Overview
The LinkedIn Ads Library is a companion view to Company Search. Where Company Search tells you who a company is, the Ads Library tells you whether they are actively advertising on LinkedIn, how heavily, and what they are actually saying in those ads.
It is a browsing view over Sona's advertising intelligence data. Each row is a company with its LinkedIn ad volume across three time windows, and you can click through to see that company's individual ads with their creative and copy.
When to use the LinkedIn Ads Library
Use it when you need to:
Check whether a target account is actively running LinkedIn ads before you reach out.
Gauge how heavily a company is investing in LinkedIn, by comparing recent volume against the trailing year.
See a competitor's live messaging, offers, and creative direction.
Find companies whose advertising activity is ramping up, as a buying or growth signal.
Prerequisites:
Access to Company Search in your Sona workspace.
Getting to the LinkedIn Ads Library
The Ads Library is not a sidebar item of its own. You reach it from Company Search.
In the left sidebar, click Accounts to expand the group.
Click Company Search.
In the toolbar above the results table, click LinkedIn Ads Library.
The breadcrumb then reads Company Search › Ad Library, which is your way back to Company Search at any point.
Step 1: read the library table
The table has four columns:
Logo: the company's logo, where Sona holds one.
Name: the company name.
Li Ads 30Days: LinkedIn ads seen for that company in the last 30 days.
Li Ads 365Days: ads over the trailing 365 days.
Li Ads Ytd: ads so far in the current calendar year.
Every column header carries a sort control, so you can order the library by any of the three counts to surface the heaviest advertisers first.
Tip: read the three counts together rather than individually. A high 30-day count against a modest 365-day count means a company has recently ramped up, which is a more useful signal than raw volume.
Step 2: open a company's ads
The counts are clickable. A count rendered as a shaded badge links through to that company's ads for that specific time window, so clicking the number under Li Ads 30Days opens the last 30 days of ads for that company. A count shown as plain text has no drill-through.
The company view opens with the breadcrumb Company Search › Ad Library › [Company], and each ad appears as a card with the advertiser name, a Promoted label, the ad copy, the creative image, and the ad's own call-to-action link.
Note: the creative images in the screenshots above are deliberately blurred. In the product you see each ad's artwork in full.
Step 3: switch the time window
Inside a company's ads, three buttons at the top switch the period without going back to the library:
Last 30 Days
YTD
Last 365 Days
The active window is highlighted. Whichever count you clicked in the library becomes the window you land on, and you can move between the three freely from there.
Step 4: switch between grid and list layout
The two icons at the top right of the company's ads toggle how the ads are laid out.
Grid: ads side by side as cards, with large creative. Best for scanning creative direction at a glance.
List: one ad per row with a thumbnail beside the copy. Best for reading the messaging across many ads quickly.
Step 5: page through the library
The bar below the library table holds Show rows for the page size, a count in the form of "Showing 1 - 25 of N", and Previous and Next. Sorting by one of the ad-count columns is usually a faster route to what you want than paging through the full library.
Key concepts and best practices
Advertising is a signal, not a verdict: ad volume tells you a company is investing in demand generation. Pair it with ICP fit and intent data from Company Search before you prioritise an account.
Compare windows, not totals: the value is in the relationship between the 30-day, YTD, and 365-day counts. That is what shows a trend.
Read competitor copy, not just counts: the ad cards show live messaging and offers. That is often more actionable than the volume figure.
Use the breadcrumb: Company Search in the breadcrumb takes you straight back to your filtered search, so you do not lose your place.
Zero is informative: a target account with no LinkedIn ads at all is a different conversation from one running hundreds.
FAQs
Where do I find the LinkedIn Ads Library?
Where do I find the LinkedIn Ads Library?
It has no sidebar entry of its own. Open Accounts > Company Search, then click the LinkedIn Ads Library button in the toolbar above the results table.
What is the difference between the three ad-count columns?
What is the difference between the three ad-count columns?
Li Ads 30Days covers the last 30 days, Li Ads 365Days the trailing year, and Li Ads Ytd the current calendar year to date. Because YTD resets each January, early in the year it will be lower than the 365-day figure.
Why can I click some ad counts but not others?
Why can I click some ad counts but not others?
A count shown as a shaded badge links through to that company's ads for that window. A count shown as plain text is not a link, so there is no drill-through available for that company and period.
Does this show my own LinkedIn ad performance?
Does this show my own LinkedIn ad performance?
No. This is advertising intelligence about other companies, showing which of them are running LinkedIn ads and what those ads say. It is not a report on your own campaigns or their results.
Can I search or filter the library?
Can I search or filter the library?
The Ads Library view itself offers sorting and paging rather than a search box. To narrow down to particular companies, filter in Company Search first, or sort the library by an ad-count column.