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Competitor ad checker

Find out whether a competitor is paying for Google, Facebook, TikTok or LinkedIn ads – and see the actual ads they're running.

How does the competitor ad checker work?

Businesses that advertise put a tracking tag on their website so the ad platform can count sales and leads. We read the competitor's home page and list every advertising tag we recognise – Google Ads, the Meta (Facebook) Pixel, Microsoft Advertising, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest, X, Snapchat, Criteo and more – with what each one tells you.

Then we link you straight into the official ad libraries, already searched for that competitor:

  • Google Ads Transparency Centre – every search, Shopping, YouTube and display ad the advertiser has run, with dates and the countries shown.
  • Meta Ad Library – live Facebook and Instagram ads, with the creative and when each started.
  • LinkedIn Ad Library and TikTok Ad Library – sponsored posts and video ads.

Can I see how much a competitor spends on ads?

Not accurately – and no free or paid tool can. Google and Meta don't publish spend for ordinary UK advertisers. Tools that quote ad budgets are estimating from guessed click prices. What you can see is far more useful: which platforms they use, which ads they keep running (long-running ads are usually the ones that work) and which offers and landing pages they push.

How do I use this to win more customers?

  • Note the services and offers they advertise – those are the searches worth money. Make sure you have a strong page for each, and check it with the SEO content editor.
  • Ranking organically for the same searches gets you the same customers without paying per click. Compare your sites with the competitor comparison.
  • Check which of their pages have links with the backlink checker.

Frequently asked questions

Is it legal to look at competitors' ads?

Yes. The ad libraries are public on purpose, for transparency, and reading a website's public code is what every browser does.

Why wasn't a tag found when I know they advertise?

Some sites load tags only after a visitor accepts cookies, or through Google Tag Manager. The ad libraries still show their ads.

Does this work for any country?

The tag check works for any website. The library links open UK results; you can change the country inside each library.

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Want the fixes done for you? XKey is made by IceWork, a web studio in Blackpool. IceWork builds fast, search-ready websites – a 3-page site including domain and a year's hosting is £350 all in.