# Google Ads Transparency Scraper: Competitor Ads by Domain (`joesimo/google-ads-transparency`) Actor See every ad a company runs on Google Search, YouTube, Maps, Play and Shopping. Enter a domain, brand or advertiser ID and get each ad with format, first and last shown dates, days running, image and preview links. No login. Failed searches are free. - **URL**: https://apify.com/joesimo/google-ads-transparency.md - **Developed by:** [Joe Simo](https://apify.com/joesimo) (community) - **Categories:** Lead generation, SEO tools - **Security:** Limited permissions - **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: every ad a competitor runs on Google **Enter a domain, brand or advertiser ID, get back every ad it runs on Google** as clean rows: advertiser, format (text, image or video), first and last date shown, days running, the image file, and a link to the ad on Google's Ads Transparency Center. Filter by country, format and date. No login and no Google account needed. - **$1.50 per 1,000 ads, failures free:** searches with no ads, names that match nothing and rate limited requests are saved as free status rows. - **Small and fast:** plain HTTP, no browser, 256 MB. 180 ads from 4 searches took 22 seconds in the Apify cloud. - **Countries per ad:** turn on `includeDetails` to see each country where an ad ran and the last day it showed there. ### Quick start 1. Click **Try for free**, keep the prefilled `nike.com` (or type your own domains) and press **Start**. 2. Or call the API with an empty input `{}`. It runs this demo: ```json { "searchTerms": ["nike.com"], "maxAdsPerSearch": 20 } ``` This run took 2 to 24 seconds in the Apify cloud on Nov 2, 2026 (longer when Google asks it to wait) and saved 20 ads, so it costs 20 x $0.0015 = $0.03. One of the 20 rows, unchanged: ```json { "input": "nike.com", "searchType": "domain", "region": "anywhere", "status": "ok", "advertiserId": "AR16735076323512287233", "advertiserName": "Nike, Inc.", "creativeId": "CR07029240405455536129", "format": "image", "domain": "nike.com", "firstShown": "2023-11-17T01:40:36.000Z", "lastShown": "2026-11-02T13:08:07.000Z", "daysShown": 910, "imageUrl": "https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/archive/simgad/15021727421720982075", "previewUrl": null, "adUrl": "https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR16735076323512287233/creative/CR07029240405455536129?region=anywhere", "scrapedAt": "2026-11-02T13:45:10.721Z" } ``` On the same day a run with 4 searches in the US (nike.com, the brand name "Adidas", Nike's advertiser ID and a pasted Ads Transparency URL for hubspot.com), 60 ads each and only ads shown in the last 30 days, saved 180 ads in 22 seconds: 152 image, 23 video and 5 text ads. Platform cost for that run was $0.0012. ### Pricing | Event | Price | When | |---|---|---| | Ad | $0.0015 ($1.50 per 1,000) | One ad saved with `status: ok` | | Ad with countries | $0.0025 ($2.50 per 1,000) | One ad saved with `includeDetails` on (adds countries and variation count) | Cost examples: 100 ads of one competitor cost $0.15. Weekly tracking of 10 competitors at 200 ads each is 2,000 ads, $3.00 a week. Apify platform usage is included in these prices. Rows with status `no_ads`, `no_match`, `rate_limited` or `failed` are free. The run stops cleanly at the maximum cost per run you set. ### Use cases - **Competitor ad research:** see every creative a rival runs, how long each one has been live, and which formats they use. - **Creative inspiration:** ads that have run for hundreds of days are the ones that keep paying for themselves. - **Agency pitches and audits:** pull a prospect's Google ads before the first call. - **Market and country checks:** with `includeDetails`, see in which countries a brand advertises each ad. - **Monitoring:** schedule a daily run with `shownAfter: "1 day"` to get only ads seen since yesterday. - **Lead lists for ad agencies:** find the verified advertiser names behind the domains in your market. ### Example inputs Copy one of these into the **JSON** tab of the input form. **1. All ads of 3 competitors shown in the US in the last 30 days.** ```json { "searchTerms": ["hubspot.com", "salesforce.com", "pipedrive.com"], "region": "US", "shownAfter": "30 days", "maxAdsPerSearch": 200 } ``` **2. Video ads only, by brand name.** A name is matched to its .com domain, or to the advertisers with that name (those in your region first). ```json { "searchTerms": ["Adidas"], "region": "US", "adFormat": "video" } ``` **3. Image ads in the UK with the countries each ad ran in.** ```json { "searchTerms": ["shopify.com"], "region": "GB", "adFormat": "image", "includeDetails": true, "maxAdsPerSearch": 50 } ``` **4. Paste links from the Ads Transparency Center.** Advertiser pages and domain searches work, and their `region` and `format` are kept. ```json { "searchTerms": [ "https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR16735076323512287233?region=US", "https://adstransparency.google.com/?region=anywhere&domain=hubspot.com" ] } ``` ### Input | Field | Description | |---|---| | `searchTerms` | Domains (`nike.com`), advertiser IDs (`AR...`), brand or advertiser names, or Ads Transparency Center URLs. One search each. | | `region` | 2 letter country code where the ads were shown (US, GB, DE...). Empty means anywhere. | | `adFormat` | `all` (default), `text`, `image` or `video`. | | `maxAdsPerSearch` | Ads per search (default 40; the empty input demo uses 20). | | `maxItems` | Stop after this many ads in total (0 = no limit). | | `shownAfter` | Only ads still shown on or after this date. `2026-10-01` or relative like `30 days`, `6 months`. | | `shownBefore` | Only ads first shown on or before this date. | | `includeDetails` | Add countries shown and variation count (one extra request per ad, billed as Ad with countries). | | `maxAdvertisersPerName` | When a name matches no .com domain, how many matching advertisers to search (default 3). | | `requestDelayMs` | Wait between requests (default 2,500 ms). | | `maxRetries` | Retries after a rate limit or network error (default 5). | | `proxyConfiguration` | Optional Apify Proxy. Off by default. | ### Output One dataset row per ad, plus one free row for each search that found nothing or failed. The **Ads** view in the Console shows the image right in the table. Fields: - `advertiserId`, `advertiserName`: the verified advertiser behind the ad. - `creativeId`, `adUrl`: the ad's ID and its page on adstransparency.google.com. - `format`: `text`, `image` or `video`. `domain`: the site the ad points to. - `firstShown`, `lastShown`, `daysShown`: how long the ad has been running. - `imageUrl`: the image file for image ads (171 of 190 image ads in our tests; the rest are HTML5 ads with only a `previewUrl`). - `previewUrl`: the script Google uses to render text and video ads. - `regionsShown`, `variations` (with `includeDetails`): for example `[{"country": "GB", "countryName": "United Kingdom", "lastShown": "2026-11-02"}, ...]`. - `input`, `searchType`, `region`, `matchedBy` (for names), `status`, `error`, `scrapedAt`. The `OUTPUT` record of each run has a summary: ads saved, status per search, requests, retries and rate limits. ### Use with the API, Make, Zapier or n8n ```bash curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/joesimo~google-ads-transparency/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"searchTerms": ["hubspot.com"], "region": "US", "maxAdsPerSearch": 100}' ``` The response is the list of ads. The Actor also works from Make, Zapier and n8n through their Apify integrations, and as a tool through the Apify MCP server. ### FAQ **Is a domain or a name better?** A domain. It returns ads from every advertiser account that points to that site, for example both Nike, Inc. and Nike Retail BV for nike.com. Names match many small unrelated advertisers, so the Actor uses the .com domain when Google lists one and tells you what it matched in `matchedBy`. **Do I pay for searches with no ads?** No. A search with no ads, a name with no match, and a search that Google rate limited after all retries each give one free status row. **Does it need a proxy?** Not in our tests. In 6 runs from the Apify cloud on Nov 2, 2026 (28 requests, no proxy), 2 requests got HTTP 429 and both went through on the next retries. The Actor waits 2.5 seconds between requests and backs off on HTTP 429, so a rate limit makes a run slower, not more expensive. If you see `rate_limited` rows, raise `requestDelayMs` or turn on a proxy. **How far back does the data go?** As far as the Ads Transparency Center shows, which for big advertisers is several years (the example row above ran for 910 days). **Can I get the ad text?** Text and video ads come with `previewUrl`, the script Google uses to draw the ad. Opening the `adUrl` shows the ad as Google renders it. ### Honest limits - **No platform filter yet** (Search, YouTube, Maps, Play, Shopping). Format, region and dates are supported. - **Date filters are applied to the first and last shown dates** after each page is fetched, so a narrow window can scan a few extra pages (free for you, not billed). - **HTML5 image ads have no direct image file,** only `previewUrl`. - **No login, no captcha solving.** If Google blocks requests, the search is saved as `rate_limited` for free. ### Responsible use The Ads Transparency Center is public data that Google publishes so anyone can see who advertises what. Use it for research and analysis, and follow Google's terms when you reuse ad creatives, which belong to their advertisers. ### Support Missing a field or a filter? Open an issue on the Actor's Issues tab. Contact: joesimo@mail.grokbot.com More examples and the docs for all 8 of our Actors: [github.com/Joe-Simo/apify-actors](https://github.com/Joe-Simo/apify-actors/tree/main/google-ads-transparency). Not affiliated with Google. Store page: https://apify.com/joesimo/google-ads-transparency # Actor input Schema ## `searchTerms` (type: `array`): One per line. A website domain (nike.com) gives the most complete results. Also accepts advertiser IDs (AR...), advertiser or brand names, and Ads Transparency Center URLs (advertiser pages or ?domain= searches). Leave empty for a demo run on nike.com. ## `region` (type: `string`): 2 letter country code where the ads were shown, such as US, GB or DE. Leave empty for anywhere. ## `adFormat` (type: `string`): Only ads of this format. ## `maxAdsPerSearch` (type: `integer`): Ads saved for each domain, brand or advertiser. The demo run uses 20. ## `maxItems` (type: `integer`): Stop after this many ads across all searches. 0 means no limit (Maximum cost per run still applies). ## `shownAfter` (type: `string`): Only ads still shown on or after this date. YYYY-MM-DD or relative, such as 30 days or 6 months. ## `shownBefore` (type: `string`): Only ads first shown on or before this date. YYYY-MM-DD or relative. ## `includeDetails` (type: `boolean`): Adds the list of countries where each ad ran and its number of variations. One extra request per ad, billed as an ad with details. ## `maxAdvertisersPerName` (type: `integer`): When a plain name matches no domain, how many matching advertisers to search. ## `requestDelayMs` (type: `integer`): Google rate limits fast clients. Raise this if you see rate_limited rows. ## `maxRetries` (type: `integer`): Retries with growing waits after a rate limit or network error. ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): Optional. Off by default. Turn on if your runs get rate limited. ## Actor input object example ```json { "searchTerms": [ "nike.com" ], "region": "", "adFormat": "all", "maxAdsPerSearch": 40, "maxItems": 0, "shownAfter": "", "shownBefore": "", "includeDetails": false, "maxAdvertisersPerName": 3, "requestDelayMs": 2500, "maxRetries": 5, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": false } } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `results` (type: `string`): One item per ad, plus one free row for each search with no ads or an error. ## `runSummary` (type: `string`): JSON summary: ads saved, per search status, requests, retries and rate limits. # 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 = { "searchTerms": [ "nike.com" ] }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("joesimo/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 = { "searchTerms": ["nike.com"] } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("joesimo/google-ads-transparency").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 '{ "searchTerms": [ "nike.com" ] }' | apify call joesimo/google-ads-transparency --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "type": "http", "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,joesimo/google-ads-transparency" } } } ``` 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 ` 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/hH37ryDcLsIqtSiAT/builds/0ByiXhLdQWZ1BBaeg/openapi.json