# Google Ads Transparency Scraper & Ads Library API (`apimint/google-ads-transparency-scraper`) Actor

See every ad a competitor runs on Google. Google Ads Transparency Center scraper and API by keyword, domain, advertiser ID or URL: ad copy read from screenshot text ads, YouTube video links, first and last shown dates, regions, EU reach, legal name. Google ad library export, no login.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/apimint/google-ads-transparency-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [API Mint](https://apify.com/apimint) (community)
- **Categories:** SEO tools, Lead generation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.85 / 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.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

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

Get every ad an advertiser runs on Google, with the ad copy: from a keyword, a domain, an advertiser ID or a Google Ads Transparency Center URL. Text, image and video ads, with headline, description, display URL, sitelinks, YouTube link, first and last shown dates, countries, EU reach and the advertiser's verified legal name. Many targets in one run, no login, no caps.

| Advertiser | Format | Headline | Description | Display URL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HubSpot | text | AI Meeting Notetaker - Automate Meeting Notes | Notetaker records, transcribes, and summarizes meetings, then logs notes to your CRM. | www.hubspot.com/ |
| Zappos | text | Zappos Clearance - Zappos Official Site - Fast, Free Shipping | Stay Up To Date On The Latest Styles and Trends. Zappos Offers Ways To Shop And Save. | www.zappos.com/ |
| 317 Plumber | text | 317 Plumber - Family-Owned Local Plumbers - Local Plumbing Company | As Local Plumbers, We Answer Every Call Around the Clock & Back Our Work With Warranties… | www.317plumber.com/ |

**Price: one price per ad, everything included** (reading the copy out of screenshot ads too).

| Apify plan | Per ad | Per 1,000 ads |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0.0017 | $1.70 |
| Bronze | $0.0014 | $1.40 |
| Silver | $0.00115 | $1.15 |
| Gold | $0.00085 | $0.85 |

You are never charged for empty ad templates, for text ads whose screenshot has no readable copy, or for ads skipped in monitoring mode.

**Free plan vs paid plans.** Reading the copy out of screenshot ads is included in the price on every plan. On the free Apify plan it uses standard OCR (Tesseract). On paid plans an AI model reads every screenshot, which gets more words exactly right and runs faster. Each row says which reader was used in `ocrEngine` (`tesseract` or the AI model's name).

Works well with: a YouTube transcript scraper (feed it the `videoUrl` of video ads).

### How to scrape Google Ads Transparency Center

#### By domain

Put `hubspot.com` in **Domains**. You get HubSpot's ads plus ads from other advertisers that point to hubspot.com (resellers, agencies, affiliates). `https://`, `www.` and paths are removed for you.

#### By advertiser

Put the advertiser ID in **Advertiser IDs** (for example `AR16735076323512287233` is Nike, Inc.). You find it in the Transparency Center URL: `adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR…`.

#### By keyword

Put a brand or keyword in **Search terms**, such as `plumber` or `nike`. Honest note: Google's Transparency Center does not search ad text. It matches your keyword against **advertiser names and website domains**, and the Actor then pulls every ad of the matching advertisers (up to **Max advertisers per search term**). This works well for brands and local services ("plumber", "dentist chicago") and poorly for generic product phrases ("running shoes"). Turn on **Search term must appear in the ad** to keep only ads whose copy contains the keyword.

#### By URL

Paste any `adstransparency.google.com` URL into **Transparency Center URLs**: an advertiser page, a domain search or a single ad. The URL's region, format and platform settings are used.

#### Monitoring competitors

Turn on **Only new ads** and run the Actor on a schedule (daily or weekly). Each run returns only ads it has not returned before for the same target and filters. Skipped ads are not charged.

### Input example

```json
{
  "domains": ["hubspot.com"],
  "searchTerms": ["plumber"],
  "advertiserIds": ["AR16735076323512287233"],
  "region": "US",
  "format": "any",
  "platform": "any",
  "dateFrom": "30 days",
  "maxAdsPerTarget": 200,
  "includeAdDetails": true,
  "extractTextFromScreenshots": true
}
```

### Output example

One row per ad (a real row from a run on 2026-10-10):

```json
{
  "adId": "CR03966776861953884161",
  "advertiserId": "AR10072600183532683265",
  "advertiserName": "Hubspot, Inc.",
  "advertiserLegalName": "Hubspot, Inc.",
  "advertiserCountry": "US",
  "advertiserVerified": true,
  "format": "text",
  "firstShown": "2026-10-06T19:12:18.899Z",
  "lastShown": "2026-10-09T22:48:39.117Z",
  "daysShown": 4,
  "targetDomain": "hubspot.com",
  "adUrl": "https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR10072600183532683265/creative/CR03966776861953884161?region=US",
  "imageUrl": "https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/archive/simgad/12999069173626747232",
  "imageWidth": 364,
  "imageHeight": 213,
  "previewUrl": null,
  "videoId": null,
  "videoUrl": null,
  "videoThumbnailUrl": null,
  "headline": "AI Meeting Notetaker - Automate Meeting Notes",
  "description": "Notetaker records, transcribes, and summarizes meetings, then logs notes to your CRM.",
  "displayUrl": "www.hubspot.com/",
  "callToAction": null,
  "sitelinks": [
    {
      "title": "AI Meeting Prep and Notes",
      "description": null
    },
    {
      "title": "Notetaker",
      "description": null
    }
  ],
  "copySource": "ocr",
  "copyConfidence": 0.921,
  "copyFieldConfidence": {
    "headline": 0.909,
    "description": 0.952,
    "displayUrl": 0.903
  },
  "ocrEngine": "tesseract",
  "emptyTemplate": false,
  "variationCount": 1,
  "variations": [
    {
      "imageUrl": "https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/archive/simgad/12999069173626747232",
      "previewUrl": null,
      "headline": null,
      "description": null,
      "displayUrl": null
    }
  ],
  "regions": [
    {
      "region": "US",
      "firstShown": null,
      "lastShown": "2026-10-09",
      "impressionsMin": null,
      "impressionsMax": null,
      "platforms": []
    }
  ],
  "impressionsMin": null,
  "impressionsMax": null,
  "targeting": null,
  "source": {
    "type": "domain",
    "value": "hubspot.com"
  },
  "matchedTerm": null,
  "scrapedAt": "2026-10-10T01:53:15.875Z"
}
```

Each run also saves a `SUMMARY` record: for each target, how many ads were returned against the total Google reports (for example "Google reports 3,000–4,000, 312 returned"), and why the run stopped. A run never ends "succeeded" with zero rows without saying why, and a target that Google blocked fails the run instead of returning an empty dataset.

### How much does it cost to scrape Google Ads Transparency?

You pay per ad returned. There is no start fee beyond Apify's standard tiny run start charge, and no extra charge for ad copy.

| Job | Free plan | Gold plan |
|---|---|---|
| 500 ads of one competitor | $0.85 | $0.43 |
| 5,000 ads across 20 competitors | $8.50 | $4.25 |
| Daily monitoring, 30 new ads a day for a month | $1.53 | $0.77 |

Turning off ad copy or details makes runs faster, not cheaper: the price per ad is the same. Set **Max ads per target**, **Max ads in total** or Apify's maximum cost per run to control spend.

### What you get per format

- **Text ads.** Google stores most text ads only as a screenshot. The Actor reads it and splits it into `headline`, `description`, `displayUrl` and `sitelinks`, leaving out the logo, star ratings, review snippets and buttons. `copySource` says `ocr`; `ocrEngine` says which reader was used (paid plans: an AI model; free plan: Tesseract); with Tesseract OCR, `copyFieldConfidence` gives a 0–1 confidence per field. Text ads that Google renders live come back with the exact text (`copySource: content`). For responsive search ads you get the combinations Google saved, one per version in `variations`.
- **Image ads.** The image URL and size. `variations` lists every saved version.
- **Video ads.** The YouTube link (`videoUrl`), video ID and thumbnail, plus the headline, description and call to action when Google provides them.
- **EU-served ads.** Impressions (as Google's ranges) per country and per platform, and which targeting was used (demographics, location, contextual).

### What Google does not publish

Answered once and plainly, so you know before you run:

- **Spend and budgets.** Not published for commercial ads.
- **Keywords the advertiser bids on.** Not published.
- **Landing pages.** Google strips the final URL; you get the display URL shown in the ad.
- **Impressions outside the EU.** Published only for ads served in the EU.
- **Unverified advertisers and age-restricted ads.** Not shown to logged-out visitors.
- **The full list of headlines in a responsive ad.** Google saves only the combinations it showed.
- **Search across all advertisers by ad text.** The Transparency Center has no such search (see "By keyword").

### FAQ

**Is it legal to scrape the Google Ads Transparency Center?**
The Actor reads only public pages that Google publishes for transparency, with no login. Advertiser names and legal names are shown as Google publishes them. Check the rules that apply to your own use.

**Why do I get fewer ads than the Transparency Center's count?**
Google shows rounded ranges ("3,000–4,000") and counts depend on the region filter. Your caps (`maxAdsPerTarget`, `maxAds`) also stop a target early; the `SUMMARY` record says which one did.

**Can I search all advertisers by keyword?**
Not by ad text. See "By keyword" above for what is possible.

**Can I use it through the API, MCP or integrations?**
Yes. Run it through the Apify API, from an AI agent via Apify's MCP server, or connect it to Make, Zapier, n8n, Google Sheets and webhooks. Every output field has a description for agents.

**How does it compare with other Google Ads scrapers?**

| | This Actor | Typical alternatives |
|---|---|---|
| Ad copy for screenshot text ads | Yes, split into headline / description / display URL / sitelinks | None, or one raw text block, or description mixed with ratings and sitelinks |
| Empty templates and unreadable ads | Not charged | Often charged |
| Keyword, domain, advertiser and URL input in one run | Yes | Usually one input type |
| Advertiser legal name and verification | Yes | Rarely |
| EU reach and targeting | Yes | Some |
| Zero rows without a reason | Never | Happens |

### Changelog and feedback

See the [changelog](./CHANGELOG.md). Found a bug or missing a field? Open an issue on the Actor's Issues tab; we answer quickly. If it saves you time, a review helps others find it.

# Changelog

This Actor's version history is a separate document: https://apify.com/apimint/google-ads-transparency-scraper/changelog.md

# Actor input Schema

## `searchTerms` (type: `array`):

A brand or keyword, such as "plumber" or "nike". Google matches it against advertiser names and website domains (not ad text), then the Actor pulls every ad of the matching advertisers. Up to "Max advertisers per search term" advertisers per term.

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

Websites whose ads you want, such as hubspot.com. Includes other advertisers whose ads point to the domain (resellers, agencies). https://, www. and paths are removed for you.

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

Google advertiser IDs, which start with AR (AR16735076323512287233 is Nike, Inc.). You find them in the Transparency Center URL of an advertiser.

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

Any adstransparency.google.com URL: an advertiser page, a domain search or a single ad. The URL's region, format and platform settings are used for that URL.

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

Only ads shown in this country. "Anywhere" returns ads from every country.

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

Only ads shown on this Google platform.

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

Only text, image or video ads.

## `dateFrom` (type: `string`):

Only ads shown on or after this date: YYYY-MM-DD (2026-09-01) or a relative period such as "30 days". Leave empty for all time.

## `dateTo` (type: `string`):

Only ads shown on or before this date, same format. Leave empty for today.

## `maxAdsPerTarget` (type: `integer`):

Stop after this many ads for each search term, domain, advertiser or URL. 0 means no limit.

## `maxAds` (type: `integer`):

Stop the whole run after this many ads. 0 means no limit. The run also stops at your maximum cost per run.

## `maxAdvertisersPerTerm` (type: `integer`):

How many matching advertisers (and matching domains) to scrape for each search term.

## `termMustAppearInAd` (type: `boolean`):

Keep only ads whose headline, description, display URL or sitelinks contain the search term. Ads with no readable copy are left out.

## `includeAdDetails` (type: `boolean`):

All saved versions of each ad, the countries where it ran with first and last dates, and EU reach and targeting. Turn off for a faster list-only run.

## `extractTextFromScreenshots` (type: `boolean`):

Google stores most text ads only as an image. This reads the headline, description, display URL and sitelinks from it. Included in the price. Free Apify plan: standard OCR (Tesseract). Paid plans: an AI model reads every screenshot (more accurate, faster).

## `extractTextFromAllVersions` (type: `boolean`):

Also read the headline, description and display URL of every saved version of a text ad (in variations). Slower: most ads have 3–5 versions. The main ad copy is read either way. Same price.

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

Monitoring mode: skip ads already returned by earlier runs for the same target and filters. Skipped ads are not charged. Use it with a schedule.

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

Used for Google's ad-listing requests. If Google keeps blocking, the Actor switches to residential proxies by itself.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchTerms": [],
  "domains": [
    "hubspot.com"
  ],
  "advertiserIds": [],
  "startUrls": [],
  "region": "US",
  "platform": "any",
  "format": "any",
  "maxAdsPerTarget": 20,
  "maxAds": 0,
  "maxAdvertisersPerTerm": 10,
  "termMustAppearInAd": false,
  "includeAdDetails": true,
  "extractTextFromScreenshots": true,
  "extractTextFromAllVersions": false,
  "onlyNewAds": false,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

One row per ad: ad copy, dates, regions, EU reach, advertiser identity.

## `summary` (type: `string`):

Per target: ads returned versus Google's total, pages, blocks, and why the run stopped.

# 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": [
        "hubspot.com"
    ],
    "region": "US",
    "maxAdsPerTarget": 20,
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("apimint/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": ["hubspot.com"],
    "region": "US",
    "maxAdsPerTarget": 20,
    "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": True },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("apimint/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": [
    "hubspot.com"
  ],
  "region": "US",
  "maxAdsPerTarget": 20,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}' |
apify call apimint/google-ads-transparency-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,apimint/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/HcTaM5kWmAIIseo5U/builds/QFF3aOFzO3AdJjpkd/openapi.json