What if your competitor could hand you their advertising playbook for free? That would be a game-changing prospect, right?
However, this information isn’t as far-fetched as you think. It’s easy to grasp a competitor’s ad strategy–you just have to spy on their ads.
If you haven’t started with competitor ad tracking yet, this is your sign to start. You only need thirty minutes every week to gather meaningful information you can use for competitive analysis.
Competitive intelligence benefits you in a myriad of ways, including:
- Help you create better ads
- Make better marketing decisions
- Make faster marketing decisions
Marketers often struggle with decisions but you can make crucial decision-making easier when you have the data, whether it’s consumer data, internal data, or competitor intelligence data.
In this article, we’ll look at competitor intelligence data on ads specifically and how you can track ads productively, as well as pitfalls to avoid.
Without further ado, let’s get straight to the tips.
Don’t copy blindly
Plagiarism is a big no when learning from your competitors’ ads. Don’t do the exact ads they’re doing. It’s a recipe for failure and it makes you look bad (no one likes a copycat).
Aside from the obvious plagiarism issue, copying ads is also detrimental because those ads may not even be working well for your competitors. They’re testing angles and creatives too. How do you know that those ads are effective?
On the other hand, even if the ads are working for them, you won’t know why they’re working either. If you don’t know the reason for its success, you can’t iterate on the ad you made.
All this to say: take competitor ads as inspiration only. Break them down and grasp the value proposition they’re trying to get across.
When you understand why they’re creating that ad, where they’re coming from, and what they’re testing, you can find out the ideas worth stealing from them.
Take advantage of free tools
When starting out, you don’t need fancy tools. There are several free tools out there for spying on competitor ads.
For instance, social networks usually have their own ad libraries. These are just a few of them:
- Google Ads Transparency Center
- Meta Ad Library
- LinkedIn Ad Library
- Pinterest Ads Repository (EU only)
Check out these ad libraries and spy on your competitors’ ads quickly just by typing in the name of your competitor. You can even see details like what date your competitor started running the ad and if there are other versions of the same ad.
Panoramata.co also has a free version of its comprehensive ad library that tracks ads from all ad networks (Pinterest, Google Display, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn).
With these free tools, there’s no reason not to stay updated.
Monitor your competitors’ ads on multiple channels
Don’t stick to just one channel. Track ads on Facebook, Instagram, Google Search, TikTok, and more.
Focusing on one ad network limits the insights you get. Your competitor, if they’re doing things right, will not use all their channels in the same way.
Find out how their ads differ across several platforms.
What products and offers are they making?
Are they promoting the same products and offers or is there a specific one they highlight on one channel and not the others?
Knowing the answers to these questions will dispel your misconceptions and reveal your competitors’ strategies more effectively than just monitoring one platform ever will.
When you analyze ads, see which of these audiences your competitor is addressing, if at all. If they’re not targeting a specific segment of the funnel, you are better off tracking other competitors.
Understand their audience
Who is your competitor speaking to in their ads? It benefits you when you know the answer to this and you can apply the information to address an issue you’re dealing with, as well.
Your competitor can be targeting any of these three parts of the funnel:
- TOFU (Top of the Funnel): These are audiences that don’t know they have a problem. If they are aware of the problem, they aren’t aware that a solution exists.
- MOFU (Middle of the Funnel): These audiences know they’re facing a problem and they know the solution. However, they’re not motivated enough to address the problem.
- BOFU (Bottom of the Funnel): These audiences are actively trying to remedy their problem and are looking for a solution. They are ready to buy.
When you analyze ads, see which of these audiences your competitor is addressing, if at all. If they’re not targeting a specific segment of the funnel, you are better off tracking other competitors.
Use the insights for your own use case. You hopefully have an objective for conducting a competitor ad analysis. Remember the purpose and gather information accordingly.
Spy on their entire funnel
The ad is just the first step in the conversion process. Next, you have to check an ad’s landing page up to the checkout process. You need to check what comes after the ad.
Does your competitor create a specific landing page for an ad?
If not, you can skip analyzing the landing page. If they do have a particular landing page for an ad, that tells you that the page is working very well and likely has been running for a long time.
It’s worth looking into the tactics and promotions of that particular ad and landing page. For example, the supplement brand AG1 has one product but is targeting several audiences. Therefore, they create many ads to reach their prospective customers.
For each audience, they promote a different value proposition. For example, their top value propositions are:
- Function (energy drink)
- Taste
- Interest
Each of these value propositions has a different landing page dedicated to its promotion.
That’s why checking your competitors’ whole funnel is paramount because the ad is just the tip of the iceberg. Landing pages tell you so much more.
Check on their ads consistently
We’ve mentioned this before but competitor tracking is an ongoing process. It demands consistency.
To understand your competitors’ advertising strategy, their rhythms, and what’s working or not for them, you have to check their ads consistently.
Only then can you see patterns. When you see ads being repeated or different variations of the same concept, that clues you into the success of that campaign.
Look at the previous years’ ads
Always anticipate your competitors’ ad campaigns.
What this means is that you look at what ads they ran last December, November, Black Friday, Mother’s Day, spring, and other events relevant to you. You can even go further back to two or three years before.
You don’t have to start ad campaigns from scratch every year. Most successful companies don’t.
Take a look at past ads to foresee what ads they’re planning to run. Then, you can build on those ads and create better ones with more attractive offers.
Build swipe files
Swipe files are a not-so-secret power when planning powerful ad campaigns.
However, the seemingly simple act of saving videos and images you want to use for reference later can be more complicated than it should be.
Storing screenshots in a desktop folder, your phone, or even a Pinterest board isn’t the optimal way to create marketing swipe files.
For one, these methods don’t store your inspiration in an organized fashion. You have to find the ad you want to use quickly but browsing through endless videos and images is a bottleneck in that process.
Panoramata has creative lists or swipe files made just for saving marketing inspiration. With the free version of the platform, you can save all recent ads your competitors have published.
The paid version unlocks even more features such as automated swipe files based on keywords like “Black Friday” or “buy-one-get-one offers”.
Spend some time on building a good swipe file. It’s key for a well-stocked content bank that you can use to dream up amazing campaigns.
Compare yourself against your competitors
Benchmarking yourself (or comparing your performance against those of your competitors) is often overlooked.
Since the end goal of tracking your competitors’ ads is ultimately to refine your own ad strategy and outperform your competitors, it makes sense to use yourself as a point of comparison.
That means tracking and analyzing things like ad volume, networks they’re using, and unique copy.
Ask questions like:
- Are they publishing more ads than you?
- Are they publishing more videos?
- Which networks are they most active on?
- What networks are they active on that you are not?
By doing this, you can improve your position in the market and stay competitive.
Automate your ad monitoring for the best insights
If you’re tracking ads manually, you probably know how much time it takes up.
If you want to save time and energy, you can use competitive intelligence tools to automate competitor monitoring.
For example, Panoramata tracks competitors for you automatically and feeds them in a centralized dashboard so you don’t have to visit Meta’s ad library or Google Ads Transparency Center separately just to peep at your competitors’ ads.
You can see all your competitors’ ads across all networks they’re active on and filter them by type (image or video), date published, industry, keywords, and so much more.
Plus, you can create swipe files automatically. These are easily shareable with teammates or clients, even those who are not on Panoramata.
For efficient analysis, Panoramata also generates benchmarks so you can get a quick overview of your competitors’ ad performance and compare your own metrics against theirs.
On Panoramata, you can also:
- Search for an ad that matches a keyword from the last six months or the last years.
- Check a brand’s most recent ads
- Observe variations of ads and different angles and copy they have been using or switching up
- Look at landing pages and the changes that were made to them over time, plus associated ads that lead to a particular landing page
- View market scores for an industry (such as skincare, supplements, coffee, swimwear, etc.)
Elevate Your Marketing Game with Panoramata
You've now got a solid toolkit for keeping an eye on your competitors' ads and turning those insights into a winning strategy for yourself!
Remember, it's all about taking inspiration, not copying, and using the data you gather to make smarter, faster marketing decisions.
From using free tools like ad libraries to diving deep into your competitors' funnels and tracking their campaigns consistently, each tip will help you refine your approach and stay ahead of the game.
Don't forget the importance of building swipe files and benchmarking your performance – these are your secret weapons for creating stand-out ads.
If all of this sounds like a lot, don't worry! Panoramata is here to make your life easier. Think of it as your friendly assistant for competitor ad tracking.
With its ability to automatically monitor ads across all networks, create swipe files, and generate benchmark reports, Panoramata takes the heavy lifting off your shoulders.
It's like having a comprehensive view of the entire ad landscape right at your fingertips.
Ready to start your own competitive analysis? Grab your free competitive analysis template below.
If you’d like to learn more about Panoramata, book a demo with us or take it out for a spin by signing up here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to pay for expensive tools to spy on competitor ads?
No, there are many free tools available like social network ad libraries (Google Ads Transparency Center, Meta Ad Library, etc.) and even a free version of Panoramata's ad library that you can use to get started. These free options allow you to gather valuable information without a financial investment.
Is it okay to copy my competitor's ads if they are working well?
It's best not to copy ads blindly, as you won't know why they're working and it can come across as plagiarism; instead, use them as inspiration and try to understand the underlying strategies and value propositions. Analyzing their approach will allow you to create unique and effective ads for your own business.
How often should I be tracking my competitors' ads?
Competitor ad tracking should be an ongoing process done consistently, as regular monitoring allows you to see patterns, understand their strategies over time, and anticipate their future campaigns. This consistency is key to making informed marketing decisions and staying competitive.
