YouTube Ads Scraper — Google Ads Transparency Center

Extract structured YouTube ad data from the Google Ads Transparency Center by advertiser name, domain, or URL. Returns direct CDN video URLs — not the broken redirect links that other scrapers return. No login, no API key, no limits.

⚡ Unlike competing YouTube ad scrapers, this actor bypasses iFrame previews and returns raw, direct media CDN URLs — not displayads-formats.googleusercontent.com redirects that render blank. Over 60% of rows from other scrapers come back with empty video fields. This actor resolves them all.

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What you can do with this scraper

• Competitor research — see every YouTube ad your competitors are running right now
• Creative intelligence — build a swipe file of winning YouTube video ad creatives
• Media buying strategy — analyse ad formats, durations, and CTAs from top advertisers
• Agency reporting — pull competitor YouTube ad data for client pitch decks in minutes
• Market research — track YouTube ad trends by brand, domain, or country
• Performance analysis — use ad_active_days to identify long-running profitable creatives

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How to use

Step 1 — Add your search queries

The Search Queries field accepts three types of input (you can mix them):

Input type	Example
Advertiser name	Nike, Tesla, Apple
Domain	nike.com, tesla.com
Transparency Center URL	https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR17828074650563772417?platform=YOUTUBE

You can add multiple queries at once — the actor scrapes all of them in a single run.

Step 2 — Set your filters

Filter	Options	Default
Region	Any 2-letter code: US, GB, IN, ALL	ALL
Ad Format	All / Video / Skippable / Non-skippable / Bumper	All
Date Range	Last 7d / 30d / 90d / Custom	Last 30d
Start Date	YYYY-MM-DD e.g. 2026-01-01	optional
End Date	YYYY-MM-DD e.g. 2026-05-09	optional
Max Results	Any number, -1 for all	100

Step 3 — Run and export

Click Start and wait for the run to complete. Download your results as JSON, CSV, or Excel — ready to use in Google Sheets, Airtable, n8n, Make, or Zapier.

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Sample output

{
  "ad_id": "CR04574046308024713217",
  "ad_format": "Video",
  "ad_headline": "The Future of Driving",
  "ad_description": "Order your Tesla today. Free Supercharging included.",
  "ad_copy": "The Future of Driving — Order your Tesla today.",
  "ad_destination_url": "https://www.tesla.com/models",
  "video_url": "https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/archive/simgad/...",
  "video_url_hd": "https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/archive/simgad/...",
  "cover_image_url": "https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/...",
  "ad_preview_url": "https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR.../creative/CR...",
  "advertiser_name": "Tesla Inc.",
  "advertiser_id": "AR17828074650563772417",
  "advertiser_domain": "tesla.com",
  "advertiser_verified": true,
  "first_shown_date": "2026-01-15",
  "last_shown_date": "2026-05-09",
  "ad_active_days": 114,
  "platform": "YouTube",
  "regions_targeted": ["US", "GB", "IN"]
}

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Output fields reference

Ad content

Field	Description
ad_id	Unique creative ID from Google (CR...)
ad_format	Video / Skippable / Non-skippable / Bumper
ad_headline	Primary headline text
ad_description	Body / description copy
ad_copy	Full combined ad text
ad_destination_url	Actual landing page URL
video_url	Direct CDN URL — not a redirect
video_url_hd	High definition direct CDN URL
cover_image_url	Video thumbnail direct URL
ad_preview_url	Link to ad on Google Ads Transparency Center

Advertiser info

Field	Description
advertiser_name	Brand / company name
advertiser_id	Google Advertiser ID (AR...)
advertiser_domain	e.g. tesla.com
advertiser_verified	Google verified badge true / false

Delivery data

Field	Description
first_shown_date	Date ad first appeared (YYYY-MM-DD)
last_shown_date	Most recent appearance (YYYY-MM-DD)
ad_active_days	Calculated days running — longer = stronger signal
platform	Always YouTube for this actor
regions_targeted	Countries / regions where ad ran

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Input schema reference

{
  "searchQueries": ["tesla", "nike.com"],
  "region": "US",
  "adFormat": "all",
  "dateRange": "last_30_days",
  "startDate": "2026-01-01",
  "endDate": "2026-05-09",
  "maxResults": 200
}

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Why this scraper is different

Feature	This actor	Other scrapers
Direct CDN video URLs	✅ Working	❌ Broken redirects or blank
YouTube-only filter	✅ Pre-filtered	❌ Mixed with Display ads
No login required	✅	✅
ad_active_days calculated	✅	❌
Verified advertiser badge	✅	❌
Deduplication built-in	✅	❌

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Who uses this

• Video marketers studying competitor YouTube ad strategies
• Media buyers analysing ad formats and durations before launching campaigns
• Marketing agencies building YouTube ad briefs and pitch decks
• Brand managers monitoring competitor spend and creative direction
• Performance marketers identifying long-running profitable video creatives
• Researchers studying political and issue-based YouTube ad campaigns

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Pricing

This actor uses Pay-Per-Result pricing — you only pay for ads actually scraped.

$4.00 per 1,000 ads

YouTube video ad data is more valuable than display or search ads — direct video CDN URLs, verified advertiser data, and campaign duration signals all in one output.

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Tips for best results

• The ad_active_days field is your most powerful signal — ads running 90+ days are almost always profitable. Filter your results by this field first.
• Use residential proxies for maximum coverage — Google limits results heavily without proxies
• Paste a direct Transparency Center advertiser URL with ?platform=YOUTUBE for fastest and most accurate results
• Set adFormat to video to exclude any non-video creatives
• Use maxResults: -1 carefully — popular brands like Nike can return hundreds of YouTube ads

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Limitations

• Ad destination URLs — Google hides final destination URLs behind click redirects for some ads. Where available, the resolved URL is returned.
• Spend and impressions data — only available for EU/political/special category ads under Google's transparency requirements. Not available for standard commercial YouTube ads.
• CDN URLs are temporary — video and thumbnail CDN links expire. Download assets promptly after scraping.
• Verified advertisers only — Google Ads Transparency Center only shows ads from verified advertisers.

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Your complete Ad Intelligence Suite

This actor is part of a full cross-platform ad intelligence suite:

Actor	Platform
Facebook & Meta Ads Library Scraper	Facebook + Instagram
Google Ads Transparency Scraper	Google Display + Search
YouTube Ads Scraper	YouTube
TikTok Ads Library Scraper	TikTok

Scrape competitor ads across every major platform from one Apify account.

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Related scrapers

• Google Ads Transparency Scraper
• Facebook & Meta Ads Library Scraper
• TikTok Ads Library Scraper
• LinkedIn Ads Library Scraper