# Google Ads Transparency Scraper (`fetch_cat/google-ads-transparency-scraper`) Actor Scrape public Google Ads Transparency Center ads by advertiser, keyword, country, and date range. Export ad IDs, advertisers, media URLs, and shown dates. - **URL**: https://apify.com/fetch\_cat/google-ads-transparency-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Hanna Nosova](https://apify.com/fetch_cat) (community) - **Categories:** Social media, Other - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 75.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $0.02 / 1,000 ad extracteds 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/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 Scraper Extract public ad creatives and metadata from Google Ads Transparency Center. ### What does Google Ads Transparency Scraper do? Google Ads Transparency Scraper collects public ads from the Google Ads Transparency Center for advertisers, brands, domains, or keywords. It helps you monitor visible Google ad creatives without manually opening the Transparency Center, searching advertisers, scrolling results, and copying dates or media URLs. Use it to build competitive ad libraries, compliance samples, agency reports, and repeatable brand-monitoring workflows. ### Who is it for? - ๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿ’ผ Marketing teams tracking competitors - ๐Ÿข Agencies preparing creative audits - ๐Ÿ›ก๏ธ Compliance teams reviewing public ad disclosures - ๐Ÿ“ˆ Growth teams watching messaging changes - ๐Ÿงช Researchers collecting public ad examples - ๐Ÿงฐ Data teams feeding dashboards and alerts ### Why use this actor? Manual transparency research is slow and inconsistent. This actor turns searches into structured dataset rows. You can run it on a schedule, export JSON or CSV, connect it to webhooks, and compare new creatives over time. ### What data can it extract? | Field | Description | | --- | --- | | query | Search query that produced the ad | | country | Requested country code | | advertiserName | Public advertiser name | | advertiserId | Google Ads Transparency advertiser ID | | adId | Public creative ID | | adUrl | Transparency Center creative URL | | adText | Text detected in the public creative metadata | | headline | First useful text line, when available | | description | Public description/ad-copy text, when available | | imageUrls | Creative image or preview URLs | | videoUrl | Video URL when exposed by the public record | | landingPageUrl | Landing page URL when exposed by the public record | | platforms | Platform labels when exposed | | regions | Regions returned for the run | | firstShownDate | First public shown date | | lastShownDate | Last public shown date | | snapshotUrl | Link to the public ad snapshot | | scrapedAt | Collection timestamp | ### How much does it cost to scrape Google Ads Transparency ads? The actor uses pay-per-event pricing. You pay a small run start fee plus a per-ad fee for ads saved to the dataset. A small sample run with 25 ads is inexpensive. Larger monitoring jobs scale with the number of ads collected. Always start with a small `maxResultsPerQuery` value while testing a new query. ### Quick start 1. Open the actor on Apify. 2. Add one or more advertiser names or keywords. 3. Choose a country code such as `US`, `GB`, or `CA`. 4. Set `maxResultsPerQuery`. 5. Run the actor. 6. Export the dataset as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, or RSS. ### Input options #### queries List of advertisers, domains, brand names, or keywords. Example values: - `Nike, Inc.` - `Apple` - `shopify.com` - `running shoes` #### country Two-letter country code used as the Transparency Center region. Common examples: - `US` - `GB` - `CA` - `AU` - `DE` - `FR` - `IN` #### maxResultsPerQuery Maximum number of ads to save for each query. Use a small value for tests. Use a larger value for monitoring. #### includeAdDetails When enabled, the actor fetches each public creative detail record to collect additional media and preview URLs. Disable it for faster lightweight runs. #### dateFrom and dateTo Optional ISO date filters. The actor filters ads by the public first/last shown dates returned by the Transparency Center. ### Example input ```json { "queries": ["Nike, Inc.", "Apple"], "country": "US", "maxResultsPerQuery": 25, "includeAdDetails": true } ```` ### Example output ```json { "query": "Nike, Inc.", "country": "US", "advertiserName": "Nike, Inc.", "advertiserId": "AR16735076323512287233", "adId": "CR18317251634368872449", "adUrl": "https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/...", "imageUrls": ["https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/archive/simgad/..."], "firstShownDate": "2022-11-30T16:07:07.000Z", "lastShownDate": "2026-06-18T13:05:05.000Z", "scrapedAt": "2026-06-18T13:00:00.000Z" } ``` ### Tips for better results - โœ… Use exact advertiser names when possible. - โœ… Start with the country where the advertiser is most active. - โœ… Use low limits for discovery runs. - โœ… Schedule recurring runs to spot new ads. - โœ… Store previous datasets so you can diff creative changes. ### Monitoring workflows Run the actor daily for your top competitors. Export the dataset to Google Sheets. Compare `adId` values across runs. Notify your team when a new creative appears. Archive image URLs for creative review. ### Competitive intelligence workflows Collect ads for several brands in one run. Group output by advertiser. Review first and last shown dates. Track repeated creative themes. Use images in a swipe-file workflow. ### Compliance workflows Use advertiser IDs and ad IDs as durable references. Store `snapshotUrl` for audit trails. Run consistent country-specific searches. Export results as CSV for review teams. Keep run logs and datasets for reproducibility. ### Integrations You can connect this actor to: - Google Sheets for analyst review - Slack alerts through Apify webhooks - BigQuery or Snowflake for historical analysis - Make or Zapier workflows - Internal dashboards through the Apify API - Scheduled Apify tasks for recurring monitoring ### API usage with Node.js ```js import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN }); const run = await client.actor('/google-ads-transparency-scraper').call({ queries: ['Nike, Inc.'], country: 'US', maxResultsPerQuery: 25 }); console.log(run.defaultDatasetId); ``` ### API usage with Python ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient client = ApifyClient('MY-APIFY-TOKEN') run = client.actor('/google-ads-transparency-scraper').call(run_input={ 'queries': ['Nike, Inc.'], 'country': 'US', 'maxResultsPerQuery': 25, }) print(run['defaultDatasetId']) ``` ### API usage with cURL ```bash curl -X POST 'https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/~google-ads-transparency-scraper/runs?token=MY-APIFY-TOKEN' \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -d '{"queries":["Nike, Inc."],"country":"US","maxResultsPerQuery":25}' ``` ### MCP usage Use Apify MCP with Claude Code or Claude Desktop to run the actor from natural-language prompts. MCP URL: `https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=/google-ads-transparency-scraper` Claude Code setup: ```bash claude mcp add apify-google-ads-transparency https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=/google-ads-transparency-scraper ``` Claude Desktop JSON config: ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify-google-ads-transparency": { "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=/google-ads-transparency-scraper" } } } ``` Example prompts: - "Run Google Ads Transparency Scraper for Nike in the US and summarize the newest ads." - "Collect 50 Apple ads in GB and export the image URLs." - "Compare ad IDs from my last two Google Ads Transparency datasets." ### Data freshness The actor collects data currently exposed by Google Ads Transparency Center. Availability can vary by advertiser, country, region, ad format, and Google's public retention rules. Some ads may have images only. Some text ads may expose more copy than image ads. ### Limits The actor can only collect public data that the Transparency Center returns. It does not log in. It does not collect private campaign manager data. It does not bypass account permissions. It may return fewer ads than requested when the source has fewer public results. ### FAQ #### Can I scrape private Google Ads account data? No. The actor only collects public records exposed by Google Ads Transparency Center. #### Does it support multiple countries? Yes. Run separate tasks for each country code when you need country-specific monitoring. #### Should I enable ad details? Enable details when you want more media URLs. Disable it for faster discovery runs. ### Troubleshooting #### Why did my query return no ads? Try the exact advertiser name, a broader brand name, or another country. Some advertisers do not have public ads in every region. #### Why are some text fields empty? Some public creative records expose only media previews and dates. Image-only creatives may not include readable ad copy. #### Why are platform fields empty? Google's public response does not always expose stable platform labels for every creative. The actor preserves requested platform hints and returns platform labels when available. ### Legality and ethical use This actor collects public transparency data. Use it responsibly. Respect Apify terms, Google terms, privacy rules, and local laws. Do not use the data for harassment, discrimination, or misleading claims. ### Related scrapers You may also find these actors useful: - https://apify.com/\/google-maps-reviews-scraper - https://apify.com/\/google-news-scraper - https://apify.com/\/bing-search-results-scraper - https://apify.com/\/web-page-to-markdown-extractor ### Changelog Initial version extracts public advertiser ad creatives, IDs, media URLs, shown dates, and snapshot links from Google Ads Transparency Center. ### Support If a run fails, include the run ID, input, and expected advertiser or country in your support request. Small reproducible inputs are easiest to debug. ### Summary Google Ads Transparency Scraper helps turn public ad-library searches into structured datasets. Use it for competitor monitoring, creative research, compliance checks, and recurring public-ad intelligence. # Actor input Schema ## `queries` (type: `array`): Advertiser names, brand names, domains, or keywords to search in Google Ads Transparency Center. ## `country` (type: `string`): Two-letter country code for the ads region. Common values: US, GB, CA, AU, DE, FR, IT, ES, IN, BR, MX. ## `platforms` (type: `array`): Optional platform labels to record with the run, such as Google Search, YouTube, Display, or Shopping. The first version extracts all public ads returned by the source. ## `dateFrom` (type: `string`): Optional ISO date. Ads last shown before this date are skipped. ## `dateTo` (type: `string`): Optional ISO date. Ads first shown after this date are skipped. ## `maxResultsPerQuery` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of ad records to save for each query. ## `includeAdDetails` (type: `boolean`): Fetch each creative detail page through the public RPC to collect additional media and preview URLs. ## Actor input object example ```json { "queries": [ "Nike, Inc." ], "country": "US", "platforms": [], "maxResultsPerQuery": 10, "includeAdDetails": true } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `overview` (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 '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "queries": [ "Nike, Inc." ], "country": "US", "platforms": [], "maxResultsPerQuery": 10 }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("fetch_cat/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(`๐Ÿ’พ 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); }); // ๐Ÿ“š Want to learn more ๐Ÿ“–? Go to โ†’ 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, Inc."], "country": "US", "platforms": [], "maxResultsPerQuery": 10, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("fetch_cat/google-ads-transparency-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("๐Ÿ’พ Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # ๐Ÿ“š Want to learn more ๐Ÿ“–? Go to โ†’ https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "queries": [ "Nike, Inc." ], "country": "US", "platforms": [], "maxResultsPerQuery": 10 }' | apify call fetch_cat/google-ads-transparency-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch_cat/google-ads-transparency-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Google Ads Transparency Scraper", "description": "Scrape public Google Ads Transparency Center ads by advertiser, keyword, country, and date range. Export ad IDs, advertisers, media URLs, and shown dates.", "version": "0.1", "x-build-id": "OWZzMPXBPKKwwu8mc" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/fetch_cat~google-ads-transparency-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-fetch_cat-google-ads-transparency-scraper", "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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/fetch_cat~google-ads-transparency-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-fetch_cat-google-ads-transparency-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/fetch_cat~google-ads-transparency-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-fetch_cat-google-ads-transparency-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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", "required": [ "queries" ], "properties": { "queries": { "title": "Advertisers, domains, or keywords", "type": "array", "description": "Advertiser names, brand names, domains, or keywords to search in Google Ads Transparency Center.", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "country": { "title": "Country", "type": "string", "description": "Two-letter country code for the ads region. Common values: US, GB, CA, AU, DE, FR, IT, ES, IN, BR, MX.", "default": "US" }, "platforms": { "title": "Platform hints", "type": "array", "description": "Optional platform labels to record with the run, such as Google Search, YouTube, Display, or Shopping. The first version extracts all public ads returned by the source.", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "dateFrom": { "title": "First date", "type": "string", "description": "Optional ISO date. Ads last shown before this date are skipped." }, "dateTo": { "title": "Last date", "type": "string", "description": "Optional ISO date. Ads first shown after this date are skipped." }, "maxResultsPerQuery": { "title": "Maximum ads per query", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 1000, "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of ad records to save for each query.", "default": 20 }, "includeAdDetails": { "title": "Include ad details", "type": "boolean", "description": "Fetch each creative detail page through the public RPC to collect additional media and preview URLs.", "default": true } } }, "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 } } } } } } } } } } ```