The Ultimate Ad Spying Guide (AdPlexity) (17)
Lately I've been receving a lot of questions from people wondering how can they
use AdPlexity up to it's full potential. Finally we've come up with a tutorial which
will help you become an ad spying ninja 
First, welcome to AdPlexity and congratulations for taking action!
What is AdPlexity and how can I use it for maximum results?
AdPlexity is a competitive intelligence tool for mobile, native and adult ads. Often
it's believed that competitive intelligence tools are used to simply copy/paste
winning campaigns which will be profitable straight away when »plugged« into a
traffic source.
This is not true because the person that runs that campaign for a few weeks usually
has an edge :
1) He might be running an offer you don't have access to
2) Even if you have access to that offer, he probably had his payout bumped
already
3) He already blacklisted non-converting placements, device types, OS
versions etc
Okay so why do I need AdPlexity then?
You should use other people's work as an inspiration and go from there. It's not a
secret that a lot of people copy stuff from fellow advertisers/affiliates, but the
most successful ones always tweak banners and/or landing pages they find on
AdPlexity.
Before we jump straight into how to find profitable campaigns, we will do a quick
walkthrough through all the functions of the tool.
Search modes
By keyword
In the ad itself – Search for a keyword in the ad title/description. This feature
works only for native and text ads (mobile).
On the landing page -Search for ads with the desired keyword on the landing page
(for example, »Hola Launcher«, »Garcinia« or any other product/offer name)
By advertiser
Search for a URL in:
Landing page redirection chain – Redirections/steps leading up to the landing
page [marked in red]
Landing page URL – Final URL where the visitor lands (either landing page or an
offer) [marked in blue]
Landing page outgoing URLs – Call to Action links (and their redirection chains) which
point from landing page to outside location – usually to an offer/advertiser [marked in
green]
Make sure to fully understand differences before proceeding to the next part.
By Publisher
See what ads are running on specific websites or Android applications. This is useful if you
want to find out in which site or app category campaigns like yours work. For example if
you see a campaign on 3 similar sites, you can assume it will work well in that category
By Affiliate network
Let's say you have an account at Mundo Media and you search for it. You will uncover all
campaigns their affiliates are running in just a single search. You will be able to find
profitable verticals and offers on your CPA network you were previously unaware of.
Search filters
Date range
By default last 30 days are selected. Use this to set your own custom date range.
Note: for best results you should use only recent date ranges (last week, 2 weeks, 1
month, ..) because you don't want to access old outdated data.
Sorting options
Search results can be sorted in 3 different ways:
Newest – Ads are ordered based on age
Running longest – Ads are ordered based on amount of days they've run
Received most traffic – Ads are ordered based on the amount of hits they received
Days running slider
With the “Days Running” slider you can limit results only to ads that were running
between X and Y days. It's best to use this feature in pair with »newest« or
»received most traffic« sorting option.
Exact search
If selected it will show you ads that match your selected options/parameters exactly.
For example:
If you select United States in country filter and do exact search, it will show you ads that
have hits only from United States but not from other countries.
This feature is useful if:
You are interested just in certain country and wanna filter out worldwide/international campaigns.
Or
You want to see ads promoting mobile direct billing offers which are running on 3G only.
Ad page
Ad page filters
Filters at the top allow you to select any country, carrier or even landing page,
and all charts below will update data according to your selection. This brings
monitoring to whole another level since you can analyze every piece of the
campaign. You can see when a specific country started running, how much volume
it sends and what landing pages are used.
Ad page graphs
Ad trend
It will show you how many days an ad is running and how many times it was seen on
a particular day.
Week trend
Find out what is the best part of the week to run the campaign. When a campaign
is working well, advertisers will raise bids and budget, which is reflected in an
increase of volume.
Device type
See on which devices the ad is performing the best eg. Android Phone, iPhone, Mac
OS, etc.
Publishers by duration
List of top publishers (websites or Android applications) which are sending traffic
for the longest time.
Publishers by volume
List of top publishers (websites or Android applications) which sent the most traffic
to the campagin.
Traffic sources by duration
The amount of days the campaign is running on a certain traffic source(s)
Traffic sources by volume
The percentage of traffic sent to the campaign by certain traffic source(s)
Landing page details
If you click on 'Show more' in the landing pages section, you will be able to see :
• Landing page screenshot
• Tracking software used by the advertiser (
• Affiliate network’s offers used on the LP
• Full redirection chain
• Outgoing URLs (Call to Action links which point from landing page to an outside
location – usually to an offer)
• Download the acual landing page in a zip archive with a single mouse click. Yes,
this includes all page dependencies like images, javascript or css files
How can I use the downloaded landing page for my own campaign?
1) After you download it, extract it with WinRAR on Win / Archive App on MAC, and
open the .html file.
If it redirects somewhere else and you see a different landing page, this is probably an
"anti spying" protection, which needs to be removed.
Usually it looks like this
You can simply remove it or comment it temporary while editing out lander, but its good to
have it while you run traffic.
2) Next we need to replace CTA (Call To Action) links (so they point to your tracking link)
on the landing. Easiest way is to open .html in notepad and replace every single link you
see out there.
3) Inspect JS code (also .js files in the folder), if you see words like “eval" . This is a
major red flag that this lander might be backdoored.
Usually its safe to replace jquery.js files with legit ones from Google, because "smart"
affiliates usually put a backdoor in there.
To make sure the lander is not backdoored open Chrome developer console (Ctrl + Shift + I)
and open Network tab. Refresh page 10-15 times and if you see any request to domain
thats not yours, lander is probably backdoored.
There are no general rules how every backdoor might look like or how to remove it, so
proceed with caution.
If you don't know JS, ask someone to inspect it for you.
The safest way is to get the landing page re-coded from scratch.
How to find profitable/successful campaigns on AdPlexity?
It's pretty obvious and normal that you are interested in campaigns that are past
the testing phase and are already profitable.
Basic tips on searching
1) Don't restrict yourself from monitoring other GEOs as well
Who says that it wouldn't work if you take certain style/design from X country, swap text/
translations and run it in Y country?
2) Don't restrict yourself from monitoring other offers/products in same vertical/niche
If banner and/or landing page works for X app install offer, who says it won't for Y app?
3) Don't restrict yourself from monitoring other traffic types
Adplexity is the only tool that supports popups, mobile web and in-app ads under one roof.
Who says it wouldn't work if you take LP that is running on in-app and try it on popups?
4) Apply "ripped" translations on own styles and own angles on "ripped" styles
The best way to use search filters to find successful campagins
Days running slider (min 7-10 days) + »newest« sorting option
The best option by far – it will show you fresh campaigns which are running for
atleast 7 days already. This is a sign that campaign is on a good path to become
profitable (or already is).
Days running slider (min 7-10 days, max 20-30 days) + »received
most traffic« sorting option
Campaigns that are new (they've run between 7 and 20 days) and received most
traffic/volume during selected date range. By setting »max running days« we get
rid of old branding campaigns which are running for months but they (still) receive
tons of traffic.
Days running slider (max 20-40 days) + »running longest« sorting
option
Campaigns that don't receive huge amount of volume/traffic but are stable which is
a sign of profitability. Again, by setting »max running days« we get rid of old
branding campaigns.
How can I find affiliate campaigns only?
99% of the time affiliate campaigns use tracking tool (
just uncheck »None« at the tracking tool filter. This will exclude campaigns that DON'T
use a tracking solution and will leave you only with results you are interested in.
How can I spot branding campaigns so I can avoid
them?
Branding campaigns – those are campaigns where advertiser's goal is brand
awareness (putting their »message« in front of as many people as possible, no
matter of the cost)
Here is how you can spot such campaigns:
1) It's running in bunch of countries, for a very long time.
2) If you check landing pages, campaign is direct linked, and there is no sign of
affiliate networks
How can I see ads related to offer I wanna promote?
1) The best way is to do »Advertiser search« with final URL your offer is
pointing too. Final URL can be Google play link (if its app install offer) or
domain/URL (if its pin submit, sweepstakes, ..)
This works the best because you will see ALL ads for that offer (no matter
what CPA network)
2) You can do »advertiser search« with offerID from your own offer link. Your
offer link probably looks like http://xxxx.com/?a=123&c=456 – c=456 is the
offerID.
3) You can do »keyword search« with your product name eg. »Hola Launcher«
I want to find either directly linked campaigns or campaigns which
use a landing page?
To find campaigns which are directly linked you should select »search in landing
page URL« or »landing page redirect chain«
To find campaigns which use a landing page you should select »search in outgoing
URLs«
To find both select »all of the above«
Extra features
Favourites
If you stumble upon promising campaign, you can bookmark it -so you can reanalyze
it later. Those ads can be found in Favourites section.
Alerts
Alerts or monitoring tool will notify you each time new ad with the domain you are
monitoring appears in the system.
You can add:
• Competitor's tracking domain (get notified when he/she launches new
campaign)
• Offer / advertiser's domain (get notified when someone launches new
campaign promoting that offer)
• CPA network's tracking domain (get notified when someone launches new
campaign promoting any offer from your desired affiliate network)
Saved searches
If you are doing same searches every day (for example; you are looking for Popups
and Redirects in DE, CH & AT which are running on PopAds and ZeroPark for atleast
7 days) -Use this to save search configuration, so you don't have to select all
options/filters next time over again.
Good luck!
This is awesome. Thanks for sharing this
Great guide and a much needed one
wow - awesome guide - thanks!
I've read and heard awesome things about adplexity. I think it is about time to buy the tool and start using it like NOW
Thanks for this guide kinghustler
wow dude - awesome guide..thank you!
Very detailed. Thanks for sharing. . I was testing some days ago, but with this post, now I know the real possibilities.
Thanks @kinghustler
Great Post guys, - Always good to RECAP the skills necessary for successful application of spytools!
Awesome guide. Thanks
Hi all.
Thanks for this guide!
I just started to to use Adplexity, i've followed this guide but still have some questions.
"3) You can do »keyword search« with your product name eg. »Hola Launcher«
I want to find either directly linked campaigns or campaigns which
use a landing page?
To find campaigns which are directly linked you should select »search in landing
page URL« or »landing page redirect chain«
To find campaigns which use a landing page you should select »search in outgoing
URLs«
To find both select »all of the above« "
I can't find it - where is the "search in outgoing URLs" ???
---
I want to start promoting offers in South Africa - mobile content. The offer itself is: "directory for WhatsApp"
so i've searched it by a keyword and i've found couple of results.
I've downloaded couple of pages, and i want to proceed and actually start running a campaign.
1. How do i edit those pages? Adobe Muse or another software? what is the easiest tool that i can use?
2. The landing pages i see on Adplexity are the advertiser's? or are those a prelanders that other affiliates are using?
3. I read that i need to change the landing page, so i can't just copy and paste on my campaigns. What exactly do i need to edit? replace pictures? change the color theme? etc also, do i need to edit the code of the page? I barely know anything about html/css. And if i need to edit the code i'll appreciate a guide about that here on stm or elsewhere.
4. After I edit it, i can host it and start sending traffic? or there is other things i should do?
Thanks in advance!
This is an outstanding guide kinghustler, thanks for taking the time to put this together .
Originally Posted by razibsh
I would advise you that you search by advertiser as well (search results from only "by keyword" searches can be too limited)
1) With Notepad++. If you don't know HTML/CSS either learn it or pay someone. You normally don't wanna to use those drag n drop editors (they usually produce shitty code).
2) Most likey that affiliate is direct linking (if you see offer page)
3) The bare minimum, you need to change the links (so they will point to your affiliate link). If you want to change look of the LPs, please see point #1
4) Check for backdoors (it's part of our guide) because you don't want your traffic stolen.
Thanks
Amazing guide man thank you for sharing. This is something I can reference over & over again to help me learn this crazy detailed tool
love it, actually bookmarked this post for future reference 
Mate how i should find backdoors and how to prevent it or what effect it can have in my system if i miss it?
Originally Posted by rjjw0706
https://stmforum.com/forum/showthrea...ripped-landers
An excellent guide. Good job!
Home > General > Affiliate Marketing Forum