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Inside Zulu5: The Data Journey Behind Our Ad Insights

Insights
November 14, 2025

In the world of ad intelligence, different methods of data collection are used. Commonly used approaches rely on web crawlers or user panels, each with their strengths and limitations depending on the specific use case. Zulu5 operates with a crawler-based approach and systematically browses the web to capture ads.

Read below to learn more about how data is collected and how it flows into the Zulu5 dashboard.

  1. Inspecting websites

    Our crawler mirrors the behavior of a user by starting at a publisher’s homepage and simulating authentic browsing sessions like scrolling, moving the mouse, interacting with cookie banners, to trigger ads as real users would.
    The frequency of crawling intervals is based on the relative importance of a site and depends on website traffic.
    inspecting-websites
  2. Identifying Ads

    Advertisements are distinguished from other content and detected by the crawler. This process captures only publicly available data. Additionally, our crawler collects Social Media campaign data through ad libraries and Google Search keywords used on campaign landing pages.
    identifying-ads
  3. Saving Ads & Metadata

    For each detected ad, we save:
    • The creative and its placement.
    • The full delivery chain with adtech partners (by collecting all URLs called by the ad).
    • The advertiser’s domain extracted from the landing page.
    saving-ads-metadata
  4. Compiling Data in Dashboards

    Campaign data is aggregated, categorized and compiled in the Zulu5 dashboard. This results in easy-to-understand visual representations of campaign data to reveal trends, patterns, and outliers.
    compiling-data-in-dashboards

Curious?

Reach out to book a demo of the full platform or create a free account for Zulu5 Light to get access to selected features.