🎯 Google Ads Transparency Scraper

Extract ad creatives from Google's Ads Transparency Center at scale — no login, no official API key. Search in bulk by keyword, website domain, advertiser ID, or a Transparency Center URL, and optionally narrow by platform, region (170+ countries), and date range.

For every ad it returns the advertiser, creative ID, format (text / image / video), the first & last dates it was shown, how many days it ran, a direct link to the ad, and (when available) the creative image.

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✨ Why Choose This Actor?

• 🔁 Bulk input — feed dozens of keywords / domains / advertiser IDs in one run.
• 🧠 Auto-detection — paste anything; the scraper figures out whether it's a keyword, domain, advertiser ID, or URL.
• 🛡️ Self-healing proxy ladder — starts direct (cheapest), and only escalates to datacenter → residential proxies if Google pushes back, then sticks with what works.
• 📦 Live results — every ad is saved the moment it's found, so partial runs never lose data.
• 🗂️ Tidy output — four ready-made views: Overview, Advertisers, Creative Details, and Media.
• ⚡ Fast & lightweight — pure reverse-engineered API calls, no headless browser.

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🚀 How to Use (Apify Console)

1. Log in at console.apify.com → Actors.
2. Open Google Ads Transparency Scraper.
3. Fill in the inputs:
   • 🔎 Search Queries — e.g. nike.com, Adidas, AR16735076323512287233.
   • 🔢 Max Results, and optional 📺 Platform, 🌍 Region, 📅 Date filters.
4. Click Start and watch the live log.
5. Open the Output tab — switch between the 4 views or export to JSON / CSV / Excel.

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📥 Input

Field	Type	Description
searchQueries	array	One or more keywords, domains, advertiser IDs, or Transparency URLs.
searchQuery	string	Optional single-query convenience field.
maxResults	integer	Max ad creatives to return in total. 0 = unlimited.
platform	string	google_search, youtube, google_shopping, google_maps, google_play, or empty for all.
region	string	ISO country code (e.g. US) or empty for worldwide.
dateFrom / dateTo	string	YYYY-MM-DD date-window filter.
proxyConfiguration	object	Optional proxy override (the ladder handles blocking automatically).

{
  "searchQueries": ["nike.com", "Adidas"],
  "maxResults": 100,
  "platform": "youtube",
  "region": "US",
  "dateFrom": "2025-01-01"
}

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📤 Output

{
  "advertiserId": "AR18378488041124659201",
  "advertiserName": "Nike Retail BV",
  "creativeId": "CR03722677248998768641",
  "adFormat": "text",
  "firstShown": "2025-10-25",
  "lastShown": "2026-06-14",
  "approxDaysShown": 233,
  "adUrl": "https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR18378488041124659201/creative/CR03722677248998768641",
  "imageUrl": "https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/archive/simgad/14326405044626796371"
}

Field	Description
advertiserId	Google advertiser ID (AR…).
advertiserName	Verified advertiser name.
creativeId	Unique creative ID (CR…).
adFormat	text, image, or video.
firstShown / lastShown	First and last dates the ad was seen.
approxDaysShown	Approximate number of days the ad ran.
adUrl	Direct link to the ad in the Transparency Center.
imageUrl	Archived creative image (image ads only).

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🤖 Use via API

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/<ACTOR_ID>/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{"searchQueries":["nike.com"],"maxResults":50}'

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💡 Best Use Cases

• 🕵️ Competitor ad intelligence — see exactly what rivals are advertising and for how long.
• 📈 Creative trend research — track formats, longevity, and rotation.
• 🧾 Ad transparency & compliance — audit which advertisers run ads in a region.
• 🌍 Market analysis — compare advertiser activity across countries and platforms.

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💳 Pricing

This Actor uses the Pay-Per-Result model — you're billed per ad creative returned. Filters (platform / region / date) use Google's own filtering, so narrowing your search keeps both your result count and your cost low.

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❓ FAQ

Do I need a Google account or API key? No. The Transparency Center is public; this Actor reads it directly.

What can I search by? A keyword (Nike), a domain (nike.com), an advertiser ID (AR…), or a full Transparency Center URL — mixed freely in the bulk list.

Why are some ads missing imageUrl? Text and script-rendered ads don't expose a static archived image; only image creatives carry one.

Is a proxy required? No. The Actor starts without one and only adds a proxy if Google rate-limits it.

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⚖️ Legal & Compliance

Data is collected only from Google's publicly available Ads Transparency Center. You are responsible for complying with applicable laws (GDPR, CCPA, etc.) and Google's Terms of Service when using the data.

🛟 Support & Feedback

Found a bug or want a new field? Open an issue on the Actor's Issues tab.