. Meta) Ad Library

Start by going to the Facebook Ad Library website using your Facebook account. You can also search for “Ad Library” and go to the first result. 

Step 2: Search for your competitor

The portion that says “Search ads” is where you can start your tracking. 

Pick a location filter (it’s set to the United States by default) and an ad category. 


Then, input your competitor’s name in the search bar. 

A list of suggestions and related searches will come up. Click on the result that matches what you’re looking for.


Here, we’re using Frank Body as an example competitor. We’ll click on “Frank Body” from the search suggestions.

Step 3: Click on your competitor’s page name from the search results

Clicking on the page name takes you to the ads their page has been publishing. On top of the page, you can see the estimated number of results according to your search filters.

Take note that not all your competitor’s ads are shown in the results. 

Further down, you will see the active ads your competitor’s page is running grouped according to the month and year they started running. 

In addition, you can find out the exact date the ad started running, the platforms it’s running on, and its active status. 

You can even watch the ad, if it’s a video, directly on the results page. 

The ad card will also note if the ad has multiple versions.

Step 4: Click on ad details to view more information about a particular ad

If you click on an ad, a small window will pop up with the ad’s details.

Here, you can see the other versions of the ad, play the ad, click on the links on the ad, and learn more information about the advertiser. 


Under “about the advertiser,” aside from the page name, you can see the page category, page description, and the number of followers on their platforms.

Close the card to return to the search results page.

Step 5: Add search filters

Want to get even more precise results? 

Use the filters to find ads by location, language, platform, media type, active status, and even impressions. 

You can use filters for different purposes. For example, you might want to view your competitor’s inactive ads so you can see the history of their marketing campaigns and how they’ve tweaked them over time. 

This can inspire your own campaigns so you can play around with messaging that works for your target audience.


If you have a location-specific product, use the country filter to see if your competitor has targeted that area and if they’re running different ads in that location. 

Again, this gives you a clue of what might be working for them in terms of ad copy or graphics.


Insights from Monitoring Your Competitor’s Facebook Ads

Now that you know how to access and track your competitor’s ads using Facebook Ad Library, the next steps are up to you. Depending on your goals, you can monitor and analyze the following elements of your competitor’s ads.

Content Type

Identify what kind of content your competitor publishes, whether video or image. See how much variety they have in their media types. 

Do they post more videos or is there a balance? Then, check which post types get more engagement. 

Impressions

To track engagement, look at the impressions for an ad. Impression refers to how often an ad is shown onscreen. Have your competitor as a reference for your ad frequency. 

Ad frequency can be tricky. Post too little and you won’t reach your audience. Post too much and you’ll risk driving potential customers away. You need to strike a balance using your competitor’s data as a foundation.

Ad Duration

Discover the patterns in your competitor’s ads by looking at ad duration. The longest-running ads tend to be the most effective ones because your competitor wouldn’t want to mess with an ad that has been shown to perform well. They’ll use it again and again. 

Discount Offers and Deals

Shoppers love a good discount. Ads offering deals and discounts are more engaging so it’s good to find out what kind of offers your competitor puts in their ads and take note of it. 

It’s also good to note what products are accompanied by discounts and what types of discounts are offered. Take inspiration and improve on your competitor’s strategy.

Landing Pages

You can access the landing page for ads on Facebook Ad Library, which can help you uncover even more insights than just the ad alone. 

Analyze these landing pages and test their conversion techniques in your landing pages. 

Copy and Design

Last but not least, analyze your competitor’s ad copy and design. The copy includes not just the copy on the ad but extends to the copy on the caption and CTA. 

On the design side, check how they use color and typefaces. Observe the layout and images they use.

What to do with competitor ad information

You may be asking yourself what the point of all this tracking is. 

Competitor monitoring (for ads, emails, landing pages, and the like) is for improving your strategy and identifying opportunities and gaps in your competitor’s offerings. 

So, you need to go further than just tracking your competitor’s Facebook ads.

To go that extra mile, observe where you and your competitor differ. Even if you share the same target audience or offer the same product or service, there will likely be differences between your brands. 

Take those differences into account when creating or revising your campaigns. Show that you have an edge over the competition, whether it be price or more variety. 

Your ads need to grab attention so you have to quickly tell your audience what makes you different and what makes you better than the competition. 

Start tracking your competition’s Facebook ads 

The Facebook Ad Library is a fantastic resource for any brand who wants to up their game and stay ahead of the curve. But it doesn’t stop with just viewing ads. 

Make sure to analyze the ads you find and apply the insights to your business. 

Remember that competitor tracking is a continuous process. In the saturated digital market, resting on your laurels isn’t an option. 

Good thing you now have this information at ready and can get started anytime!

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I monitor my competitor's ads?

You can monitor your competitor's ads by using the Facebook Ad Library. Simply search for your competitor's name in the Ad Library to view all the active ads they are running across Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger.

Which is the tool to spy on competitor ads?

Facebook Ad Library is the primary tool for spying on competitor ads. Additionally, tools like Panoramata, AdEspresso, SocialPeta, and BigSpy can provide more detailed analytics and insights into competitors’ ad strategies.

Can you track Facebook ads?

Yes, you can track Facebook ads using the Facebook Ad Library, which allows you to view all active ads run by any business on the platform. This tool offers transparency and helps you stay informed about your competitors’ advertising activities.

Track Competitors