# Google Ads Transparency Center Scraper (`datapeak/google-ads-transparency`) Actor
Scrape the Google Ads Transparency Center by advertiser or domain. Extract ad creatives, formats (text/image/video), platforms, regions and run dates as JSON/CSV. Built for competitor ad research, PPC agencies and media buyers. No login, pay per result, one-click or API.
- **URL**: https://apify.com/datapeak/google-ads-transparency.md
- **Developed by:** [Gal Gilboa](https://apify.com/datapeak) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation, Automation, Developer tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet
## Pricing
from $2.00 / 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/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event
## What's an Apify Actor?
Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases.
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.
Actors are written with capital "A".
## 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.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.
In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md):
```bash
npm install apify-client
```
In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md):
```bash
pip install apify-client
```
In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md):
````bash
# MacOS / Linux
curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash
# Windows
irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex
```bash
In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md).
If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).
For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.
For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).
# README
## Google Ads Transparency Center Scraper — Competitor Google Ads, Creatives & Run Dates
Extract structured data from **Google's Ads Transparency Center** (adstransparency.google.com): every ad an advertiser runs across **Google Search, YouTube, Display, Shopping and Maps** — ad format, creative preview URLs, decoded text-ad copy (headline, description, destination URL), first/last shown dates and regions. No login, no API key, public transparency data only.
Built for **media buyers, PPC agencies and competitor-intel teams**: see which Google ads your competitors run, which creatives they keep alive (the winners), and when new campaigns launch — on a schedule, in bulk.
### Why this Actor?
- **API-level reliability** — talks directly to the Transparency Center's own JSON endpoints instead of driving a browser against a JavaScript shell. No brittle CSS selectors, no half-loaded pages, no missing ads.
- **Bulk advertiser lists** — monitor 1 or 100 competitors in a single run: mix domains (`nike.com`), advertiser IDs (`AR…`) and company names freely.
- **Text ads decoded** — Google hides search-ad copy inside encoded preview URLs; this Actor decodes it into clean `headline` / `description` / `destinationUrl` fields.
- **Date intelligence** — first/last shown timestamps per creative, so you can spot long-running (i.e. profitable) ads and diff new launches between scheduled runs.
- **Fast & cheap** — plain HTTP, 256 MB memory, no browser. Hundreds of ads per minute.
### What data does it return?
One dataset item per ad:
- Advertiser name + Google advertiser ID (`AR…`)
- Creative ID (`CR…`) + permanent Transparency Center URL
- Ad format: `text`, `image` or `video`
- Creative preview URLs (image file, video preview, rendered-ad iframe)
- Decoded text-ad copy: headline, description, destination URL
- First shown / last shown dates (ISO timestamps)
- Regions (best-effort, plus your region filter)
- Which query found the ad + scrape timestamp
### Sample output
```json
{
"type": "ad",
"advertiserId": "AR14188379519798214657",
"advertiserName": "Nike, Inc.",
"creativeId": "CR10813648716908961793",
"format": "text",
"headline": "Shop the New Air Max Collection",
"description": "Free shipping and returns on every order. Find your perfect fit today.",
"destinationUrl": "nike.com/airmax",
"previewUrl": "https://displayads-formats.googleusercontent.com/ads/preview/content.js?...",
"previewUrls": ["https://displayads-formats.googleusercontent.com/ads/preview/content.js?..."],
"imageUrl": null,
"videoUrl": null,
"firstShownAt": "2025-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
"lastShownAt": "2026-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
"regions": ["GB", "US"],
"detailsUrl": "https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR14188379519798214657/creative/CR10813648716908961793?region=anywhere",
"query": "domain nike.com",
"scrapedAt": "2026-07-12T12:00:00.000Z"
}
````
Fields Google doesn't expose for a given ad come back as `null` / `[]` — the Actor never fails a run over a missing field.
### How to use it
| Input | What it does |
|---|---|
| `queries` | **Bulk list** of advertisers — domains (`nike.com`), advertiser IDs (`AR…`, most reliable), Transparency Center URLs, or company names |
| `region` | Two-letter country filter (`US`, `GB`, `IL`, …) or `anywhere` (default). Google enforces this loosely for some advertisers — treat as a hint |
| `maxAdsPerQuery` | Cap per advertiser query (default 100) |
| `fetchAdDetails` | Per-creative lookup for preview URLs, decoded copy, dates and regions (default on) |
| `proxyConfiguration` | Apify RESIDENTIAL proxy recommended for scheduled runs |
**Tip:** the advertiser ID is the `AR…` segment in any adstransparency.google.com URL — grab it once and your scheduled monitoring never depends on name/domain matching.
### Use cases
- **Competitor ad monitoring** — schedule a weekly run over your competitor list; diff creative IDs to catch new campaigns and retired ads automatically.
- **Winning-ad detection** — sort by `firstShownAt`: ads that stay live for months are paying for themselves.
- **Search-ad copy research** — decoded headlines/descriptions for every text ad in your category, ready for a swipe file.
- **Creative swipe file** — image/video preview URLs for competitor display and YouTube ads.
- **Agency reporting** — attach a client-vs-competitor Google Ads snapshot to monthly reports via the API.
### Pricing (pay per event)
| Event | Price | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| `ad-scraped` | $0.002 | One ad record in the dataset |
Example: monitoring 20 competitors × 100 ads each = 2,000 ads = **$4.00** per run.
The Actor respects your maximum cost per run and stops cleanly when the limit is reached.
### Fair use & limitations
- Only public Ads Transparency Center data is accessed — the same ad-transparency information Google shows any visitor, published by Google specifically for public scrutiny. No login, no personal data.
- Political ads carry extra fields in Google's UI (spend, impressions) that are not extracted in v1.
- Google's region filter is enforced loosely server-side for some advertisers; the `regions` output field is best-effort.
- Video ads return Google's preview URL; final `googlevideo.com` file URLs are short-lived by design.
### Integrations
Standard Apify platform features apply: export to JSON/CSV/Excel, API access, webhooks, and scheduled runs for continuous competitor monitoring.
### Development
```bash
npm install
npm test # parses the saved RPC fixtures, 61 assertions
apify run # local run (uses ./storage)
```
# Actor input Schema
## `queries` (type: `array`):
Advertisers to pull ads for — one query per entry. Each entry can be a domain (nike.com), a Google advertiser ID (AR01614014350098432001 — the AR… segment in any adstransparency.google.com URL, most reliable), a full Transparency Center URL, or a plain company name (Nike — resolved via search suggestions, first match wins).
## `region` (type: `string`):
Two-letter country code to filter where ads were shown, e.g. US, GB, IL, DE. Leave as anywhere for global results. Note: Google enforces this filter loosely for some advertisers — treat it as a hint.
## `maxAdsPerQuery` (type: `integer`):
Maximum number of ads collected per advertiser query.
## `fetchAdDetails` (type: `boolean`):
If enabled (recommended), the Actor calls the per-creative lookup for each ad to extract the creative preview URL, decoded text-ad copy (headline, description, destination URL), first/last shown dates and regions. If disabled, only the lighter search-card data is returned (faster, same price per ad).
## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):
Proxy to use for the requests. Apify RESIDENTIAL proxy is recommended — it keeps Google consent/captcha interstitials near zero on repeated runs.
## Actor input object example
```json
{
"queries": [
"nike.com"
],
"region": "anywhere",
"maxAdsPerQuery": 100,
"fetchAdDetails": true,
"proxyConfiguration": {
"useApifyProxy": true,
"apifyProxyGroups": [
"RESIDENTIAL"
]
}
}
```
# 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 '' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
token: '',
});
// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
"queries": [
"nike.com"
],
"proxyConfiguration": {
"useApifyProxy": true,
"apifyProxyGroups": [
"RESIDENTIAL"
]
}
};
// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("datapeak/google-ads-transparency").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 '' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("")
# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
"queries": ["nike.com"],
"proxyConfiguration": {
"useApifyProxy": True,
"apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"],
},
}
# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("datapeak/google-ads-transparency").call(run_input=run_input)
# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
print(item)
# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start
```
## CLI example
```bash
echo '{
"queries": [
"nike.com"
],
"proxyConfiguration": {
"useApifyProxy": true,
"apifyProxyGroups": [
"RESIDENTIAL"
]
}
}' |
apify call datapeak/google-ads-transparency --silent --output-dataset
```
## MCP server setup
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"apify": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"mcp-remote",
"https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=datapeak/google-ads-transparency",
"--header",
"Authorization: Bearer "
]
}
}
}
```
## OpenAPI specification
```json
{
"openapi": "3.0.1",
"info": {
"title": "Google Ads Transparency Center Scraper",
"description": "Scrape the Google Ads Transparency Center by advertiser or domain. Extract ad creatives, formats (text/image/video), platforms, regions and run dates as JSON/CSV. Built for competitor ad research, PPC agencies and media buyers. No login, pay per result, one-click or API.",
"version": "0.1",
"x-build-id": "qXFRK2BhczXVD5oq4"
},
"servers": [
{
"url": "https://api.apify.com/v2"
}
],
"paths": {
"/acts/datapeak~google-ads-transparency/run-sync-get-dataset-items": {
"post": {
"operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-datapeak-google-ads-transparency",
"x-openai-isConsequential": false,
"summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.",
"tags": [
"Run Actor"
],
"requestBody": {
"required": true,
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
}
}
}
},
"parameters": [
{
"name": "token",
"in": "query",
"required": true,
"schema": {
"type": "string"
},
"description": "Enter your Apify token here"
}
],
"responses": {
"200": {
"description": "OK"
}
}
}
},
"/acts/datapeak~google-ads-transparency/runs": {
"post": {
"operationId": "runs-sync-datapeak-google-ads-transparency",
"x-openai-isConsequential": false,
"summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.",
"tags": [
"Run Actor"
],
"requestBody": {
"required": true,
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
}
}
}
},
"parameters": [
{
"name": "token",
"in": "query",
"required": true,
"schema": {
"type": "string"
},
"description": "Enter your Apify token here"
}
],
"responses": {
"200": {
"description": "OK",
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema"
}
}
}
}
}
}
},
"/acts/datapeak~google-ads-transparency/run-sync": {
"post": {
"operationId": "run-sync-datapeak-google-ads-transparency",
"x-openai-isConsequential": false,
"summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.",
"tags": [
"Run Actor"
],
"requestBody": {
"required": true,
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
}
}
}
},
"parameters": [
{
"name": "token",
"in": "query",
"required": true,
"schema": {
"type": "string"
},
"description": "Enter your Apify token here"
}
],
"responses": {
"200": {
"description": "OK"
}
}
}
}
},
"components": {
"schemas": {
"inputSchema": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"queries": {
"title": "Advertisers (bulk list)",
"type": "array",
"description": "Advertisers to pull ads for — one query per entry. Each entry can be a domain (nike.com), a Google advertiser ID (AR01614014350098432001 — the AR… segment in any adstransparency.google.com URL, most reliable), a full Transparency Center URL, or a plain company name (Nike — resolved via search suggestions, first match wins).",
"items": {
"type": "string"
}
},
"region": {
"title": "Region filter",
"type": "string",
"description": "Two-letter country code to filter where ads were shown, e.g. US, GB, IL, DE. Leave as anywhere for global results. Note: Google enforces this filter loosely for some advertisers — treat it as a hint.",
"default": "anywhere"
},
"maxAdsPerQuery": {
"title": "Max ads per query",
"minimum": 1,
"maximum": 5000,
"type": "integer",
"description": "Maximum number of ads collected per advertiser query.",
"default": 100
},
"fetchAdDetails": {
"title": "Fetch ad details",
"type": "boolean",
"description": "If enabled (recommended), the Actor calls the per-creative lookup for each ad to extract the creative preview URL, decoded text-ad copy (headline, description, destination URL), first/last shown dates and regions. If disabled, only the lighter search-card data is returned (faster, same price per ad).",
"default": true
},
"proxyConfiguration": {
"title": "Proxy configuration",
"type": "object",
"description": "Proxy to use for the requests. Apify RESIDENTIAL proxy is recommended — it keeps Google consent/captcha interstitials near zero on repeated runs."
}
}
},
"runsResponseSchema": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"data": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"id": {
"type": "string"
},
"actId": {
"type": "string"
},
"userId": {
"type": "string"
},
"startedAt": {
"type": "string",
"format": "date-time",
"example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
},
"finishedAt": {
"type": "string",
"format": "date-time",
"example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
},
"status": {
"type": "string",
"example": "READY"
},
"meta": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"origin": {
"type": "string",
"example": "API"
},
"userAgent": {
"type": "string"
}
}
},
"stats": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"inputBodyLen": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 2000
},
"rebootCount": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"restartCount": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"resurrectCount": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"computeUnits": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
}
}
},
"options": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"build": {
"type": "string",
"example": "latest"
},
"timeoutSecs": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 300
},
"memoryMbytes": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 1024
},
"diskMbytes": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 2048
}
}
},
"buildId": {
"type": "string"
},
"defaultKeyValueStoreId": {
"type": "string"
},
"defaultDatasetId": {
"type": "string"
},
"defaultRequestQueueId": {
"type": "string"
},
"buildNumber": {
"type": "string",
"example": "1.0.0"
},
"containerUrl": {
"type": "string"
},
"usage": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 1
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_SERPS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
}
}
},
"usageTotalUsd": {
"type": "number",
"example": 0.00005
},
"usageUsd": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
"type": "number",
"example": 0.00005
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_SERPS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
```