How to Analyze Competitor LinkedIn Ads (Legally)
Learn from your competition without copying them
Your competitors are running ads. You should know what they're doing. Here's how to research competitor LinkedIn ads legally and ethically.
Use LinkedIn's Ad Library. While not as robust as other platforms, you can see some competitor ads by following their company pages and noting sponsored content.
Follow competitor company pages. You'll see their sponsored content in your feed. Screenshot and analyze their messaging.
Check competitor websites. Look at their landing pages, offers, and positioning. This reveals their strategy.
Sign up for competitor content. If they're promoting a whitepaper, download it. See their follow-up nurture sequence.
Use tools like Similarweb to see where competitors get traffic. Are they investing heavily in LinkedIn?
Watch for patterns. What do they promote most? What offers do they repeat? Repeated campaigns usually mean something is working.
Analyze their value propositions. How do they position against you? What unique benefits do they claim?
Notice their creative style. Are they using customer photos, graphics, or product screenshots? What seems to get engagement?
Look at their LinkedIn company page content. What earns the most engagement? This tells you what resonates with shared audiences.
Check their employees' LinkedIn profiles. Do sales people share common talking points? That's their current messaging.
What NOT to do:
Don't copy their ads word-for-word. That's plagiarism and damages your brand.
Don't obsess over competitors. Focus more on your customers than your competition.
Don't assume what works for them will work for you. Different brands, different results.
Use competitive intelligence to inform your strategy, not dictate it. Learn from what they do well. Avoid their mistakes. But stay true to your own brand and value proposition.
Stirling can help you create unique ads informed by competitive intelligence. Input what you've learned about competitor positioning and generate ads that differentiate your brand effectively.
Competitive research is valuable. But execution matters more. Focus on doing your thing better than they do theirs.
