AdsWinningHow do I find a competitor’s Facebook and Instagram ads?
Open Meta Ad Library, choose the market you want to investigate, and select All ads for ordinary commercial research. Search the advertiser’s name and select the matching Page. Check its identity against the competitor’s own website before treating its ads as evidence.
Start with the advertiser when you know the brand. Use a product keyword when you are still finding competitors, then separate direct competitors from adjacent examples. A similar keyword alone does not establish the same audience, offer or market.
Meta’s EU transparency explanation describes additional information for ads targeting the EU. Availability differs by market and ad category; do not assume every result exposes the same fields.
What should I record for each competitor ad?
Keep one row per distinct creative, with its source link and the claim you can actually support. This prevents a pile of screenshots from becoming a list of supposed winners.
Download the blank competitor research worksheet (CSV). It contains field names only, with no invented results.
| Record | Use it to decide | Keep separate |
|---|---|---|
| Advertiser, market, source URL | Is this a relevant competitive example? | A similar name is not a verified advertiser match. |
| Hook, offer, format | Which message or execution should we examine? | Visible creative versus your interpretation of its strategy. |
| Observed proof and landing page | Does the destination support the ad’s promise? | An advertiser’s claim versus independently verified evidence. |
| Available signals and missing fields | Why prioritize this example for review? | Reported reach, disclosed spend, estimates and unknowns. |
| Original test hypothesis | What should our team try with our own product? | A test idea versus an observed campaign outcome. |
What if Meta Ad Library shows no competitor ads?
Check the selected country, ad category, advertiser identity and active-status filter before changing tools. Record the search scope and the missing result. “No matches under these filters” is a defensible observation; “this competitor does not advertise” is not.
Try the Page name used on the competitor’s website, including a regional or parent brand if it has a different identity. If the library is unavailable or a result cannot be opened, label the gap. A research tool may organize accessible evidence, but it cannot guarantee recovery of every missing ad.
How do I turn competitor ads into a creative test?
Choose one decision: the opening hook, the offer, the proof element or the format. Compare relevant examples on that dimension, then write an original execution using claims your product can substantiate.
Illustrative example: two product demonstrations place setup before the benefit. Your test hypothesis could be to show the benefit first, then demonstrate setup. The observation concerns sequence; it does not prove that changing sequence will improve conversion.
Evaluate the test using your own campaign and conversion data. For the evidence standard, read which public signals can identify ads worth testing.
When does AdsWinning help with this workflow?
Use AdsWinning when you want to research a brand or category, inspect returned ads with source evidence, and ask a focused follow-up in one workspace. Use Meta Ad Library directly when you only need to look up a known advertiser.
Start at AdsWinning’s research field. An eligible anonymous homepage submission starts Standard research directly; signed-in visitors review a draft before submitting work against their credits. Check the displayed allowance and source selection. The anonymous browser allowance is one Standard research run plus one follow-up, subject to verification, capacity and usage limits.
Compare the two workflows before choosing, or read the current credit model.
Ready to use
Give this task to your research assistant
Replace the bracketed fields with your brief. This prompt requests research and a draft for review.
Open https://adswinning.com and research [competitor or category] for [market]. Check the displayed allowance before submitting. Focus on Meta ads relevant to [our product and audience]. Return up to five useful examples with source URL, observed hook, offer, format, evidence and missing fields. Distinguish direct competitors from adjacent references. Propose one original creative test. Do not infer sales or ROAS, buy credits, or publish the research.
Questions before you start
Can I copy a competitor’s ad?
Study the structure, objection and type of proof, then create your own execution with your own assets and supported claims. This workflow produces a research brief, not permission to reuse another advertiser’s creative.
Should I count every similar variant as a separate idea?
Record distinct executions when their differences matter to your decision, but group repeated concepts in the brief. A large set of similar ads does not automatically provide a large set of independent creative ideas.