# Google Ads Transparency Scraper - Ad Copy + EU Reach (`githubanassk/google-ads-transparency-scraper`) Actor

Google Ads Transparency Center API alternative: competitor ads from Search, YouTube, Shopping, Maps and Play with the real ad copy decoded (headlines, descriptions, landing pages, YouTube links), EU impressions and audience targeting, and a monitor mode for new ads.

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

## Pricing

Pay per event

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

Get any advertiser's Google ads from the [Ads Transparency Center](https://adstransparency.google.com):
Search, YouTube, Shopping, Maps and Play. Unlike scrapers that hand you a preview link, this one
**decodes the actual ad**: headlines, descriptions, call to action, display URL, landing page,
images, Shopping product titles and the YouTube link of video ads.

No login, no cookies, no browser. Type a brand name, a domain, an advertiser ID or paste any
Transparency Center URL.

### What you get

| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| `advertiserName`, `advertiserId`, `domain` | HubSpot, Inc. · AR10072600183532683265 · hubspot.com |
| `format`, `firstShown`, `lastShown`, `shownForDays` | TEXT · 2026-09-24 · 2026-10-11 · 16 |
| `headlines`, `descriptions` | "HubSpot Notetaker" · "Notetaker records, transcribes, and summarizes meetings…" |
| `callToAction`, `displayUrl`, `landingPageUrl` | Learn more · academy.hubspot.com · https://academy.hubspot.com/lessons/… |
| `businessName`, `extensions` | the advertiser name shown in the ad, sitelinks and price extensions |
| `imageUrl`, `width`, `height`, `imageUrls`, `logoUrl` | direct image links |
| `youtubeVideoId`, `youtubeUrl` | the video behind a YouTube ad |
| `adUrl` | the ad's page in the Transparency Center |
| `matchingAdsMin/Max`, `advertiserVerified` | Google's estimate of all ads matching the search, verification |

#### Full ad details (optional)

Turn on **Full ad details** to add, per ad:

- `variations`: every A/B version of the ad,
- `regionStats`: every country where the ad ran, with first and last shown dates,
- **EU reach**: impressions ranges per country and per platform (Search, YouTube, Maps…), plus totals,
- `audienceSelection`: whether the advertiser targeted by demographics, locations and contextual
  signals (included, excluded or both),
- more decoded copy: many text ads are archived as a screenshot, but one of their variations still
  carries the text, so details mode finds copy for more text ads.

### Monitor competitors

Turn on **Only new ads** and schedule the run daily or weekly. Each run returns only ads it has
not returned before for the same brand and filters, so you get a feed of a competitor's new
creatives and pay only for new ads. Use **Monitor name** to keep separate monitors.

### Input examples

```json
{ "queries": ["nike.com", "hubspot", "AR16735076323512287233"], "region": "US", "maxAdsPerTarget": 200 }
```

Only YouTube video ads shown in Germany this year, with EU reach:

```json
{ "queries": ["booking.com"], "region": "DE", "platform": "YOUTUBE", "adFormat": "VIDEO",
  "startDate": "2026-01-01", "includeDetails": true }
```

Find a brand's advertiser accounts:

```json
{ "queries": ["nike"], "resultType": "advertisers", "maxAdvertisersPerQuery": 5 }
```

### Pricing

Pay per result, no start fee:

- **Ad**: includes decoded ad copy, landing page and YouTube link.
- **Ad details**: only when Full ad details is on.
- **Advertiser**: in Advertisers mode.

Set a maximum charge per run in the run options if you want a hard cap.

### Good to know

- Google archives many Search text ads only as a screenshot. Those rows have `imageUrl`; copy
  is decoded when Google keeps the text (always for responsive display, Shopping and most video
  ads; for text ads more often with Full ad details).
- Impressions and audience selection exist only where Google publishes them (EU countries).
- Platform filters apply only to ads shown since September 2023, and ad counts are Google's
  approximate ranges.
- Data is what Google publishes in the Transparency Center at run time. This Actor is not
  affiliated with Google.

# Actor input Schema

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

Type anything: a brand name (nike), a domain (nike.com), an advertiser ID (AR16735076323512287233) or any Ads Transparency Center URL (advertiser, domain search or single ad). Brand names are matched to their real advertiser accounts, biggest first. URL filters such as ?region=GB override the filters below for that URL.

## `resultType` (type: `string`):

Ads gives one row per ad. Advertisers gives one row per advertiser account: ID, legal name, country, verification and approximate ad count.

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

Only ads shown in this country. EU countries also give impressions ranges and audience selection when 'Full ad details' is on.

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

Google applies platform filters only to ads shown since September 2023.

## `adFormat` (type: `string`):

Only text, image or video ads.

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

Only ads shown in this date range.

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

Only ads shown in this date range.

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

Stops after this many ads for each entry. Big brands have 10,000+ ads.

## `maxAdvertisersPerQuery` (type: `integer`):

A brand name can match several advertiser accounts (agencies, regional companies). 1 takes the matching account with the most ads.

## `extractAdContent` (type: `boolean`):

Read each ad's preview and return its real content: headlines, descriptions, call to action, display URL, landing page, logo and images, Shopping product titles, and the YouTube link of video ads. Included in the ad price.

## `includeDetails` (type: `boolean`):

Adds every A/B variation, all countries where the ad ran with first/last dates, impressions ranges per country and per platform (EU), and audience selection (demographics, locations, contextual signals). Also decodes copy from variations, so more text ads get their copy. Charged per ad as a separate event.

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

Return only ads not returned by earlier runs with the same entry and filters. Schedule the run daily or weekly to get a feed of a competitor's new ads. You pay only for new ads.

## `monitorName` (type: `string`):

Runs with the same name share their memory of seen ads. Use a different name for an independent monitor.

## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`):

How many requests run at once. Higher is faster; blocked requests retry on a fresh IP.

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

Google limits requests per IP; every blocked request retries on a fresh IP automatically.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "queries": [
    "nike.com",
    "hubspot"
  ],
  "resultType": "ads",
  "region": "",
  "platform": "",
  "adFormat": "",
  "maxAdsPerTarget": 100,
  "maxAdvertisersPerQuery": 1,
  "extractAdContent": true,
  "includeDetails": false,
  "onlyNewAds": false,
  "monitorName": "google-ads-transparency-monitor",
  "maxConcurrency": 20,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `overview` (type: `string`):

One row per ad: advertiser, format, decoded headlines and descriptions, landing page, image or YouTube link, run dates.

## `results` (type: `string`):

Every field, including variations, per-country reach, audience selection and advertiser rows.

# 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.com",
        "hubspot"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("githubanassk/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.com",
        "hubspot",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("githubanassk/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.com",
    "hubspot"
  ]
}' |
apify call githubanassk/google-ads-transparency-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,githubanassk/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/A5N3a0qYozzWhzAbM/builds/DhKT4vh1RBHXDiYQj/openapi.json