How to Use Facebook Ad Library For High Converting Ads

📄 Table of Contents

 

Creating profitable Facebook Ads campaigns can be a stressful task. You might be throwing dollars down the drain, trying to understand why your ads aren’t working.

This is why doing competitive research is so important! To gain insights before starting a campaign. By looking at competitor ads, you can figure out what works without the trial and error.

Competitor ads provide valuable insights, but finding those ads is a time-consuming task.

The Facebook Ad Library simplifies this process by allowing to:

• Analyze competitor ads
• Get ideas and improve ad campaigns
• See what’s currently working before spending a dime

This post covers the Meta Ad Library, also known as Facebook Ad Library - and how to use it for competitive research.

We will cover:

1. What Facebook Ad Library is
2. How to search for ads
3. Analyzing ads
4. Other advanced features

What is Facebook Ad Library?

Facebook Ad Library is a database of all ads running on:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Whatsapp
• Messenger
• Other Meta platforms.

After the recent rebranding, the tool is now called Meta Ad Library.

Users can see and find any ad running on these platforms for free. No third-party tools required!

Businesses and marketers can:

• Research competitors
• Discover industry trends
• Gain inspiration for ad campaigns

How to Access the Facebook Ad Library

To access the Facebook Ad Library, visit facebook.com/ads/library.

Search

Near the top of the page, there is a search bar. To start a search enter keywords, advertiser names, or topics to find specific ads

Other Meta tools available on this page include…

Report

Access detailed ad information and track spending. Ads about social issues, elections, or politics often present more data.

API

Customize a search with parameters like ad’s estimated audience size, country, or language. Ideal for those with programming knowledge.

Branded Content

Useful for influencer marketing, to find posts, stories, videos, and reels with paid partnerships.

Searching for Ads

Before entering a term in the search bar, you need to choose a Geographical Location and an Ad Category. You can pick a specific country, search for it, or do a global search.

The main ad categories are:

• All (includes all ads without a specific category)
• Issues, Election or Politics (typically have more data available)
• Housing
• Employment
• Credit

There are two main ways to search for ads:

• By Advertiser
• By Keyword

Search by Advertiser

To search by advertiser, enter the specific name of the advertiser, which is often the name of an existing Facebook Page running ads.

Sometimes it’s easier to find a company’s page by searching:

• Company Name + Facebook Page

These pages usually have a blue checkmark visible on the Facebook Ads Library search.

Search by Keyword

Using keywords is straightforward. Enter a related keyword or phrase, such as:

• Niche
• Industry
• Product
• Event or Holiday (e.g., Black Friday, Christmas, Summer Vacations)

Search Tips

Before searching for ads, check these search tips to use the Meta Ad Library search bar effectively.

Targeting data for ads about social issues, elections, or politics

Choose a country and select Issues, Elections, or Politics from the ad category filter. Type the name of an advertiser and select their page from the dropdown menu.

Location and ad category

Set your location and choose an ad category to specify your search.

Exact phrase

Use quotations to search for these words in this specific order.

• "Mary likes cheese sandwiches"

Words in any order

Find ads containing all these words but not necessarily in order.

• | Sandwiches | Cheese | Mary |

How to Use the Facebook Ad Library

Researching a Product or Service

For competitor research, you should create a list of competitors in your industry. You will then look at the ad campaigns those companies are running.

Do you have a certain service/ product in mind? Google it to find the company or use a product keyword for comparison.

To show how to use the Facebook Ad Library, let’s use HubSpot as an advertiser example.

HubSpot is a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) SAAS company.

After choosing the advertiser or Facebook page, you can get more specific by using the search bar at the right as well as some filters.

Now instead of global search, the keywords you type here will only show ads from this specific advertiser.

The filters also apply to the specific advertiser and allow you to go much more granular. You can select a specific:

• Language
• Ad Platform (Facebook, Instagram, Audience Network, Messenger)
• Media Type (images, memes, videos or no images or videos)
• Active Status (active, inactive or all ads)
• Impressions By Date (Choose an exact date or select a date range)

You can see a preview of all ad creatives, copy, status and platform according to the filters or search keywords used. If you click on the image itself you will see the link or landing page of that ad.

For more details click on “See Summary Details” or “See Ad Details”.

“See Summary Details” will show up Ads that use the same images or text, or what we call Ad Versions.

“See Ad Details” provides information about the advertiser, who paid for the campaign the CTA Button and more.

You can also copy Ad Links and paste them on a sheet for example, if it makes it easier for your media buying planning.

Analyzing Ads in the Library

When analyzing ads from different advertisers in an industry, you may find trends to leverage in your campaigns.

Ad Creative

Focus on visual impact, relevance, and brand consistency:

• Does the image or video grab attention?
• How accurately does it reflect the brand’s identity?

Headline and Body Copy

Ensure clarity and conciseness, with a strong emotional appeal. Look for compelling CTAs and emotional triggers that resonate with the target audience.

Landing Page

Check for consistency with the rest of the ad campaign in terms of messaging, visuals, and offers. Analyze elements like copy, conversion flow, testimonials, and landing page type (quiz, one button, etc.).

Ad Format

Identify the ad formats your competition is using. This might give you insights about the formats you should use for your own ads.

Conclusion

Using the Facebook Ad Library for competitive research can save you time and money! This tool allows you to refine your ad strategies and create high-converting campaigns.

Do you want to streamline your campaign optimization for better results with AI? Give Madgicx a try!

By incorporating these insights, you can create more profitable Facebook Ads campaigns.