See your
competitors' ads.

Meta's library covers ads on Facebook, Instagram and Meta's other apps. It's been open to everyone since Meta added all active ads from every Page in 2019. For each ad you see the creative, the words, the date it started running and where it shows.

Google's Ads Transparency Center covers ads on Search, YouTube, Display and Gmail. Google says it shows the advertiser's name and location, who pays, and the ads they've served, and you can search by advertiser or website, then filter by date and location. Its launch post adds the last date an ad ran, and its format.

So they answer different questions. Meta shows how a competitor interrupts people who weren't looking. Google shows how they answer people who already were. If a competitor runs on both, compare what they say in each.

Neither library shows spend, targeting, clicks or results for ordinary ads in Australia. For Meta, guides like Mockingbird's spell that out. Google's help page lists extra targeting and reach detail only for ads served in certain countries or regions. Here you see the ads, not the numbers.

Timing differs too. For ordinary ads, Meta's library is mostly a view of what's running now, because ads drop out once they stop. Google's Transparency Center keeps them longer: PPC Land's review says non-political ads are tracked for 365 days, and new ads typically take two to three days to appear.

Political ads (and social issue ads on Meta) are the exception. They show who paid, and they stay visible for up to seven years.

An ad that started months ago and is still running is the closest thing to performance data either library gives you. Businesses test new ads all the time and switch off the ones that don't pay. The survivors are the ones to study.

In Meta's library, note each competitor's oldest active ad and how many versions of it they run. In Google's, note which ads ran most recently, and whether the same headline keeps coming back month after month.

Then click through. The landing page shows what the ad is really selling: a free quote, a booking, a discount, a download. Two competitors with similar ads can be playing very different games once you see the page. For a step-by-step on Meta's side, see how to use the Meta Ad Library.

A Newcastle electrician: is anyone advertising a fixed call-out fee, or do they all lead with '24/7'? A price nobody shows is often the opening.

A Central Coast physio: are competitors running offers? Health ads have to state an offer's terms and conditions, so check whether theirs do before you borrow the idea.

A Sydney online store: how long have their product ads run, and do they lead with price, free shipping or the product itself?

A mortgage broker: which ads show a rate, and does every rate come with a comparison rate? Ads that break ASIC's rules aren't ones to learn from.

A B2B supplier: the search ads usually say more than the social ones, because they answer a problem someone typed. Note which problems they name.

The last box in each notes card matters most: what is nobody saying? If every competitor leads with speed, maybe you lead with price certainty. If they all use stock photos, real photos of your team stand out.

Copying fails twice. It makes you look like the business you're trying to beat, and lifting someone's wording or images can land you in copyright or trade mark trouble. Comparing yourself with competitors is allowed if it's accurate: the ACCC's guidance on comparative advertising sets the line.

Test your angle in your own ads and judge it on enquiries or sales, not likes. The ad and landing page scorer checks the copy before it runs, and the ad rules checker checks the rules.