> **For coding agents and LLMs:** This is one page from the Social Fetch docs (markdown export). For curated orientation and workflow guidance, start with [`/llms.txt`](https://www.socialfetch.dev/llms.txt); for agent onboarding and crawl rules, use [`/agents.txt`](https://www.socialfetch.dev/agents.txt); for the full endpoint list with links to pages like this one, use [`/llms-endpoints.txt`](https://www.socialfetch.dev/llms-endpoints.txt); for one platform's parameters and curls, use [`/llms-{platform}.txt`](https://www.socialfetch.dev/llms-tiktok.txt); use [`/llms.json`](https://www.socialfetch.dev/llms.json) when you need structured JSON for tool registration.

## This page

- **On-site (HTML):** <https://www.socialfetch.dev/docs/tools/ad-tracker/use-cases>
- **Markdown (.mdx) URL:** <https://www.socialfetch.dev/docs/tools/ad-tracker/use-cases.mdx>

## API base URL and authentication

- **API origin (from OpenAPI `servers`):** `https://api.socialfetch.dev`
- **Authentication:** send `x-api-key: sfk_...` on `/v1/**` and `/v2/**` routes unless the operation is explicitly anonymous (check OpenAPI `security`, the [API reference hub](https://www.socialfetch.dev/docs/api.mdx), [`/llms.txt`](https://www.socialfetch.dev/llms.txt), or [`/llms.json`](https://www.socialfetch.dev/llms.json) for each route).
- **OpenAPI JSON:** <https://www.socialfetch.dev/openapi.json>

## Recommended docs entrypoints (this site)

- [Documentation overview](https://www.socialfetch.dev/docs.mdx) — top-level orientation (markdown).
- [Quickstart](https://www.socialfetch.dev/docs/quickstart.mdx) — authenticate with `x-api-key`, validate auth with `whoami`, and understand the JSON envelope.
- [SDK](https://www.socialfetch.dev/docs/sdk.mdx) — official TypeScript SDK guide, including `SocialFetchClient`, `Result`, and `unwrap()`.
- [Capability matrix](https://www.socialfetch.dev/docs/capability-matrix.mdx) — every operation with identifiers, pagination, outcomes, media download, credits, and its SDK method. Generated from OpenAPI, so use it for route selection instead of scanning individual pages.
- [Recipes](https://www.socialfetch.dev/docs/recipes.mdx) — copyable workflows (brand monitoring, transcripts, Ad Library, creator scoring, Reddit research) with credit callouts and SDK examples.
- [Integrations](https://www.socialfetch.dev/docs/integrations.mdx) — MCP for AI clients, n8n verified node, Apify Store Actors, Make custom app, SDK, and REST API connection paths.
- [MCP product page](https://www.socialfetch.dev/mcp) — hosted MCP overview, OAuth, Skills install.
- [MCP integration](https://www.socialfetch.dev/docs/integrations/mcp.mdx) — hosted `/mcp` server, OAuth, Cursor/VS Code/Claude install snippets, 264 endpoint tools, plus docs_search/docs_read for implementation help.
- [n8n integration](https://www.socialfetch.dev/docs/integrations/n8n.mdx) — install `n8n-nodes-socialfetch`, credentials, and workflow examples.
- [Apify integration](https://www.socialfetch.dev/docs/integrations/apify.mdx) — Store Actors under @social-fetch, PPE billing, dataset export, and quick start.
- [Make integration](https://www.socialfetch.dev/docs/integrations/make.mdx) — custom app modules for Make scenarios, API key credentials, and module catalog.
- [`/llms-endpoints.txt`](https://www.socialfetch.dev/llms-endpoints.txt) — every documented operation with a direct link to that route's agent-readable markdown page (prefer this over parsing OpenAPI).
- [`/llms-{platform}.txt`](https://www.socialfetch.dev/llms-tiktok.txt) — per-platform endpoint files generated from OpenAPI (parameters, credits, curls).
- [`/agents.txt`](https://www.socialfetch.dev/agents.txt) — agent crawl/onboarding file with capabilities, auth rules, and allowlist.
- [`/llms.json`](https://www.socialfetch.dev/llms.json) — structured machine-readable operation inventory with parameter names, pagination, outcomes, credits, and SDK mapping.
- [API reference hub](https://www.socialfetch.dev/docs/api.mdx) — human-friendly index of operations with links into generated pages.
- [Errors](https://www.socialfetch.dev/docs/errors.mdx) — shared error envelope and HTTP status guidance.
- [Credits](https://www.socialfetch.dev/docs/credits.mdx) — metering, `402`, and planning batch jobs.
- Outcome semantics such as `found`, `not_found`, and `private` are documented in [Errors](https://www.socialfetch.dev/docs/errors.mdx) and on operation pages when present in the OpenAPI contract.

## Markdown docs convention

- Every docs page has a markdown twin: append **`.mdx`** to the docs pathname (for example `/docs/quickstart` → `/docs/quickstart.mdx`).
- Agents that send `Accept: text/markdown` on `/docs/**` HTML URLs may receive markdown directly (same URL, `Vary: Accept`).
- Published blog posts use the same convention: `/blog/{slug}` → `/blog/{slug}.mdx`, or `Accept: text/markdown` on the HTML URL (`Vary: Accept`).

---
# Ad Tracker use cases (https://www.socialfetch.dev/docs/tools/ad-tracker/use-cases)

Each use case below is a short recipe built from the tracker's features. If you haven't tracked a competitor yet, start with [Track your first competitor](/docs/tools/ad-tracker/track-your-first-competitor).

## Build a swipe file of what's working

Collect the ads worth learning from before you brief your next creative.

1. Track three to five competitors, on the libraries where you advertise yourself.
2. On the dashboard, under **What's working**, click **See all**. The feed shows every proven ad that's still running, longest-running first.
3. Use **Tags** to narrow it down, for example **Presenter** › *Creator (UGC)* to see the creator-style ads that have lasted, or **Angle** › *Social proof*.
4. Save the best ones to a board such as *Hooks to test*, with a note on what each one does well.
5. Share the board with your designer or agency. They see the ads, not your notes.

## Watch competitors' offers and launches

Know when a competitor starts a sale, a free trial or a new product.

1. Keep **New ads** emails on. If a competitor launches ads every day, set **Send when a competitor launches** to **5 or more new ads**, so you hear about campaigns rather than single ads.
2. Each Monday, read the **Weekly digest** for what every competitor launched and stopped.
3. In **All ads**, filter **Tags** › **Offer** › *Percent off* or *Free trial*, and switch on **Running**, to see every live offer at once.
4. Search the ad copy for the words a sale uses, such as `Black Friday` or `% off`.
5. Read each competitor's **monthly brief** on the 1st for what changed in their messaging.

## Report to clients

Agencies can track a client's market and send them what's new.

1. Track the client's main competitors in a shared workspace. Owners and admins see every competitor; members see the ones they added.
2. Make a board for each client, such as *Acme: competitor ads*, and save the ads you want to discuss, with a note on each.
3. Turn on **Share by link** and send the client the link. They don't need an account, and they don't see your notes.
4. For a spreadsheet, click **Export CSV** on the feed. The **Started** and **Stopped** columns let you keep just the month's ads in your sheet.

## Spot new markets and landing pages

See where and how a competitor is advertising.

1. On the dashboard, look for **Started advertising in…** in a competitor's row: they've begun showing ads in a new country.
2. On the competitor's page, **Where their ads send people** shows which websites and app stores their ads point to. A new domain in the list is worth a look.
3. The **Ads launched** chart shows how many ads they started each week.
4. On LinkedIn, recruitment ads show which roles a company is advertising.

## Feed the ads into your own tools

Send what the tracker finds to the places your team already works.

1. In the tracker's settings, add a webhook endpoint and switch it on. Each launch, stop, brief and weekly digest arrives as JSON.
2. With a Zapier or Make catch hook, post each event's `summary` to a Slack or Teams channel. See [Ad Tracker events](/docs/monitors/ad-tracker-events).
3. For your own dashboards, click **API** on a competitor's page to get the call behind the tracker, and run it from your own code on your own schedule.

- [Track your first competitor](/docs/tools/ad-tracker/track-your-first-competitor) — Start here if you haven't tracked one yet.

- [Costs and limits](/docs/tools/ad-tracker/costs-and-limits) — What tracking several competitors costs.