# Google Ads Transparency Scraper (`agusgueglio14/google-ads-transparency-scraper`) Actor

Get every ad a brand or website runs on Google Search, YouTube, Maps, Play and Shopping from the Ads Transparency Center: previews, dates and formats, plus optional reach by country and EU impressions.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/agusgueglio14/google-ads-transparency-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Agustina Gueglio](https://apify.com/agusgueglio14) (community)
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.50 / 1,000 ads

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Google Ads Transparency Scraper

See every ad a brand or website runs on Google. This Actor extracts ads from the [Google Ads Transparency Center](https://adstransparency.google.com) for **Google Search, YouTube, Google Maps, Google Play and Google Shopping**, as clean JSON, CSV or Excel:

- **Ad previews** (image URL or preview script), **format** (text, image, video) and a link to each ad's page
- **First and last date shown** and **number of days shown**: spot the long-running ads that work
- Optional **reach details**: every country where the ad ran, with dates, **impression ranges by platform** (published for the EU and some other regions), and all ad variations
- **Monitoring mode**: get only the ads that are new since your last run, and schedule it to track competitors daily or weekly

Search by **domain** (e.g. `nike.com`), **advertiser name**, **advertiser ID**, or paste **links straight from the Ads Transparency Center**. Filter by region, platform, format and date range.

### Built to be reliable

Every request Google blocks is retried automatically on a fresh residential IP. If a domain or advertiser still fails, you get a clear `error` message for it and **you are not charged for it**.

### Use cases

- **Competitor research**: see every ad your competitors run, what formats they use and which ads they keep running for months
- **Creative inspiration**: collect ad previews by industry or brand
- **Agencies and media buyers**: audit a prospect's Google advertising before a pitch
- **Market and brand-safety research**: track which advertisers target a domain or a country
- **Data and AI pipelines**: feed ad data into dashboards, models or agents through the API

### How to use

1. Add domains, advertiser names, advertiser IDs or Ads Transparency Center links.
2. Optionally set a region, platform, format or date range.
3. Turn on **Include reach details** if you need countries and impressions.
4. Click **Start**, then download the results or connect them to Google Sheets, Make, Zapier, n8n or your own code.

### Monitor competitors' new ads

1. Add your competitors' domains or advertiser names and turn on **Only new ads (monitoring)**.
2. Click **Save as a new task**, then schedule the task (for example every morning) from **Schedules**.
3. Optionally connect an integration (email, Slack, Google Sheets, Make, Zapier) to get the new ads delivered.

The first run returns the ads running now and remembers them. Every later run returns only ads it hasn't returned before, so **you only pay for new ads**. Runs with the same input share one memory; set a **Monitor name** to keep several monitors apart or to start over.

### Input example

```json
{
  "domains": ["zalando.de"],
  "region": "DE",
  "platform": "ALL",
  "format": "ALL",
  "maxAdsPerSource": 100,
  "includeDetails": true
}
```

**Tip:** big brands advertise through several accounts (for example one per country). Searching by **domain** returns ads from all of them. Searching by **advertiser name** scrapes the matching accounts with the most ads (3 by default).

### Output example

One result per ad (lists shortened). Fields from `variations` to `regions` appear only with **Include reach details**:

```json
{
  "source": "https://adstransparency.google.com/?region=DE&domain=zalando.de",
  "sourceType": "url",
  "region": "DE",
  "advertiserId": "AR15589870916631265281",
  "advertiserName": "Zalando SE",
  "domain": "zalando.de",
  "creativeId": "CR15720428593760698369",
  "format": "TEXT",
  "firstShown": "2024-05-15T15:58:08Z",
  "lastShown": "2026-10-04T22:45:20Z",
  "daysShown": 808,
  "imageUrl": "https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/archive/simgad/14506865662108274846",
  "previewUrl": null,
  "adUrl": "https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR15589870916631265281/creative/CR15720428593760698369?region=DE",
  "variations": [
    { "imageUrl": "https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/archive/simgad/14506865662108274846", "previewUrl": null }
  ],
  "impressions": { "min": 20000, "max": 25000 },
  "platformImpressions": [
    { "platform": "GOOGLE_SEARCH", "impressions": { "min": 20000, "max": 25000 } },
    { "platform": "YOUTUBE", "impressions": { "min": 1000, "max": 2000 } },
    { "platform": "GOOGLE_SHOPPING", "impressions": { "min": 0, "max": 1000 } }
  ],
  "regionCount": 2,
  "regions": [
    {
      "countryCode": "DE",
      "countryName": "Germany",
      "firstShown": "2024-05-15",
      "lastShown": "2026-10-04",
      "impressions": { "min": 20000, "max": 25000 },
      "platformImpressions": [
        { "platform": "GOOGLE_SEARCH", "impressions": { "min": 20000, "max": 25000 } }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "scrapedAt": "2026-10-04T23:10:13Z"
}
```

`imageUrl` is filled when Google stores the ad as an image (most text and image ads). Other ads, like most videos, come with a `previewUrl` instead: the script Google uses to render the ad. Open `adUrl` to see any ad on the Transparency Center.

### Pricing

You pay per ad delivered, plus a small extra per ad when **Include reach details** is on. Domains or advertisers that fail are free. See the **Pricing** tab for current prices.

### FAQ

**Why do impressions only show for some countries?**
Google publishes impression ranges only where regulation requires it, mainly in the EU. Elsewhere you still get the countries and dates an ad ran.

**Why does the platform filter miss older ads?**
Google only records the platform for ads shown since September 2023, so older ads don't match a platform filter.

**How many ads can I get?**
Up to 100,000 per domain, advertiser or link. Set **Max ads per domain or advertiser** to control cost.

**Is it legal to scrape the Ads Transparency Center?**
Google publishes this data so that anyone can see who advertises and where. This Actor collects that public information about advertisers and their ads. You are responsible for how you use the data. If in doubt, consult a lawyer about your use case.

**How does monitoring remember which ads it already returned?**
It keeps the ad IDs in a named key-value store in your Apify account (`ads-monitor-…`). Delete that store, or use a new **Monitor name**, to start over.

**Need Google Trends data too?**
Try the [Google Trends Scraper](https://apify.com/agusgueglio14/google-trends-scraper) for search interest over time, by region and related queries.

**Something doesn't work?**
Open an issue in the **Issues** tab with the input you used. Fixes are usually quick.

# Actor input Schema

## `domains` (type: `array`):

Get every ad that points to these websites, from all advertisers, e.g. nike.com.

## `advertiserNames` (type: `array`):

Brand or company names, e.g. Coca-Cola. Each name is matched to the advertisers with the most ads (see 'Advertisers per name'). For exact results, use advertiser IDs instead.

## `advertiserIds` (type: `array`):

Advertiser IDs from the Ads Transparency Center, e.g. AR16735076323512287233 (the part after /advertiser/ in the page URL).

## `startUrls` (type: `array`):

Paste links from adstransparency.google.com: an advertiser page, a domain search or a single ad. Filters in a link (region, platform, format, dates) are applied to that link. Single ads always include reach details.

## `region` (type: `string`):

Only ads shown in this country: a two-letter code such as US, GB, DE, ES or BR. Leave empty for all regions.

## `platform` (type: `string`):

Only ads shown on this Google platform. Google only tracks the platform for ads shown since September 2023.

## `format` (type: `string`):

Only ads of this format.

## `startDate` (type: `string`):

Only ads shown on or after this date, as YYYY-MM-DD.

## `endDate` (type: `string`):

Only ads shown on or before this date, as YYYY-MM-DD.

## `maxAdsPerSource` (type: `integer`):

Stop after this many ads for each domain, advertiser or link. Big brands can have tens of thousands of ads.

## `includeDetails` (type: `boolean`):

For each ad, add every country it was shown in with first and last dates, impression ranges (published for the EU and some other regions) by platform, and all ad variations. Charged as an extra event per ad.

## `maxAdvertisersPerName` (type: `integer`):

Big brands advertise through several accounts (e.g. one per country). For each advertiser name, scrape this many matching accounts, starting with the one with the most ads.

## `onlyNewAds` (type: `boolean`):

Return only ads that earlier runs with the same input haven't returned yet. Schedule this Actor or a task daily or weekly to track competitors' new ads. The first run returns the current ads and remembers them; after that you only pay for new ads. Each run checks the most recently shown ads, up to 'Max ads per domain or advertiser'.

## `monitoringId` (type: `string`):

Optional. Runs with the same monitor name share their memory of ads already returned. Leave empty to keep one memory per input. Use a new name to start over.

## `maxRetries` (type: `integer`):

How many times to retry on a new IP when Google blocks or rate-limits a request.

## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`):

How many domains, advertisers or links to process in parallel.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Residential proxies keep runs reliable when Google rate-limits requests.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "domains": [
    "nike.com"
  ],
  "platform": "ALL",
  "format": "ALL",
  "maxAdsPerSource": 100,
  "includeDetails": false,
  "maxAdvertisersPerName": 3,
  "onlyNewAds": false,
  "maxRetries": 6,
  "maxConcurrency": 3,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `ads` (type: `string`):

One row per ad: advertiser, domain, format, first and last shown, preview and link.

## `results` (type: `string`):

All fields, including reach details by country when enabled.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "domains": [
        "nike.com"
    ],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true,
        "apifyProxyGroups": [
            "RESIDENTIAL"
        ]
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("agusgueglio14/google-ads-transparency-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "domains": ["nike.com"],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": True,
        "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"],
    },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("agusgueglio14/google-ads-transparency-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "domains": [
    "nike.com"
  ],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  }
}' |
apify call agusgueglio14/google-ads-transparency-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,agusgueglio14/google-ads-transparency-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/iAMfvlpmCa78V8jbc/builds/tylTzsGTRrSmaoHWB/openapi.json