Your competitors are watching you. Are you returning the favor?

According to a 2026 Small Business Expo survey, two in five small businesses say competition in their industry is getting harder. More brands are fighting for the same customers, the same search results and the same spot in their feeds. And when you don’t know what your competitors are doing, you can’t do it better.

If you’re a small business, you don’t need a research department or a big budget to see what your rivals are up to. We tested a handful of free tools and picked three that can help.

Similarweb shows where their traffic comes from

Wonder how a competitor seems to show up everywhere? Plug in any website and Similarweb estimates its monthly visits, the channels that send them (search, social, referrals, email or direct) and the devices they’re using.

Why we like it. It goes beyond what your competitors are doing to show what’s working for them. Lots of referral traffic? They’re investing in partnerships or PR. More visits from social than search? Their strategy may revolve around a platform you’ve ignored.

How it can help:
• Compare your traffic against competitors and find out who’s gaining ground
• Spot the channels they lean on (and the ones they neglect)
• Uncover the referral sites sending them visitors, then pitch those same sites

What’s free. You’ll get a few website lookups a day, plus a browser extension with traffic stats for any site you visit.

Ad libraries let you check out the ads they’re running

What if you could flip through your competitor’s ad playbook? The Google Ads Transparency Center lets you browse ads from verified advertisers on Google Search, YouTube and Display. Search a competitor’s name or website, then filter by date, region and format.

The Meta Ad Library does the same for Facebook and Instagram. Look up a competitor’s Facebook Page to view the ads that are live now and the date each one started.

Why we like them. These are the real ads, straight from the platforms, showing which offers, headlines, images and calls to action your competitors keep coming back to. Our favorite trick? On Meta, check how long each ad has been live. No one keeps funding a failure, so one that’s been running for months is a good sign you’re looking at a winner.

How they can help:
• Find gaps in competitive messaging your brand can fill
• Check out which formats they’re betting on, from video to carousels to search text ads
• Spark ideas to level up your own campaigns

What’s free. All of it, with no ad account required. Keep in mind that Google limits its library to verified advertisers, and neither tool reveals targeting or budgets.

SpyFu uncovers the keywords behind their search wins

The name says it all. SpyFu shows what your competitors rank for, which keywords they pay for and the ads they’ve tested along the way. See which terms a competitor added, which ones they dropped and which ad copy they kept tweaking until it worked.

Why we like it. SpyFu turns research into a to-do list. Its Kombat tool puts your site side by side with your top competitors and splits keywords into three groups. There are terms you all rank for, terms unique to a single competitor and openings where they show up and you don’t.

How it can help:
• Learn valuable keywords you’re missing and build content around them
• Skip the ad tests that bombed
• Track how competitors react to Google algorithm updates

What’s free. You can run basic competitor searches with no credit card required. Paid plans start at $33 a month for unlimited searches and downloads.

Ready to size up the competition?

Pick two or three competitors and spend a few minutes with each tool. A little snooping could change your whole content marketing strategy.

Need help making the shift? Let’s chat about adapting your new insight into content assets that convert.