# Google Ads Transparency Scraper - Advertisers & Ad Creatives (`bachiembmt/google-ads-transparency-scraper`) Actor

Google Ads Transparency Center scraper: find advertisers by name, ID or domain and export their ad creatives (text, image, video) with first/last shown dates, region and preview links. For competitor ad research and brand protection. No login or API key.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/bachiembmt/google-ads-transparency-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Ha Phan Thanh Hai](https://apify.com/bachiembmt) (community)
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.00 / 1,000 ad scrapeds

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: advertisers and ad creatives

Export **ads from the Google Ads Transparency Center** by advertiser name, ID or website domain, with dates, format, regions and preview links. No login, no API key.

### What does Google Ads Transparency Scraper do?

- Look up advertisers by name, advertiser ID or domain.
- List their ad creatives with first and last shown dates.
- Filter by region (about 57 countries), format (text, image, video) and date window.
- Optionally add the list of countries each ad ran in (`includeRegions`).
- Get creative id, format, image or preview URL and a link to the ad in the Transparency Center.

### Why use it

- **Three ways to find an advertiser**: name, ID or domain.
- **Ad longevity data**: first/last shown dates show what keeps running.
- **Low price**: $1 per 1,000 ads.
- **No login, API key or proxy** for normal use.

### Use cases

- Competitor ad monitoring and creative swipe files.
- Brand protection and scam/impersonation research on brand domains.
- Political and issue-ad research and journalism.
- Agency reporting: how long and where an advertiser ran ads.
- Market research on who advertises in a category.

### How to use

1. Open the Actor on Apify and click **Try for free** (or call it through the API).
2. Enter **advertiser names**, IDs or **domains**; set region and format.
3. Click **Start**, then download the dataset as JSON, CSV, Excel or HTML, or read it through the API.

#### Input example

```json
{
  "advertiserNames": ["Nike, Inc."],
  "advertiserIds": ["AR16735076323512287233"],
  "domains": ["nike.com"],
  "region": "US",
  "format": "image",
  "startDate": "2026-01-01",
  "maxAdsPerAdvertiser": 50,
  "includeRegions": false
}
```

- `region`: two-letter code (about 57 supported countries, see below) or `anywhere`.
- `format`: `any`, `text`, `image`, `video`.
- `maxAdsPerAdvertiser` applies per name / ID / domain.
- `includeRegions` adds the list of countries each ad ran in (one extra request per ad, slower).
- Empty input runs the default demo (Nike, 10 ads).

### Output example

```json
{
  "advertiserId": "AR16735076323512287233",
  "advertiserName": "Nike, Inc.",
  "verified": false,
  "region": "anywhere",
  "creativeId": "CR04870637843040436225",
  "format": "text",
  "firstShown": "2022-12-01T14:08:45+00:00",
  "lastShown": "2026-10-21T06:12:43+00:00",
  "imageUrl": "https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/archive/simgad/12089384500009386224",
  "previewUrl": null,
  "adUrl": "https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR16735076323512287233/creative/CR04870637843040436225"
}
```

`imageUrl` is set for static ads; image/video ads served through Google's renderer provide `previewUrl` (an HTML/JS preview, not a raw media file). `verified` is known only when the advertiser was found by name.

### Pricing

Pay per event, no subscription. You pay only for what is returned:

| Event | Price per 1,000 | 1,000 | 10,000 | 100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ad | $1.00 | $1.00 | $10.00 | $100.00 |

Example: 1,000 ads cost $1.00; 10,000 cost $10.00.

Platform usage (compute) is included in the event price; there is nothing else to pay for.

### Integrations & API

Run it from code with the Apify API. Replace `<APIFY_TOKEN>` with your API token.

**Python** (`pip install apify-client`)

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("<APIFY_TOKEN>")
run = client.actor("bachiembmt/google-ads-transparency-scraper").call(run_input={"advertiserNames": ["Nike, Inc."], "region": "US", "format": "any", "maxAdsPerAdvertiser": 50})
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)
```

**cURL** (run synchronously and get dataset items)

```bash
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/bachiembmt~google-ads-transparency-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<APIFY_TOKEN>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"advertiserNames": ["Nike, Inc."], "region": "US", "format": "any", "maxAdsPerAdvertiser": 50}'
```

Works with:

- **Make** and **Zapier**: use the Apify app/module to run this Actor and pass the dataset on.
- **n8n**: use the Apify node or an HTTP Request node with the API call above.
- **Google Sheets**: export the dataset as CSV, or use the Apify integration to append rows automatically.
- **Webhooks**: trigger your own endpoint when a run finishes; combine with Apify schedules for recurring jobs.
- **AI agents**: expose the Actor as a tool through the [Apify MCP server](https://mcp.apify.com).

### FAQ

**A name returned the wrong company. What now?**
Use the advertiser ID from the Transparency Center URL, or the exact legal name.

**Do I get landing pages or impression counts?**
No. The public listing does not expose landing page, exact impressions or ad text.

**Do I need a proxy?**
Not for normal use; for big batches from a shared IP, add Apify proxy settings.

**Do I need an account or API key for the source?**
No. The Actor needs no login or source API key. You only need an Apify account to run it.

**Is it legal to scrape this data?**
Everything comes from the public Ads Transparency Center. Google can change its internal endpoints without notice; respect its terms of service. This is general information, not legal advice.

### Limitations

- Uses the Transparency Center's internal web endpoints; Google can change them without notice.
- Landing page, exact impression counts and ad text are not exposed by the public listing and are not returned.
- Google may throttle an IP that sends many requests; the actor stays under 1 request/second and retries with backoff, and logs a warning if it hits Google's rate-limit page.
- Supported region codes: AE AR AT AU BD BE BG BR CA CH CL CN CO CZ DE DK EG ES FI FR GB GR HK HR HU ID IE IL IN IT JP KE KR MX MY NG NL NO NZ PE PH PK PL PT RO RU SA SE SG SK TH TR TW UA US VN ZA.

# Actor input Schema

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

Company names to look up (the best match, preferring an exact name match, is used). Example: Nike.

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

Transparency Center advertiser IDs (AR followed by 20 digits), e.g. AR16735076323512287233.

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

Website domains (nike.com). Returns ads from all advertisers that run ads for that domain.

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

Two-letter country code (US, GB, DE, FR, ...) or 'anywhere'.

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

Only ads shown on/after this date. Optional.

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

Only ads shown on/before this date. Optional.

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

Filter by creative format.

## `maxAdsPerAdvertiser` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of ad creatives per advertiser / domain.

## `includeRegions` (type: `boolean`):

Costs one extra request per ad (slower). Adds the countries where each ad was shown.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "advertiserNames": [
    "Nike, Inc."
  ],
  "region": "anywhere",
  "format": "any",
  "maxAdsPerAdvertiser": 10,
  "includeRegions": false
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

No description

# 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 = {
    "advertiserNames": [
        "Nike, Inc."
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("bachiembmt/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 = { "advertiserNames": ["Nike, Inc."] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("bachiembmt/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 '{
  "advertiserNames": [
    "Nike, Inc."
  ]
}' |
apify call bachiembmt/google-ads-transparency-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,bachiembmt/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/9mC6uvuuPJv5XU88s/builds/c2YVPVreVfb4VNAo2/openapi.json