Home > Paid Traffic Sources > Facebook & Instagram

Facebook ad scraper / spy? (19)

07-24-2014 02:54 PM #1 thelpguy (Member)
Facebook ad scraper / spy?

Is there one of these out anymore? Is it still possible to build one?

07-24-2014 03:10 PM #2 sergein ()

It's pretty difficult to build scrapers for facebook. They tend to lock your account for 24h after they suspect some scripted activity. Being persistent can get your account locked forever. So, bad times...

07-24-2014 03:28 PM #3 caurmen (Administrator)

The usual recommendations for Facebook Ad Spies are Social Ad Ninja and Lots Of Ads.

I've not used Lots Of Ads, but I've heard good things. I have used Social Ad Ninja, and it's an excellent piece of software.

07-24-2014 03:58 PM #4 thelpguy (Member)

Hmmm.. I'm seeing all sidebar ads in both of those. Any idea if it includes timeline/post ads?

07-24-2014 04:11 PM #5 wildfing (Member)

Yes they both have newsfeed ads but limited

08-05-2014 03:18 AM #6 lastcard (Member)

Socialadninja's creator hasn't been active since january in bhw. Anyone knows which forum/channel he is more active in?

Without his updates it's hard to know what improvement he's made and if it is worth it now.

08-05-2014 03:43 AM #7 netpoint (Member)

Yeah i was looking for it the other day and found that socialadninjas site says they are closed...which would explain why the creator is not active anymore. Its a shame since heard so many good things about it.

08-05-2014 07:36 AM #8 Mr Green (Administrator)

I'm pretty sure socialadsninja is still active, however the amount of data they have is pretty limited.

The owners skype is matej_im

08-05-2014 07:57 PM #9 sirjocky (Member)

Quote Originally Posted by sergein View Post
It's pretty difficult to build scrapers for facebook. They tend to lock your account for 24h after they suspect some scripted activity. Being persistent can get your account locked forever. So, bad times...
so you wouldnt recommend a scraper getting the user IDs from groups?

08-05-2014 08:36 PM #10 zeno (Administrator)

The ability to upload Facebook UIDs to target people will likely disappear soon (has it yet?) and it gives you very small audiences...

08-06-2014 03:02 AM #11 lastcard (Member)

Quote Originally Posted by Mr Green View Post
I'm pretty sure socialadsninja is still active, however the amount of data they have is pretty limited.

The owners skype is matej_im
Would you recommend using it as a starting point, or save the budget and do a blind test ourselves?

08-06-2014 09:58 AM #12 Mr Green (Administrator)

Quote Originally Posted by lastcard View Post
Would you recommend using it as a starting point, or save the budget and do a blind test ourselves?
If you aren't on a super strict budget then I would give it a go.

08-06-2014 06:58 PM #13 lots of ads (Member)

Quote Originally Posted by thelpguy View Post
Hmmm.. I'm seeing all sidebar ads in both of those. Any idea if it includes timeline/post ads?
We have coverage for NF ads. You can view these by selecting "NF" under 'Ad Type' in the search interface. We're capturing absolutely everything about these ads:



At the moment, our coverage for NF ads spans 47 countries (versus 50 countries for RHS ads). Basically all of the countries listed here except Czech Republic, Turkey and New Zealand.

As of last count yesterday, there were 98,052 unique NF ads and 3,007,335 unique RHS ads. Bear in mind, the NF count will always be lower as they are shown far less frequently and only on one page.

Feel free to let me know if you have any other questions!

08-07-2014 01:12 AM #14 xckt56 (AMC Alumnus)

Quote Originally Posted by zeno View Post
The ability to upload Facebook UIDs to target people will likely disappear soon (has it yet?) and it gives you very small audiences...
Zeno, heard that people are getting banned for using tools like Social Lead Freak and DataReach now... I was actually just looking into it last night, but would you say to avoid it? Not worth the risk? I'm running legit offers.

08-07-2014 06:34 AM #15 zeno (Administrator)

Banning for using them (connect via a dummy FB account...), or for uploading UIDs?

I don't see why FB would ban people for using part of their advertising service...

Not sure if there is much risk if you are running clean - e.g. getting banned for running TeeSpring is a bit overzealous.

09-16-2014 07:20 PM #16 Enethaer (Member)

May I ask what do people actually do with Social Ad Ninja? Do people just copy the exact campaign and make money off it?

09-17-2014 02:44 AM #17 zeno (Administrator)

Who knows?

If people get success just copying verbatim then they certainly won't tell you that.

Spy tools should be used for inspiration, and how well you implement the information depends on you - a highly skilled and experienced marketer will probably absorb more info from spying then a newbie.

09-18-2014 09:15 AM #18 Gary (Member)

The party is over for scrapers and custom audiences:

http://www.jonloomer.com/2014/09/17/...scraping-uids/

09-20-2014 12:34 PM #19 caurmen (Administrator)

I'm happy to say some of what I use it for - I use it to get a general idea of how people are running an angle, what sorts of ads they're using, etc.

I'll often create very similar (but not identical) ads to use as a benchmark, and then improve from there.

I also find spy tools very useful for finding campaign ideas to port to other traffic sources. Adult Ad Spy has loads of ideas that you can run on POF with a bit of modification, for example. Social Ad Ninja -> Decisive, Social Ad Ninja -> POF, etc, etc.

Home > Paid Traffic Sources > Facebook & Instagram