Chapter 16
Competitor Ad Spying
Learn from what's already working in your market
One of the smartest things you can do, there, is study what successful competitors in your target area are already doing with their advertising. Why reinvent the wheel when you can learn from what's already working?
How to Use Meta Ad Library
Meta Ad Library (facebook.com/ads/library) lets you see every active ad any business is running. Here's your step-by-step process:
- Go to facebook.com/ads/library
- Set country to "United Kingdom"
- Search for your target industry companies in your target area
- Filter by "All ads" to see everything they're running
- Look at ads that have been running for 30+ days — these are profitable (otherwise they'd be turned off)
Key Takeaway
If an ad has been running for more than 30 days, it's almost certainly profitable. Businesses don't keep paying for ads that don't work. These are the ads worth studying closely.
What to Look For
- Headlines: What words/phrases do they lead with?
- Images: Are they using photos, graphics, or video?
- Offers: Free quotes? Discounts? Free inspections?
- Copy length: Short punchy or long-form storytelling?
- CTA: What action are they driving? Call, form, message?
- Social proof: Do they mention reviews, years experience, number of projects?
AI Competitor Analysis Prompt
I'm researching competitors for a {targetIndustry} company in {targetLocation}. I found these competitor ads running on Facebook:
[Paste the ad copy you found in Meta Ad Library]
Analyse these ads and tell me:
1. What patterns do you see across the successful ads?
2. What emotional triggers are they using?
3. What offers are most common?
4. What's missing that we could exploit?
5. Write 3 ad variations that are BETTER than these competitors, using the same proven patterns but with stronger hooks and clearer CTAs.
Our client is {clientName} in {targetLocation}.Competitor Intelligence Log
Record your findings from Meta Ad Library research
Pro Tip
Don't copy competitor ads directly. Instead, identify the patterns that work (urgency, social proof, clear offers) and apply those principles to your own creative. Combine the best elements from multiple competitors to create something stronger than any of them.
Competitor Research Checklist
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