You just dropped $149 on AdSpy, and it's showing you ads from three months ago. Classic.
Look, I get it. You're running campaigns for ecommerce clients, or maybe you're managing your own brand's Meta ads. Either way, you need to see what competitors are doing right now, not what they were testing last quarter. The expensive tools promise the world, but by the time you see an ad in their database, your competitor has already moved on to the next winning creative.
Here's what most agencies won't tell you: You can spy on competitor ads for free. Yeah, it takes more legwork. But if you're spending $5k+ a month on ads, spending an hour a week on manual competitor research beats paying for tools that give you stale data.
I've been running Meta ads for ecommerce brands for years, and I've tried every tool out there. These 7 methods? They're what I actually use when I need real-time intel. No fluff, no upsells—just what works.
⚡ Quick Summary
- Meta Ad Library – See all active ads from any advertiser (free & official)
- "Why Am I Seeing This?" – Reverse-engineer their targeting
- Page Info Sections – Track ad history and page changes
- Google Search Operators – Find landing pages and offers
- Chrome Extensions – Auto-save ads to swipe files
- Customer Journey Mapping – Experience their full funnel
- Social Listening – See what people say about their ads
Why Bother? (The Real Answer)
Okay, real talk: if you're already crushing it with your own campaigns, why waste time looking at what competitors are doing?
Because your best creative idea might already be working for someone else. I've seen it a hundred times—an agency spends weeks testing angles, only to discover a competitor has been running that exact concept profitably for months. That's weeks of ad spend you could've saved.
For agencies managing multiple ecommerce clients, competitor research is even more valuable. When you onboard a new client in a niche you haven't worked in before, seeing what's already working in that space gives you a head start. Instead of throwing darts in the dark, you're starting with proven angles.
Here's what I've noticed from the brands and agencies I work with:
- They cut testing time in half – Instead of guessing what might work, they start with what's already working
- They catch trends early – When a competitor launches a new product or promotion, they see it within days, not months
- They find messaging gaps – If everyone's talking about "fast shipping" but no one's mentioning "sustainable packaging," that's an opportunity
- They avoid creative fatigue – If you see a competitor's ad everywhere, you know that angle is oversaturated
The catch? Most people do this research wrong. They'll spend an hour scrolling the Ad Library with no system, screenshot a few ads, and call it a day. That's not research—that's procrastination disguised as work.
1 Meta Ad Library (The Official Way)
Meta Ad Library is the one tool everyone knows about but hardly anyone uses right. It's Facebook's official ad transparency database, and it's completely free. The catch? Most people use it like a tourist—they browse around, take a few screenshots, and leave. That's not how you get value from it.
Here's how I actually use it:
- Head to facebook.com/ads/library (bookmark this—you'll be back)
- Set your country (this matters—ads vary by region)
- Search for your competitor's exact Page name (not their brand name—use their Facebook Page URL if you have it)
- Filter by platform—I usually check Instagram separately from Facebook because the creative strategy is different
- Sort by "Started running" date—the newest ads tell you what they're testing right now
What you're looking for:
- Long-running ads – If an ad has been live for 30+ days, it's probably profitable. Meta would've killed it otherwise.
- Ad variations – When you see 5 versions of the same creative with different headlines, that's a test. The winner will stick around.
- Copy patterns – Are they leading with price? Social proof? Pain points? This tells you what messaging resonates.
- CTAs – "Shop Now" vs "Learn More" vs "Sign Up" reveals where they are in the funnel.
I call this the "30-day rule." If an ad's been running for a month or more, it's making money. Meta's algorithm is ruthless—unprofitable ads get shut down fast. When I'm building swipe files for clients, I prioritize ads that have been live for 30+ days. Those are the ones worth copying (or at least learning from).
What Ad Library won't tell you:
- ❌ How much they're spending (unless it's a political ad)
- ❌ Who they're targeting (this is the big one—we'll cover workarounds later)
- ❌ Whether the ad is actually working (you have to infer from longevity)
- ❌ Historical data (once an ad stops running, it disappears)
This is why people pay for tools—they want alerts and historical tracking. But honestly? If you're checking Ad Library weekly, you'll catch most of what matters. The expensive tools are nice-to-have, not must-have.
2 The "Why Am I Seeing This?" Trick
This is the hack that changed how I do competitor research. Most people scroll past ads without thinking, but if you actually click "Why am I seeing this?" you get a goldmine of targeting intel.
Here's how it works:
- When a competitor's ad pops up in your feed (Facebook or Instagram), hit those three dots in the corner
- Click "Why am I seeing this ad?" (it's usually at the bottom of the menu)
- Facebook will show you exactly why you're in their audience:
- Your age range (e.g., "25-34")
- Your location
- Interests that matched (this is the good stuff)
- Whether you're on a custom audience list
- Screenshot everything—this info disappears once you navigate away
I've built entire targeting strategies from this data. Last month, I saw a competitor's ad and discovered they were targeting "Interested in: Peloton, Lululemon, and High-intensity interval training." That's way more specific than I would've guessed. I tested similar interests for a fitness client, and it crushed.
Want to see more of their ads? Game the algorithm. Visit their website, like their Facebook page, engage with their posts, and search for their products. Meta's algorithm will think you're interested and start showing you their ads more often. It's like training a dog, except the dog is an AI and you're getting free competitive intel.
3 Competitor Page Stalking
Everyone checks the Ad Library, but smart agencies also stalk the actual Facebook Page. You'd be surprised what you can learn from their organic content.
Start with Page Transparency:
- Go to their Facebook Page
- Click "About" → "Page Transparency" (it's usually at the bottom)
- Check when the page was created—newer pages are often testing more aggressively
- Look for the "Ads from this Page" section—it's a shortcut to their Ad Library
Then check their organic posts:
- What messaging do they use organically? If it matches their ads, that's their core value prop
- Which posts get the most comments? Those angles are probably working in paid too
- How often do they post? High frequency = they're probably spending big on ads
Don't forget Instagram:
- Their bio link tells you where they're driving traffic (usually a landing page or product page)
- Story highlights reveal their main selling points
- Check if they're running ads on Stories vs Feed—that tells you their audience age
I once discovered a competitor was testing a new product launch because their Instagram bio changed from "Shop Now" to "Pre-Order Available." That was two weeks before they started running ads for it. Early intel = early advantage.
4 Google Search Operators
Google search operators are like cheat codes for competitor research. Most people just search "competitor name" and call it a day, but if you know the right operators, you can find landing pages, offers, and even discussions about their ads.
Here are the searches I actually use:
site:competitor.com "free" OR "discount" OR "% off"– This finds all their offer pages. I use this to see what promotions they're running."competitor name" facebook ad– People screenshot ads and post them online. You'll find Reddit threads, Twitter discussions, even blog posts analyzing their strategy.site:reddit.com "competitor name" ad– Reddit's r/PPC and r/FacebookAds communities love dissecting ads. I've found gold here."competitor name" landing page– Sometimes you'll find archived versions or people sharing their landing page URLs.site:competitor.com/lporsite:competitor.com/offer– Most brands use predictable URL patterns. Try /lp, /offer, /promo, /sale, etc.
Pro tip: Use Google's "Tools" → "Any time" → "Past month" to see what they're doing right now, not last year.
Want to see how their landing pages have changed? Hit up archive.org and plug in their URL. You can see snapshots going back years. I use this to track how their messaging evolved—did they start with price-focused copy and switch to lifestyle? That tells you what's working.
5 Screenshot & Save Chrome Extensions
If you're manually screenshotting every ad you see, you're doing it wrong. There are free Chrome extensions that'll do the heavy lifting for you.
Extensions I actually use:
- Turbo Ad Finder – This is a game-changer. It filters out organic posts so you only see ads. Saves so much time.
- Full Page Screen Capture – When you find a good landing page, this captures the whole thing in one screenshot. Way better than scrolling and taking 20 screenshots.
- Save to Notion/Google Drive – I use Notion for my swipe files, but Google Drive works too. The key is having a system so you can actually find stuff later.
- Loom – Sometimes I'll record a quick walkthrough of a competitor's full funnel (ad → landing page → checkout). Helps me remember the flow later.
My actual workflow:
- Install Turbo Ad Finder, then just browse Facebook normally for 15-20 minutes. You'll see way more ads than usual.
- When something catches my eye, I screenshot it immediately. Don't overthink it—if it's interesting, save it.
- I organize by competitor name, then date. So it's like: "BrandX/2026-01/creative-fatigue-test.jpg"
- I add quick notes: "Hook: Price comparison", "CTA: Shop Now", "Feels like retargeting"
- Every Friday, I review the week's screenshots and look for patterns. That's when the insights hit.
This might sound like overkill, but I've been doing this for years. My swipe file has thousands of ads, and when a client asks "What's working in this niche?" I can answer in 5 minutes instead of 5 hours.
6 Become a Customer (Seriously)
This one sounds obvious, but most agencies skip it: actually become their customer. Go through their entire funnel. See what they do after you click their ad.
You'll learn things you can't see from Ad Library:
- What's their lead magnet? – If they're capturing emails, what are they offering? Is it valuable or just a PDF from 2019?
- How do they email you? – I've signed up for competitor newsletters and gotten 7-email sequences that are pure gold. You can't buy that intel.
- What retargeting ads do you see? – After you visit their site, what ads follow you around? That's their conversion strategy.
- What's their checkout flow? – Do they have upsells? Payment plans? One-click checkout? This is competitive intel you can't get anywhere else.
- Is their product actually good? – Sometimes I'll make a small purchase just to see the unboxing experience, packaging, etc. It's research, I swear.
How to do it right:
- Create a burner email (I use Gmail + aliases like "yourname+competitor1@gmail.com")
- Sign up for everything—newsletter, lead magnets, free trials
- Add stuff to cart but don't buy (this triggers abandoned cart sequences)
- If the product is cheap enough, actually buy it. I've spent $20-30 on competitor products just to see their post-purchase flow.
- Document everything. Take screenshots of emails, note the timing, save the ads you see.
Be ethical about this: Don't abuse their systems or waste their time. Use a clear email address (not a fake one), and unsubscribe when you're done. This is research, not sabotage. I've been doing this for years and never had an issue.
7 Social Listening on Reddit & X
Here's a hack most people miss: listen to what people are saying about competitor ads. Not the ads themselves—the conversations around them.
I spend way too much time on Reddit, but it's paid off. Here's where I look:
- Reddit – r/FacebookAds and r/PPC are goldmines. People post screenshots of ads and discuss them. I've found winning angles just from reading comments.
- X (Twitter) – Search "[competitor name] ad" and you'll find people complaining, praising, or asking questions. All valuable intel.
- Facebook Groups – Join ecommerce or marketing groups. People share competitor ads and discuss what's working.
- YouTube Comments – If a competitor runs video ads, check the comments. People are brutally honest there.
What I'm actually looking for:
- Complaints – "Ugh, I keep seeing this ad" = they're retargeting hard. "This ad is misleading" = opportunity to do better.
- Praise – "This ad actually made me buy" = study that creative closely.
- Questions – "Has anyone tried this?" = market education opportunity.
- Comparisons – "I prefer Brand X over Brand Y because..." = positioning intel.
Last month, I found a Reddit thread where people were complaining about a competitor's "limited time offer" that had been running for 3 months. That told me their urgency messaging was fatigued. I tested a different angle for a client in the same niche, and it outperformed.
I have Google Alerts set up for all my main competitors. Every time someone mentions "[Competitor] ad" or "[Competitor] Facebook marketing" online, I get an email. It's free, takes 2 minutes to set up, and I've found some of my best intel this way. Set it to "once a day" digest so your inbox doesn't explode.
The Real Cost of "Free" (Time vs. Money)
Okay, let's get real. These free methods aren't actually free—they cost time. And if you're running an agency or managing your own brand's ads, time is money.
Here's what I've learned from doing this manually vs. using paid tools:
| Task | Free Method Time | With Automation |
|---|---|---|
| Check Ad Library for 5 competitors | 45-60 min/week | 0 min (automated alerts) |
| Screenshot & organize ads | 30-45 min/week | 0 min (auto-saved) |
| Click through landing pages | 20-30 min/week | 0 min (auto-crawled) |
| Analyze patterns & extract insights | 30-60 min/week | 5 min (pre-analyzed) |
| Create reports for team/clients | 30-45 min/week | 1-click export |
| Total Weekly Time | 2.5-4 hours | 5-10 minutes |
If you're billing $50+/hour (which you should be if you're running ads professionally), those "free" methods are actually costing you $125-200/week in lost productivity. That's $500-800/month. Suddenly that $149/month tool doesn't seem so expensive, right?
The Hidden Costs of Free Methods:
- ❌ No historical data – Can't see ads that stopped running last week
- ❌ No alerts – Miss competitor launches because you forgot to check
- ❌ No performance signals – Can't tell which ads are actually working
- ❌ No scale – Tracking 10+ competitors becomes a full-time job
- ❌ No analysis – You get data, but no actionable recommendations
When Free Methods Make Sense
Free methods are great if you:
- Only track 1-2 competitors occasionally
- Have more time than money (early-stage founders)
- Are learning competitor research basics
- Only need a quick one-time competitive snapshot
When You Need Something Better
It's time to upgrade when:
- You're tracking 5+ competitors regularly
- You keep forgetting to check and missing launches
- You're spending 3+ hours/week on manual research
- You need to share reports with clients or team members
- You want to know why certain ads work, not just see them
Skip the Manual Work. Get Insights in 24 Hours.
Mako Metrics does what free tools can't:
Enter a competitor URL → We analyze → You get insights in 24 hours
Get Your Free Competitor ReportPutting It All Together: My Actual Weekly Routine
If you're going the free route (which I still do for some clients), here's the routine that actually works:
- Monday morning (15-20 min): Check Ad Library for my top 3 competitors. I look for new ads that started running over the weekend. Screenshot anything interesting.
- Wednesday afternoon (15 min): Browse Facebook/Instagram with Turbo Ad Finder installed. I'm just scrolling normally, but I see way more ads. Quick screenshots of anything that catches my eye.
- Friday (10-15 min): Quick Reddit/X search for competitor mentions. Check my Google Alerts. See if anyone's talking about what my competitors are doing.
- Once a month (45-60 min): Deep dive. Review my swipe file, look for patterns, click through landing pages I saved, update my targeting hypotheses.
That's about an hour per week for 3 competitors. If you're tracking 10+ competitors, you're looking at 3-4 hours. At that point, a paid tool starts making sense.
Free methods are great for learning and for light research. But if you're spending 3+ hours a week on this, you're paying for it with your time. At that point, a paid tool isn't a luxury—it's a smart business decision. Your time is worth more than $50/hour if you're running successful ad campaigns.
Key Takeaways
- The Meta Ad Library is your best free starting point – use the longevity method to identify potential winners
- "Why Am I Seeing This?" is an underutilized way to glimpse competitor targeting (but you have to wait to see ads)
- Become a customer to experience their full funnel (time-intensive but insightful)
- Social listening reveals what real people think about competitor ads
- Free methods have real limitations: no historical data, no alerts, no performance metrics, no scale
- When competitor research becomes a regular part of your workflow, automation pays for itself in time saved
Start with these free methods. They'll teach you a lot, and for many agencies and brands, they're enough. But when you're spending 3+ hours a week on manual research, that's when automation makes sense. Try our free tool and see if it saves you time.
Questions? Hit me up. I've been doing this for years, and I'm always happy to share what I've learned. Drop us a line and we'll chat.