# Google Ads Transparency Scraper (`dougmanoel/google-ads-transparency-scraper`) Actor

Extract the ads any brand runs on Google from the public Ads Transparency Center: advertiser, dates, ad page and ad content (image, text or preview link).

- **URL**: https://apify.com/dougmanoel/google-ads-transparency-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Douglas Gouvea Manoel](https://apify.com/dougmanoel) (community)
- **Categories:** Marketing
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.50 / 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.

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

Extract every ad a brand runs on Google from the public **Google Ads Transparency Center** — advertiser, first and last date shown, a link to the ad page and the ad content itself — without opening the site ad by ad.

Type a brand name (`nike`, `natura`) or an advertiser ID (`AR...`) and get one dataset row per ad. Export to JSON, CSV or Excel, call it by API, schedule it, or plug it into Make, Zapier or Google Sheets.

### What you get

| Field | What it is |
|---|---|
| `query` | The brand or ID you searched |
| `advertiserName`, `advertiserId` | Who runs the ad |
| `creativeId`, `adUrl` | The ad and its page in the Transparency Center |
| `firstShown`, `lastShown` | First and last date Google showed the ad (UTC) |
| `contentType` | `image`, `text` or `preview` (see below) |
| `imageUrl` | Direct link to the ad image (`image`) |
| `text` | `headline`, `description`, `displayUrl` (`text` — search ads) |
| `previewUrl` | Link that renders the ad in a browser (`preview`) |

**Be aware of the `preview` type.** In our tests roughly 57% of ads came back as a direct image or decoded text, and about 43% only as a preview link. The `previewUrl` of those ads returns the script Google uses to draw the ad inside its own site, **not an image or plain text**. To see such an ad, open its `adUrl` (the Transparency Center page for that ad), which every row includes.

### Input

- **Brands / advertisers** (`queries`): names to search.
- **Advertiser IDs** (`advertiserIds`): exact IDs (`AR` + digits) — use these when a name matches several advertisers.
- **Max ads per advertiser** (`maxAdsPerAdvertiser`): 1 to 400, default 40.
- **Advertiser matching** (`advertiserMatching`): `first` uses the top suggested advertiser; `all` uses up to 5.

A name search picks the top suggestion, which is sometimes a small account (searching `nike` may return a single ad). For exact results, search once, copy the advertiser ID from the output, and use **Advertiser IDs**.

### Pricing

Pay per event: **$1.50 per 1,000 ads** returned ($0.0015 per ad). You pay only for ads delivered. Searches that find nothing return a free status row (`no_results`, `source_unavailable` or `skipped`) and are never charged. If an advertiser is reached twice in one run you are charged once.

### Limits

- Reads what the public site shows, without login. It is not an official Google API; if Google changes the site the Actor may stop working until it is fixed.
- No country filter in this version.
- Political ads may contain the names of individuals; use the data in line with the privacy rules that apply to you.
- This Actor is not affiliated with or endorsed by Google.

### Example

Input:

```json
{ "queries": ["natura"], "maxAdsPerAdvertiser": 20 }
```

Output row (shortened):

```json
{ "query": "natura", "advertiserName": "Natura", "creativeId": "CR…", "firstShown": "2026-08-11T15:54:23Z", "contentType": "image", "imageUrl": "https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/archive/simgad/…" }
```

# Actor input Schema

## `queries` (type: `array`):

Brand or advertiser names to search in the Google Ads Transparency Center.

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

Advertiser IDs (AR...) to fetch directly, skipping the name search.

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

Between 1 and 400. Each ad returned is one billable result.

## `advertiserMatching` (type: `string`):

'first' uses the top suggested advertiser; 'all' uses up to 5 suggested advertisers.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "queries": [
    "nike"
  ],
  "maxAdsPerAdvertiser": 40,
  "advertiserMatching": "first"
}
```

# 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 = {
    "queries": [
        "nike"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("dougmanoel/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 = { "queries": ["nike"] }

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

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,dougmanoel/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/SqLmxOgHFolXFnLjh/builds/LxBaGSj24HH1Vd4DZ/openapi.json