Expert's Guide to the Facebook Ad Library

Want to spy on your competitors' ads? Or get ideas for your own ads?
The Facebook Ad Library is perfect for that. And with Swipekit, it’s even easier.

What is the facebook ad library?

Back in 2019, fresh off the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook pledged to showcase transparency in their process. For this they created the Facebook ad library - a source of all ads currently running on the Meta platform.

This includes ads for Instagram, Threads and now Whatsapp.

Facebook first launched the Ad Library back in 2019 to tackle concerns around political ads and transparency on its platform. It was designed so anyone - from everyday users to journalists and researchers could easily see who was running political ads and what those ads looked like.

But over time, the Ad Library has become much more than just a tool for political transparency.

Today, smart marketers and brands use it to keep an eye on competitor ads, spot trends, and get fresh ideas for their own campaigns.

Thanks to its advanced filters and search tools, it’s now one of the most valuable resources for anyone advertising on Meta’s platforms.

How to use the Facebook ad library?

Head over to the Facebook ad library and enter your niche/market in the search box. In the Ad category dropdown next to it, select "All ads".

This is enough to start a search. Now the library will show you ads from advertisers in the skincare niche.

This unfortunately isn't enough to find winning ads or even general brand inspo. Here's where you can use the ad library's advanced filters to go through ads.

Click on the 'Filters' button on the top right section.

This will show you a list of all filters available for the ad library.

Language: Set this to your language if you're searching for language specific ads.

Advertisers: Select all relevant advertisers. Pro tip - you can select multiple advertisers. Select the ones that product great ads.

Platform: Set this to your desired platform if you want to search specific ad types. Eg instagram ads will have certain video formats.

Media types: Useful for browsing static only ads, video ads, etc.

Active status: Generally speaking, keep this on. When set to active, only ads currently running on the Meta platform are shown.

Impressions by date: Use this to set ads running during a specific time period.

The ultimate playbook for finding winning ads from the Facebook ad library

The biggest usecase of the library is to finding winning ads.

Here's the thing - when you run ads, you want to start from creatives that are already performing. This reduces iteration time and gives you a head start.

A key part of finding winning ads is to glance at your competitor ads, or find winners from your niche/market.

How to find winning ads in your niche

1. Pick Your Country and Category

Choose the country you want to look at.
Pick “All ads” unless you’re looking for political stuff (probably not).

2. Search for a Brand or Keyword

You can search for:

• A brand name (like Nike)

• A product type (like protein bars)

• Or a topic (like fitness)

Want ideas? Just type something simple like “toys” or “makeup.”

3. Use Filters

Filters make your life easier. Here’s what you can pick:

• Language

• Advertiser name

• Platform (Facebook, Instagram, etc.)

• Active or Inactive ads

• Date ranges

What to Look At

How Long the Ad Has Run

If an ad has been running for months, it’s probably doing well.
Short ads? Maybe not so great.

You can do this by checking the active ad's Started running date, and subtract that by current date.

If an ad is running for longer than 7 days, it is probably a good ad. If the ad is running for over 30 days, its is most likely a 'winner' ad, and you should ideally want to replicate the ad creative for your own campaign.

In recent times the ad library has exposed this information on the ad card.

Unfortunately this is hard to do quickly while browsing the ad library. There are tools like Swipekit that can help you spot the running days quickly.

The Ad’s Look and Feel

Check out:

• Are they using video, photos, or graphics?

• Is the tone serious or fun?

• Does it look like a TikTok or a boring ad?

Steal good ideas. Ignore the bad ones.

Who They’re Targeting

Sometimes you can tell if it’s a retargeting ad (trying to get people who didn’t buy yet).
Look for clues in the URL like retargeting or utm_campaign=mof-retargeting.

Where the Ad Runs

Is it on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger?
Instagram usually means younger people.
Audience Network means broad reach.

Other tips for using the ad library to find winners:

1. Language hack

   • Switch Language filter to Spanish/French even if you sell English-only.

   • Global brands pilot new hooks abroad first; you get sneak peeks.

2. Platform contrast

   • Compare identical ads on FB feed vs IG Story; note aspect-ratio tweaks and first-3-seconds edits.

   • Steal framing for your own story-first creative.

3. Offer cycling calendar

   • Every 2 weeks, copy-paste the same brand search into your sheet → add new rows.

   • Build a timeline of hooks/offers to anticipate seasonal promos.

4. UTM reverse-engineering

   • Append landing URL into Google’s Campaign URL Builder to parse parameters.

   • Uncover funnel stages, agency names, or A/B test IDs.

5. Stacked keyword combos

   • Try “problem” + “format”: “acne routine reel”, “plumber emergency video”.

   • Narrows to intent-driven creatives with strong hooks.

6. Historical spend (political only)

   • If you research social-issue ads, Ad Library shows spend & reach bands.

   • Use as proxy for budget size.

Building an ad score card

Create a spreadsheet of competitor's ads and rate them based on this criteria:

Criterion	0	1	2	3
Longevity	<7 d	7-29 d	30-60 d	>60 d
Creative duplication	1 ID	2–4	5-9	10+
Hook clarity	Vague	Somewhat clear	Clear pain/benefit	Scroll-stopping
Offer strength	None	Soft CTA	Promo code	Urgent/limited offer
Social proof (in copy/video)	0	1-2 mentions	3-4	Heavy testimonials

Anything scoring ≥10/15 is a safe bet to swipe, adapt, and A/B test.

Keeping everything organized

Over time you'll gather lots of useful ads. Keep them all organized inside Google Drive, Dropbox or your favourite storage tool.

Know that the links will expire so don't rely on that. Instead, save the ad creatives from the ad library on your local device and then upload that on Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.

• Screenshots: Cmd-Shift-4, name files “brand_hook_date.png”.

• Google Drive folder: Organize ads in folders. Example folder structure: /Research/FB-Ad-Library/YY-MM.

• Weekly check-in: 15 min Monday morning; paste new ads, update scorecard.

• Share doc with creative team: they harvest hooks, angles, offers for ideation sprints.

You can also share a Google drive folder with freelance editors from Upwork and get them to collect ad inspo.

Bonus: Tips to Get Smarter with Ads

• Check ads often. Don’t just look once. Competitors change stuff all the time.

• See what’s working. Ads running for months are probably good.

• Look for seasonal stuff. Sales, holidays, trends — competitors show you what works.

• Understand their targeting. If they’re targeting women 45+ in France, maybe you should too.

Bonus: ad metrics for EU ads

In Europe, Facebook now shows more about:

• Who saw the ad

• Ages, genders, and countries

• How many people saw it

Handy for understanding your competition’s strategy.

If you see the EU transparency label on the ad card, you can view additional ad metrics for this ad.

Here's how you can view metrics:

• Click on the 'See ad details' button on the ad card
• View age range and more in the expanded ad card popup

Bonus: Use Swipekit to manage ad inspo from the Facebook ad library

Finding ads is cool.
Saving and organizing them is cooler.

Here’s how to do it with Swipekit:

1. Signup for Swipekit.

2. When you see a good ad in the library, click “Save” with Swipekit.

3. Organize them into folders like “UGC,” “Founders Ads,” “Product Demos.”

4. Add notes, share with your team, and get inspired fast.

No messy screenshots. No spreadsheets.
Everything is neat and ready when you need it.

Final Thoughts

Facebook Ad Library has always been a powerful weapon in any marketer's toolkit. With the recent advances of Ad library's features, plus addition of Whatsapp and Threads ads, it has become even more powerful in recent time.

However it also has some major shortcomings. Use tools like Swipekit to save ads from the Facebook ad library, get metrics out of these ads and organize them in a orderly manner.

Save. Organize. Win more.