4 essential LinkedIn Ads Library uses for top B2B campaigns

LinkedIn is a powerhouse for B2B marketing, reaching over 1 billion professionals annually, or nearly 14% of the global population. But as more brands compete in the same niches and for similar key audiences, standing out has never been tougher.

For growth marketers, performance in LinkedIn Ads hinges on relevance, speed and insight. That’s where the LinkedIn Ads Library becomes your free-access weapon at all times.

Available since June 2023, this public database gives you access to all ads that have run on LinkedIn over the past 12 months. It’s a goldmine for understanding what your audience is already seeing. And where you can cut through the noise.

Why does this matter? Because most LinkedIn ads aren’t performing well enough today. They're often dry, forgettable and creatively flat. Meanwhile, marketing and creative teams are under more pressure than ever, with too stretched audiences to test broadly and too cautious to take bold swings.

The LinkedIn Ads Library helps your B2B strategy go above this. It helps you:

• Shortcut the guesswork on what your competitors are doing now
• Analyze what’s trending in your niches and where people are landing on the ads
• Build smarter, creative strategies with less time and effort.
• Prepare a solid B2B LinkedIn ads strategy when uniting these insights with top creative analytics tools.

Learn here how to use this library strategically.

How to access the LinkedIn Ads Library?

Accessing the LinkedIn Ads Library is straightforward, and it doesn’t require a LinkedIn account.

Method 1: Via LinkedIn (quickest)

• Navigate to the LinkedIn Ads Library homepage.
• Use the search bar to enter an advertiser's name or relevant keywords.
• Apply available filters to refine your search:
  • Country: Select the geographic region of interest.
  • Date Range: Specify the time frame for the ads you wish to view.
• Review the displayed ads, which include details such as ad creatives, formats and advertiser information.

Method 2: Access via a company’s LinkedIn page

• Search for the company’s official LinkedIn page.
• Navigate to the “Posts” section of the company page.
• If available, click on the “View ad library” link on the left side of the page to view all active ads run by the company.

This method is particularly useful for conducting competitor analysis by providing direct insights into a specific company's advertising strategies.

What you’ll see in the LinkedIn Ads Library dashboard

The LinkedIn Ads Library gives marketers a clear view into the creative and messaging strategies used by competitors, challengers and category leaders. It’s a fast, frictionless way to reverse-engineer how other B2B brands are showing up, and where you can differentiate.

Similar to a common LinkedIn search, once you're on the Ads Library homepage, you can search by using:

• Brand or company name
• Keyword
• Location (country, city, region or postal code)
• Date range (up to a year max)

Once you run a search, you’ll land on the library’s dashboard, which will display all relevant ads for that selected company/ keyword, country and date range.

For each result shown everywhere but the European Union (EU), you’ll see the complete ad details, along with its advertiser and payer. Usually, advertisers and payers are the same, but they can also differ. This information is available for all accepted ad categories and industries on LinkedIn.

This is how the ad details will look in the library:

Here’s a breakdown of the ads’ details on the LinkedIn library:

• All creative details. View the type of LinkedIn ad, including images, video, carousels, documents, hyperlinks, primary text and call to action (CTA) buttons that will send you to the linked landing page.
• Advertiser info and payer. Next to the ad, see the company name and campaign beneficiary.
• Notice if the ad was restricted from delivering on LinkedIn.

Note: Ad variations are not available to see at this time. You’ll see the following note below the ad.

Note: Unlike the Meta Ads library, LinkedIn doesn’t allow political ads. You won’t find any in the system. Want to know what is restricted? Check LinkedIn’s ad guidelines here.

If you’re trying to see a new set campaign, the ads usually appear in the library within 24 to 48 hours of receiving impressions and will remain visible for one year after their last appearance. If your campaign doesn’t show up within that timeframe, reach out to the LinkedIn Help Center for assistance.

About LinkedIn Ads served in the EU

The library was introduced to promote a safe, trusted and transparent ad experience on LinkedIn, particularly after EU regulations, like the Digital Services Act, demanded more openness about online ads within the region.

For users in the EU, LinkedIn's transparency rules mean you’ll also find details about:

• Total number of impressions the ad had per country
• Targeting details based on LinkedIn ads parameters (selected by the advertiser):
  • Language
  • Location
  • Company
  • Audience inclusion/exclusion criteria
  • Job targeting, including titles, seniority, years of experience and more
  • Educational level
  • Demographic targeting
  • Members’ specific interests and traits on LinkedIn
• Ad campaign duration, not available for non-EU targeted ads.

These ads are also saved for a maximum of a year.

While the library doesn’t show live performance data, budget spend or exact ROI, it’s the perfect resource for creative and strategic research.

If you want to know if a LinkedIn ad really worked, you’ll need to validate with real performance data using a LinkedIn analytics tool, which we’ll touch on later.

What to learn from the LinkedIn Ads Library

The LinkedIn Ads Library is a powerful place for surfacing creative trends, competitor strategies and messaging patterns across the social network.

Here’s what you can, and can’t, expect to learn when using it for campaign strategy.

What you can access

• Competitor messaging. See exactly how competitors position their products or services through headlines, copy, imagery and calls to action.
  • For example, does a rival lean heavily into a specific value prop? Do they emphasize ROI, features or innovation? This analysis gives you a clear view into how industry peers are speaking to the same decision-makers you’re targeting.
• Creative approaches. Understand which ad formats different brands favor, whether it's single image posts, carousel explainers or video testimonials.
  • You’ll also notice structural patterns: are they running one hero ad or an ecosystem of creatives across touchpoints? These observations reveal how others approach B2B storytelling and campaign depth.
• Content trends and offers. By scanning ads across your competitors you’ll quickly spot trends or patterns on what content are they promoting via ads.
  • For example: maybe every cybersecurity SaaS brand on your radar this quarter is promoting a new “AI-powered” solution, or several are offering gated webinars and industry reports. These signals show what’s being tested and offered to your target audience.
• Industry-wide themes. Zoom out to spot macro ad creative trends, like increased use of humor, storytelling or founder-led content. You’ll start to see how the tone of B2B is evolving across verticals.
• Audience targeting clues. EU-targeted ads reveal additional data like ad impressions, audience demographics and campaign periods. This information lets you infer which buyer segments are being prioritized, what ads might be working the most and where competitors are putting their budget in.
• Audience gaps. Equally, or perhaps even more important: the Ads Library shows what isn’t being said. If no competitors are addressing a key pain point or audience segment, or if no one is promoting a certain type of offer or content, that’s a creative gap you can fill.

Limits to the LinkedIn Ads Library

• No performance metrics: No CTR, conversions or engagement stats.
• No ROI & spend data: No clear indicators of budget or return.
• Shallow targeting precision: Limited beyond geo and basic demo info.
• No automation features: There’s no export/alert function. Gathering intelligence is manual and can be time-consuming.
• Manual research effort: There’s no ranking of “top ads” or automated analysis in the library. It’s up to you to search and scroll. If you want to compare 5 competitors, you’ll need to look each one up individually and analyze their ads. For marketers short on time, digging through dozens of ads is just labor-intensive.
• Targeting info isn’t granular out of the EU: You won’t see detailed targeting parameters like exact job titles or company names targeted. So, you can’t fully reverse-engineer who they aimed the ad at beyond hints and the ad content itself.
  • Note: You might get broad demographics when an ad gets targeted to you specifically on LinkedIn, but not a full targeting setup.

In short, LinkedIn’s Ads Library offers tremendous transparency into what ads are running and how they look and read, but not into how they’re performing. Think of it as qualitative intel to complement your quantitative data.

4 ways to use the LinkedIn Ads Library for competitive intelligence

One of the most powerful applications of the LinkedIn Ads Library is for competitive research. For growth marketers, it’s like getting a front-row seat to your competitors’ campaign strategies without the guesswork.

Here are four ways to turn the Library into a strategic edge.

1. Monitor key competitors during high-demand seasons

High-demand periods vary by industry or region, but they’re often tied to product launches, fiscal quarters or seasonal cycles. During these windows, you’ll gain the most insight by closely watching your competitors’ ad activity.

How to do it:

• Build a shortlist of direct competitors and top brands in your category.
• Set a recurring review cadence to track what they’re launching.
• When available, log ad frequency, creative variation and campaign duration to understand the scale and intent behind each campaign.

For example, if Competitor X runs dozens of unique ads during Q4, it suggests a broad awareness push. If Competitor Y sticks to one or two evergreen lead-gen ads, they may be focusing on bottom-funnel conversions.

Also, note how frequently ads are refreshed. Frequent creative changes often indicate active A/B testing or seasonal rotations. If you see others iterating more aggressively, it might be time to step up your own testing cadence.

2. Spot industry trends

Use keyword and sector filters to uncover macro-level trends across the B2B landscape. This gives you a real-time pulse on what themes are rising, falling or oversaturated.

Ask yourself:

• Are certain value props (e.g., automation, CX, ROI) becoming more common?
• Are brands leaning more on testimonials, case studies or long-form storytelling?
• Has there been a noticeable shift in tone, ad length or visual style?

Pro tip: Search generic industry terms like “cloud security” or “CRM software” to get a broad view. Patterns will emerge, maybe there's a surge in ads mentioning compliance updates or new technologies. Logging these insights over time helps you plan ahead, not just react.

3. Benchmark creative strategy

Beyond messaging and format, the Ads Library also lets you infer how brands structure their campaigns.

Look for:

• Targeting insights: In the EU, you might see industry, company size or job seniority. This data helps validate assumptions about competitor personas.
• Creative diversity: Are top brands testing a range of formats or banking on a single standout concept?
• Messaging styles: Is the tone emotional, practical, exclusive or innovation-led?
• Anchor ads: Do they build on a core concept across the year or refresh everything seasonally?

For instance, if a competitor consistently targets enterprise buyers, that insight can shape how you position your own offering in contrast, whether it’s leaning into SMBs, mid-market or a specific vertical.

4. Combine with other ad libraries

For a full picture view, use the LinkedIn Ads Library alongside other platforms like the Meta Ads Library, the TikTok Ads Library or the Google Ads Transparency Center. Each one reveals a different side of your competitor’s funnel and messaging strategy.

For example, a brand might target C-level execs with thought leadership on LinkedIn, while using Facebook for product-focused demos and retargeting. Understanding that split lets you position your own message strategically across channels, without duplicating their playbook

The 6-step LinkedIn Ads Library strategic roadmap

Don’t just scroll, copy an ad and walk away. Here’s a step-by-step system to turn LinkedIn Ads Library research into a high-impact campaign strategy:

Step 1: Identify notable ads and patterns

Begin by gathering a sample of relevant ads. For example, all ads from your top 3 competitors in the last 6 months, or the top 20 ads you found for your industry keyword.

• Look for repeating ads or messages: Ads that run for extended periods or show up repeatedly are likely strong performers.
  • While LinkedIn doesn’t show engagement metrics, if a company continues running the same ad or has very similar copy across multiple ads, they likely found that approach effective
• Themes: Look for core messages or CTAs that your competitors keep pushing. Is everyone talking about “security,” “growth,” “AI,” or “workplace happiness”?
• Engagement clues: While you can’t see likes or comments directly on the library unless you go to the live ad, recurring creatives often indicate something is hitting the mark.

Also, take note of any ads with visible social proof. Occasionally, ads shown on the company’s page will display likes or comments if they’re sponsored posts; high interaction could indicate strong resonance.

By the end of this scan, you should have a shortlist of ads that seem impactful or representative in your space.

Step 2: Dissect creative elements

Don’t just glance and move on. For each “notable” ad, break it down into its core components and evaluate each critically:

• Headline/text: Is the headline punchy and value-focused? Does the copy use a professional tone or a casual, emotive one? B2B ads can range from straight-to-business (“Save 20% on ERP software”) to storytelling or thought leadership angles. Note the wording and approach.
• Visual or video: What imagery is used? Charts and product screenshots, or people-centric photos? Are competitors favoring clean, corporate designs or more bold, colorful visuals to stand out? If it’s a video, how are they grabbing attention early?
• Offer/CTA: What's the CTA offer? Common B2B offers include free trials, demos, case studies, whitepapers, etc. See which offers are prevalent. A competitor pushing a “Free Demo” vs. another offering a “Download E-book” reveals different funnel strategies.
• Tone and emotional appeal: Do the ads feel purely informational, or do they try to evoke emotion or urgency (e.g. “You can always trust us”)? Many B2B ads have been criticized for lacking emotional appeal. Identifying the tone can inspire you to either align with a proven approach or zag where others zig (maybe injecting more human emotion if everyone else is dry).

Keep a spreadsheet or Notion board as your creative swipe file. Over time, patterns will emerge.

Step 3: Spot winning themes and tactics

As you analyze multiple ads, zoom out and look for patterns across the board:

• Are there recurring themes in messaging?
• Do certain ad formats (video/animation) dominate?
• Is a specific CTA (“Book a demo,” “See it in action”) used by all the top players?
• Do competitors use more humor, emotion or hard stats? Note where your current ads overlap, and where they don’t.

For instance, if you notice several competitors all highlighting “AI-powered” features in their copy, that’s an industry theme you can’t ignore.

Or if every ad in your field has a blue background and corporate stock photo, that’s the status quo creative your audience sees every day

Identifying these ubiquitous elements is important for two reasons: You glean what resonates with the audience, and it helps you decide how to differentiate your brand’s ads in response.

Step 4: Identify audience gaps for differentiation

Reviewing competitors’ ads can reveal gaps in content or messaging that you can exploit.. Jot these gap opportunities down. They are fuel for truly standing apart in the LinkedIn feed.

• Underrepresented audiences. Are there verticals, industries or roles your competition ignores?
• Messaging whitespace. Are all ads dry and technical? Consider infusing humor, social proof or storytelling.
• Creative angles. For example, if most ads focus on “cost savings,” try testing with another message and narrative, and tweak accordingly.

Differentiation is key. Given that many decision-makers find current B2B ads uninspiring, a novel message or creative angle can capture attention where others blend together.

Step 5: Apply insights and creative test

With all this intelligence gathered, it’s time to put it to work. Convene with your creative and marketing team to brainstorm new ad concepts inspired by what you learned.

For example, if you noted that competitor ads promoting a free tool trial got a lot of engagement (and you confirmed with your sales team that prospects mention those tools), you might incorporate a trial offer in your next LinkedIn campaign.

But how to start?

• Turn your findings into hypotheses to test. Spin out new creative concepts inspired by your research, but adapt them for your brand’s unique position.
• Create a few new ad variations that integrate promising tactics (messaging hooks, CTAs, visuals) you’ve identified.
• Test the winning formats and messaging angles in your own campaigns. Run A/B tests or pilot campaigns to gather performance data,
• Watch how your audience responds, and be ready to iterate based on engagement.

The goal is to validate which insights actually drive better results for your brand. Always keep in mind your own audience and value proposition.

Step 6: Build a continuous feedback loop

Optimization is an ongoing process. Make it a habit to revisit the LinkedIn Ad Library regularly (monthly or quarterly) to see what’s changed.

Save or document new interesting ads you come across, and note whether the trends you spotted earlier are shifting. Continuous monitoring ensures you stay ahead of competitors’ moves and new trends

Also, feed back your own ad campaign results into this loop: if a certain new ad you launched (inspired by Library research) is performing well, double down and refine it; if it tanked, analyze why.

Maybe the insight was sound, but the execution or timing was off. Keep a shared document or spreadsheet of competitor ads and your observations.

• Review the LinkedIn Ads Library regularly. Competitor strategies will shift, and so should yours.
• Maintain a living database of findings, organized by theme, CTA, format and outcome.
• Tie your creative tests back to real creative performance data to refine your approach over time.

Over time, you’ll build an “idea” of creative do’s and don’ts. Regularly brainstorming with your team about recent competitor ads can also spark creativity between your design and marketing teams and keep everyone on top of market messaging.

By iterating in this way, you turn the library from a one-time research platform into a continuous source of successful measurement and improvement for your B2B campaigns. In the fast-paced digital ad world, that agility in learning and adapting is what drives long-term success.

Validating creative LinkedIn insights with Superads

The LinkedIn Ads Library gives you a qualitative edge, but to consistently outperform, you need the numbers to back it up.

That’s where Superads comes in.

Superads is an AI-powered creative analytics platform that helps you go beyond competitive research to understand exactly which creative elements are driving results.

Connect your LinkedIn, Meta, YouTube and TikTok accounts, and see performance insights in one unified dashboard. No more guesswork or manual reports.

Find in Superads a place for:

• Unified, cross-platform reporting. Analyze ad performance across LinkedIn, Meta and TikTok (YouTube coming soon) to get a full picture of what’s working.
• AI-powered creative breakdown. Automatically surface creative themes, emotional triggers, hooks and formats, without relying on naming conventions.
• Performance benchmarking. Identify top-performing creatives using percentile-based Superads Scores, like Hook Score or Engagement Score, to find out what actually moves the needle.
• Automated reporting. Build shareable dashboards in minutes. Keep your team aligned and say goodbye to endless spreadsheet wrangling.

Combine Superads with LinkedIn’s library and:

• Validate the creative trends you spot in the LinkedIn Ads Library with real, conversion-focused data.
• Benchmark your performance against industry averages, not guesses.
• Discover unexpected winners on LinkedIn Ads and fresh creative opportunities using key AI suggestions.
• Save hours each week with streamlined reporting and insight generation.

By combining what the Ads Library shows with what Superads proves, you can make faster, smarter creative decisions.

Supercharge your B2B campaigns with smarter ad analytics

The LinkedIn Ads Library is a goldmine, but only if you know how to use it. It helps you spot competitor activity, monitor messaging trends and uncover creative patterns long before they hit critical mass.

Gone are the days of guessing what kind of B2B ad creative will work. The Library is your competitive intelligence engine, offering a clear view into what your audience is already seeing and where you can do better.

But competitive research is only half the story. To truly win in today’s B2B space, you need to test, validate and iterate using performance data.

When you combine the qualitative insight from the LinkedIn Ads Library with Superads’ AI-powered creative analytics, you can:

• Turn creative inspiration into high-performing assets
• Adapt your strategy quickly as market dynamics shift
• Confidently decide what to scale and what to scrap

There’s never been a better time to take control of your paid social performance.

Start building a competitive ad database, review creative regularly and use AI insights to sharpen every campaign you launch.

Ready to move from guesswork to growth? Try Superads for free and make your next LinkedIn campaign your best yet.

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