How to use the Facebook Ad Library to find winning ads

What the Meta Ad Library is

Meta publishes the Ad Library for transparency: anyone can see the ads a page is running, without an account. It lives at facebook.com/ads/library and covers ads on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and the Audience Network.

For ecommerce research it answers one question well: what is this brand advertising right now. It does not tell you which of those ads make money. That part is your job, and the rest of this guide is about doing it.

How to search it, step by step

1. 1

   Pick a country. Ads differ by market. Choose the country you want to sell in, or All.

2. 2

   Choose All ads. The other categories are political and issue ads. Ecommerce ads sit under All ads.

3. 3

   Search a keyword or a page. Type a product ("posture corrector") or a brand's page name. Put a phrase in quotes for an exact match.

4. 4

   Filter. Active ads only; the platform; images or videos; the language; and the date range the ad was shown in.

5. 5

   Open the ad details. See the start date, the platforms, how many versions use the same creative, and in the EU the estimated reach.

What each ad tells you, and what it does not

• Started running on: the single most useful number. An ad still running after weeks is one the brand keeps paying for.
• Multiple versions: the same creative relaunched with new text or formats usually means it earned more budget.
• Platforms: where the ad runs. Instagram-only ads often aim at a younger buyer.
• EU reach and audience: for ads shown in the EU, Meta publishes estimated reach and the age and gender split.
• Not shown for ecommerce ads: spend, impressions, clicks, sales. Meta publishes spend only for political and issue ads.

How to tell a winning ad from a new one

Most ads in the library are days old and will be switched off within a week. A brand keeps paying only for what sells, so behaviour over time is the best public proof.

• It has run for 14 days or more and is still active.
• The brand relaunched it: several versions share the creative.
• The brand runs a real number of ads (10 or more), not two.
• It sends people to a real shop, not a link page or a profile.
• The same product shows up from several advertisers, but not from hundreds.

The limits, and how to work around them

• No ranking: the library shows ads, not which are best. Sort by how long they have run and how many versions they have.
• One country at a time: a product crowded in the US may be open in Germany. Repeat the search in each market's language.
• Language: search the word locals use ("Einlegesohlen", not "insoles" in Germany).
• Volume: a busy keyword returns thousands of ads. Narrow by date and media type, or let a tool pre-filter.

Questions