How to see a Shopify store's ads on Meta, TikTok and Google

Where the ads are

Three public libraries show the ads a brand is running right now, without an ad account:

• The Meta Ad Library covers Facebook and Instagram. For each active ad you can see the creative, the copy, the start date and the platforms it runs on.
• The TikTok ad library shows the video ads tied to a brand.
• Google Ads Transparency Center shows the ads attached to an advertiser, including Search.

None of them shows spend or results. What you get is the creative and how long it has been live.

How to open them on the right brand

Searching a library by brand name works, until the brand name is common or the page is named differently from the store. The Shopify winning ads spy skips that step.

1. Paste the competitor's store URL.
2. The tool reads the Facebook, Instagram and TikTok names on the page and opens each library on that advertiser. The Google advertiser lookup also runs, so you can usually see Google ads even when the store has no social links.
3. Open each library and filter to active ads.

Which library to open first

Start with the platform where the brand puts most of its effort, which you can usually guess from the links on its site.

• A store that links its Instagram and runs polished photography is probably strongest on Meta.
• A store built around short demonstration videos and creators often leads on TikTok.
• A store that sells things people search for by name, such as replacement parts or a specific gadget, often leans on Google.

Check all three anyway. The same product often appears in different forms on each, and the difference shows you what the brand thinks works for each audience.

What to read in an ad

• The start date. An ad that has run for weeks or months is one the merchant has kept paying for. That is the best clue you get, though it is a clue and not proof of profit.
• The hook. What does the first line, or the first three seconds of video, promise?
• The offer. Is it a discount, a bundle, free shipping, or a guarantee? Is the price visible?
• The proof. Reviews, a demo, a before and after, or a creator.
• The format. Static image, video, carousel, or a creator-style clip.
• How many versions of the same idea exist. A brand testing five hooks on one product is telling you what it thinks matters.
• Where the click goes. Open the landing page.

Keep notes you can use later

Screenshots pile up and teach nothing. A small sheet works better. One row per ad, with these columns:

• Brand and product
• Platform and format
• Start date, and the date you checked
• The hook, in your own words
• The offer and the price shown
• The proof used (review, demo, creator, before and after)
• The landing page URL

After ten or fifteen rows, patterns show up: the same problem named in the first line, the same kind of proof, the same offer. That is the useful part. A pattern across several brands is a better guide than any single ad.

Check back every week or two. An ad that was new last time and is still live is a stronger signal now. An ad that has disappeared may have been a test that failed.

Check the page the ad opens

An ad is half the funnel. Take the product it sends traffic to and run that URL through the Shopify CRO Audit (see the score guide). A strong ad on a weak page is a gap you can beat. A strong ad on a strong page tells you the offer is the real strength.

Then match the product in the ad to its price and variants using the product export guide, and the apps on the page with the app detector guide.

A worked pass

This is an example, not a real brand. You sell a ceramic pour-over coffee set and look at a store that sells something similar.

1. You paste the store into the ads spy and open the Meta Ad Library. Eleven ads are active. Three started in the last week, two started five months ago.
2. The two older ads use the same creator-style video, a hook about the mess of paper filters, and a bundle with a free scoop. The new ads test different hooks on the same set.
3. You write down the structure, not the wording: problem in the first line, the product being used, the bundle at the end.
4. You click through. The landing page shows the bundle and the price, but the add to cart sends shoppers to a cart page rather than a drawer.
5. You decide to test a bundle with a cart-based offer. Before you shoot anything, you check the numbers with the break-even ROAS guide, since their price may not leave you the same margin.

What you can and cannot take from an ad

• Take the idea. A problem-first hook, a demo in the first three seconds, a bundle at the end. Ideas and structures are free to reuse.
• Do not take the content. Footage, photos, music, scripts and brand names belong to someone else. Make your own.
• Be careful with claims. If an ad says a product "removes stains in seconds" or "clinically proven", that is the advertiser's claim to prove. Do not repeat a claim unless you can back it for your own product. Advertising platforms and regulators can ask you to.
• Do not assume results. You see what is running. You do not see the click-through rate, the conversion rate or the return on spend.

Common mistakes

• Calling an ad a winner because it exists. Test ads are live too. Weigh the start date.
• Copying the creative. Use it to learn structure. Copying an ad's footage or wording is a legal and brand risk, and it rarely works as well for a second advertiser.
• Copying the price. Their costs are not yours. Run the price through your own margin first.
• Looking only at Meta. A brand may be strong on TikTok or Google and quiet on Facebook.
• Ignoring inactive ads. The libraries focus on active ads. If a brand pulls an ad, you may miss what it learned. Check back on a schedule.

What to check next

The point is to turn what you saw into a test you can afford. Plan the cost with the cost per purchase guide. If you are still choosing what to sell, start from the winning products guide.

Shopify questions