Competitor Ads
Your competitors’ ads are public: Meta and Google both publish them. Actionbook reads both libraries for the brands you name, groups the ads by angle and offer, and shows what started this week, what has run longest and where it all sends people.
Built for
- Founders checking competitors’ ads before a new campaign
- Performance marketers tracking what competitors launch each week
- Agencies preparing competitor ad research for a client
Key insights
- Ads each competitor started on Meta this week
- Angles and offers per competitor, with an example line
- Video, image and carousel share, and where the ads ran
- Ads live 30 days or more, sorted by days live
- Landing pages, the offer on each and how many ads point there
What is the competitor ads dashboard?
Competitor ads are the ads your rivals are running right now, which Meta and Google both publish in public libraries. Actionbook reads Meta Ad Library and Google Ads Transparency Center for 3 to 5 competitors and puts them on one page: what started this week, the angles and offers each brand pushes, the ads that have run longest and their landing pages. Competitor Google ads come with the platform they ran on. The libraries show no spend, so the page never estimates it.
How to find competitor ads on Meta and Google
Finding competitor ads takes five steps. The dashboard above follows them.
1. Look each competitor up in Meta Ad Library
Pick the country and “All ads”, then search the brand and choose its page. Each ad shows the day it started running, its copy, its CTA and where it links.
2. Look them up in Google Ads Transparency Center
Search by name or website, then filter by date, platform and format. Google shows when an ad was last shown, not when it started.
3. Sort by start date to find what’s new
On Meta, ads that started in the last 7 days are this week’s tests. Note how many each competitor launched.
4. Group the ads by angle and offer
Discount, social proof, ingredient or feature, urgency, founder story. Count them per competitor to see what each one is betting on.
5. Read the long-runners and the landing pages
An ad still live after 30 days is probably paying for itself. Open the page it points to and note the offer.
Who the competitor ads dashboard is for
Founders running their own ads
You check competitors before each new campaign and end up with a folder of screenshots.
- What each competitor launched this week
- The offers they repeat
- Three ideas to test
In-house performance marketers
You need to know when a rival changes its message, without opening two libraries every Monday.
- New ads per competitor, by start date
- Angles counted per brand
- Formats and platforms side by side
Small agencies doing competitor research
Every new client asks what their competitors run, and the answer takes half a day.
- 3 to 5 competitors on one page
- Long-running ads with days live
- Landing pages and the offers on them
How the competitor ads dashboard works
Step 1: Click Build with Actionbook and name 3 to 5 competitors
Brand names or websites. The United States by default; ask for another country instead.
Step 2: Let it read the libraries
Meta Ad Library and Google Ads Transparency Center are public pages, so there is nothing to sign in to. Actionbook only reads.
Step 3: Schedule it every week
Each run reads the libraries again and uses Meta’s start dates to find what’s new. Scheduled runs happen while the Actionbook extension is online.
Competitor ads dashboard FAQ
What are competitor ads?
The ads your competitors are paying to run right now. Meta and Google publish them: Meta in its Ad Library, Google in the Ads Transparency Center. Reading them shows the messages, offers and formats a competitor is betting on.
Where can I see competitor ads?
In Meta Ad Library for Facebook and Instagram, and in Google Ads Transparency Center for Search, YouTube, Shopping, Maps and Play. Both are open to anyone. This dashboard reads both for the brands you name.
How does it handle competitor Google ads?
It reads each competitor’s page in Google Ads Transparency Center for ads shown in the last 7 days, with the platform each ran on. Google shows when an ad was last shown, not when it started, so “new this week” and days live come from Meta.
Does it show how much competitors spend?
No. The libraries don’t show spend or results for normal commercial ads, and the dashboard never estimates them.
How does it know which ads work?
It doesn’t. An ad that has stayed live for 30 days or more is likely to be working, and the dashboard labels that as an inference.
How are angles decided?
Actionbook reads each ad’s copy and sorts it into one angle: discount, social proof, ingredient or feature, urgency or founder story. The section is labeled “Our read” and shows an example line so you can check it.
How is this different from the LinkedIn Competitor Analysis, Positioning and Pricing playbooks?
Those read competitors’ LinkedIn posts, websites and pricing pages. This one reads their paid ads.
Does it cover LinkedIn or TikTok ads?
Not yet. It reads Meta and Google.
Does it download ads or send alerts?
No. It builds the weekly dashboard at a link.
