LinkedIn Ad Library Scrapers: Research B2B Ads in Bulk
LinkedIn ads are expensive, so B2B marketers watch what competitors run there. LinkedIn's Ad Library makes those ads public. This guide covers what the library holds, the extra detail for EU ads, and a method for turning ads into positioning insight.
What the LinkedIn Ad Library includes
From LinkedIn's help page LinkedIn Ad Library help:
- Ads that ran on LinkedIn after 1 June 2023.
- Ads stay listed "for one year after their last impression on LinkedIn".
- Each ad shows the preview, format, advertiser, payer and whether it is restricted. Restricted ads hide the preview, advertiser and payer.
- You can search by advertiser or company, payer, keyword, country and date range.
- For ads targeted to the European Union, the library also shows impressions, targeting and the dates the ad ran.
The help page links to an "Ad Library API" but does not describe who can use it or how. If you need an official feed, ask LinkedIn directly.
What you can and can't learn
| Question | Answerable? |
|---|---|
| What messages and offers does a competitor run? | Yes, from the creative |
| Which formats: single image, video, document, carousel? | Yes |
| Who do they target? | Only for EU-targeted ads |
| How many impressions? | Only for EU-targeted ads, as a range |
| How much they spend? | No |
Tip: if a competitor sells in Europe, filter to an EU country. You get targeting and impressions that the US view does not show.
Method: a B2B ad teardown
- Collect. Pull every ad from 3 to 5 competitors over the last 6 months.
- Code each ad in a sheet: audience (by job, if visible), pain point, promise, proof (logo, number, quote), offer (demo, trial, report, webinar), format.
- Count. Which pain points appear most? Which offers? A competitor running 30 ads on one pain point is telling you what sells for them.
- Run length. For EU ads, run dates show which ads lasted. Long runners are the ones to study.
- Find the gap. The pain point nobody addresses, or the offer nobody makes, is your opening.
A teardown template
| Ad | Pain | Promise | Proof | Offer | Format | Ran |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Competitor A #1 | Manual reporting | Save 10 hours a week | Customer logo | Demo | Video | 90 days |
| Competitor A #2 | Data silos | One source of truth | G2 badge | Report download | Document | 45 days |
Signals worth watching over time
- A burst of new ads in one week usually means a launch or a new quarter's budget.
- A switch to document ads or lead-gen offers means they are hunting for pipeline, not awareness.
- New countries in the EU view point to expansion plans.
- A new payer on the ads can mean a new agency.
Snapshot the library monthly and keep your own copy. LinkedIn drops ads a year after their last impression, so your archive becomes the only long history you have.
A word on terms
LinkedIn's User Agreement prohibits using software or bots "to scrape or copy the Services" LinkedIn User Agreement, section 8.2. The Ad Library is a public transparency tool required by EU law, but it is still a LinkedIn service. Use a source that reads only what the public library shows, logged out, and don't log in with a personal account to automate it.
This is not legal advice. Terms and case law change, and the answer depends on where you are and what you do with the data. Talk to a lawyer before you build a business on it.
How to do it with ScrapeIO
The LinkedIn ads search API searches the public library by company name, company id or keyword, with a comma-separated countries list and startDate/endDate, and pages with paginationToken. The LinkedIn ad details API opens one ad by URL. Both cost 1 credit a call. For the competitor's organic side, add the LinkedIn company posts API.
Sources
Checked on 8 November 2026 from each vendor's own pages. Prices and limits change; follow the links before you decide.
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