LinkedIn Ad library: How to spy on competitors and optimize your LinkedIn Ad strategy

LinkedIn success now is not about placing ads but about outperforming the competition. With over 1 billion LinkedIn professionals worldwide and 4 out of 5 members driving business decisions, the site offers unparalleled access for brands. But with opportunity comes high competition.

Marketers need something more than creativity to excel; they need insight. Over 80% of B2B leads generated via social media come from LinkedIn.

This guide covers using the LinkedIn Ad Library to analyze competitors, spot trends, and enhance your ad campaigns.

What is the LinkedIn Ad library, and how does it work?

The LinkedIn Ad Library is a search database that provides free access to live ads of what companies are currently running on LinkedIn.

Designed to promote transparency, it allows competitors, customers, journalists, and job seekers to browse through current and some historical advertising campaigns efficiently.

Unlike Facebook’s Ad Library, which resides on a separate platform, LinkedIn integrates its ad transparency directly onto each company’s LinkedIn Page.

That integration is easy, as users can see a brand’s ad creatives, messaging, and targeting strategy with just a few simple clicks.

Key features of LinkedIn Ad library

Understanding what you can see in the LinkedIn Ad Library is crucial to maximizing its potential for competitor research and campaign inspiration.

• Active ad view: Get an all-inclusive view of all the ads running from a specific LinkedIn page, including paid promotions across different markets.
• Creative formats: See the many ad types, sponsored content, text ads, carousel ads, video ads, and message ads to see how brands can creatively differ.
• Political transparency: LinkedIn provides additional disclosures regarding issue-based or political ads, including demographic targeting information and total spend amounts.
• Competitor campaign analysis gives access to how companies brand themselves or their products/services to professionals or decision-makers.
• Real-time updates: Ads are accessible only while live; after running, most of them disappear, except for political ads that are stored

How to access the LinkedIn Ad library

While other social platforms have separate ad library pages, LinkedIn integrates its ad library into the leading platform. Here is how you can easily see a company’s current running ads:

• Find the company: Use the search bar to find the company you want to examine.
• Go to their LinkedIn page: Click on the official company page from the search results.
• Scroll down to the “Ads” Section: On the company page, scroll down to the section labeled “Ads.” It’s usually mid-page, under ‘About’ and ‘Posts’.
• Click “See all Ads”: This button opens a full gallery view of all the company’s live campaigns on LinkedIn.

Why every marketer needs the LinkedIn ad library to stay competitive in 2025

The digital marketing landscape on LinkedIn is changing fast, and staying ahead of the pack takes more than creativity; it takes strategic smarts.

As competition intensifies in 2025, marketers who leverage real-time insights will gain a significant advantage. Here’s why influential marketers are making LinkedIn Ad Library an essential part of their advertising strategy:

• Gain realistic competitor insights: Review active competitors’ ad creatives to understand how they establish their brands, what topics they discuss, and the ad formats they use to connect with professional audiences.
• Learn winning creative playbooks: Experiment with different ad types, from sponsored content to video ads, and see what kinds of creatives perform best in your niche. Use this insight to create more converting campaigns.
• Catch market trends early: Analyze a group of competitors to identify emerging trends in messaging, imagery, and targeting approaches. Being ahead of the curve keeps your brand competitive before others join in.
• Benchmark your campaigns: Compare your ads’ quality, message, and engagement potential with those of industry leaders in your space. Observe what’s working and not by observing others’ success and failure.
• Maximize ROI on LinkedIn advertising: With more complete competitor intelligence, you can better manage your LinkedIn ad budget, refine your targeting, and create campaigns that will succeed without costly guessing.

What types of LinkedIn ads are visible in the LinkedIn ad library?

In the LinkedIn Ad Library, you will generally find a selection of ad forms that companies use to reach professional audiences. Below are some of them:

• Sponsored content: They are native ads that appear organically in a user’s LinkedIn stream, with a look and feel similar to everyday posts. They’re designed to drive engagement using clicks, likes, comments, and shares.
• Sponsored messaging: Delivered directly into a user’s LinkedIn Messaging (InMail), these ads allow brands to send promotional messages, event invitations, or special promotions directly to targeted mailboxes.
• Text Ads: Brief, text-based advertisements are usually shown in the sidebar. They are a pay-per-click (PPC) model and ideal for generating leads or driving targeted traffic.
• Video Ads: A highly interactive format by which brands can tell a more immersive story. Video content is becoming increasingly effective for B2B interactions, particularly brand storytelling, webinars, and product demonstrations.
• Dynamic Ads: Personalized ad units that automatically adapt based on the user’s profile information, making the messaging more personalized and engaging.

How to analyze Ads in LinkedIn Ad Library

When looking at ads, these are the things you want to look out for:

• Headline and offer: What are they selling? How good is the call-to-action (CTA)?
• Visuals: Video, photograph, or animation?
• Format choice: Carousel? Single photo? Video?
• Tone of voice: Formal, chatty, engaging?
• Targeted messaging: Who are they talking to: executives, managers, small businesses, or job seekers?
• Geographic targeting: Are locations, local services, or regional offerings listed in the body?

Best practices for using the LinkedIn Ad library to improve your campaigns

The best practices include:

• Check competitors weekly to stay current. Marketing moves fast, and visiting weekly enables you to notice new campaigns, seasonal sales, and trend shifts.
• Identify copy and visual trends: Are Brands Resorting to Storytelling? Interactive questionnaires? Bite-sized video? Identify and capitalize on trends.
• Review offers and CTAs, including webinars, eBooks, free trials, and case studies, to identify the offers that drive action.
• Create a swipe file: Prioritize and segment the best ads by industry, tone, and format. Utilize this for ideation sessions.
• A/B test your LinkedIn Ads: Analyze the best-performing ads and apply that learning. Try out different headlines, creative types, and CTA styles.

Unlock LinkedIn Ad success with the LinkedIn Ad library

The LinkedIn Ad Library is a marketing game-changer for marketers looking to outmaneuver the competition in 2025 and beyond.

It provides real-time insights into competitor tactics, creative trends, and ad formats, enabling more informed and intelligent campaign choices.

FAQs

Q. 1 Is LinkedIn Ad Library free?

Yes, it’s 100% free to anyone with a LinkedIn account.

Q. 2 Can I see audience targeting within the LinkedIn Ad library?

Yes, in LinkedIn Ad Library, you can view basic targeting details like location, industry, and job title, but not full audience demographics.

Q. 3 Can I see historical LinkedIn ads?

Only political or issue ads have longer-term archives. Commercial ads evaporate when campaigns end.

Q. 4 Can you download ads?

Yes, LinkedIn ads can be downloaded.

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