Facebook Search Scraper

What is Facebook Search Scraper?

Facebook Search Scraper is an Apify Actor for keyword search across Facebook Events, Marketplace, and the Ad Library, including ads and advertisers, from one run. It accepts a plain-text keyword in query, plus optional surface-specific filters, and returns one normalized record per result. Each record can include a title, URL, image, dates, location, pricing, page details, ad creative data, and provider metadata so you can route the output into analysis, enrichment, or follow-up scraping. It is usable through Apify MCP and works without Facebook login or cookies.

Best fit and connected workflows

Use this actor when a workflow starts with a keyword and ends with a structured set of Facebook records:

• Keyword-based ad discovery in the public Ad Library, then deeper detail work with Facebook Ads Library Scraper.
• Event discovery by topic and place, then engagement review with Facebook Post Comments Scraper when a returned public URL or ID suits a comment-focused follow-up.
• Marketplace discovery anchored to a city or place, then manual review of price, delivery, and location fields.
• AI-agent workflows that need one Apify tool call to search multiple Facebook surfaces without login or cookies.

This Actor is a strong routing step when you want discovery first and detail extraction second. The output keeps the surface type explicit, which makes downstream branching straightforward.

Example scenario

Maya, a marketing analyst, starts with the keyword electric bike. She sets searchType to ads and country to US to focus the Ad Library search. The actor returns records with fields such as title, pageName, adArchiveId, isActive, startDate, ctaText, linkUrl, adText, and displayFormat.

From those fields, Maya can quickly identify which advertiser pages are active, which ad creatives mention a relevant offer, and which landing pages are tied to the ads. Her next action is to open the most relevant result in a follow-up workflow, then pass the returned URL or ID into a detail scraper.

Input fields

Field	Type	Required	Default	Purpose
query	string	Yes	-	Plain keyword to search Facebook for. Use text such as coffee festival, Nike, or electric bike.
searchType	string	No	ads	Chooses the Facebook surface: ads, advertisers, events, or marketplace.
maxResults	integer	No	50	Maximum number of results to return and charge for. Range: 1 to 500.
location	string	No	Austin, TX	Marketplace anchor place. Used only when searchType is marketplace.
country	string	No	-	Two-letter country code for Ad Library results. Used only for ads and advertisers.
adStatus	string	No	ACTIVE	Ad Library ad status filter: ACTIVE, INACTIVE, or ALL. Used only for ads.
adType	string	No	ALL	Ad Library ad type filter: ALL or POLITICAL_AND_ISSUE_ADS. Used only for ads.
fallbackProvider	string	No	auto	Provider routing: the routing options listed in the input schema.

Focused input example

{
  "query": "electric bike",
  "searchType": "ads",
  "country": "US",
  "adStatus": "ACTIVE",
  "adType": "ALL",
  "maxResults": 25,
  "fallbackProvider": "auto"
}

Output fields

Each dataset item is one search result. Fields are populated according to the surface that produced the record.

Field	Type	Meaning
searchType	string	Surface that produced the result.
resultType	string	Record kind such as event, marketplaceListing, ad, or advertiser.
query	string	Keyword used in the search.
position	integer	1-based rank in the run.
id	string or null	Facebook object ID.
url	string or null	Canonical Facebook URL.
title	string or null	Display name for the result.
imageUrl	string or null	Primary image or cover photo.
startTime	string or null	Event start time in ISO 8601 format.
startTimestamp	integer or null	Event start timestamp in seconds.
dateText	string or null	Human-readable event date text.
placeName	string or null	Event venue or place.
isOnline	boolean or null	Whether the event is online.
isPast	boolean or null	Whether the event has already happened.
interestedCount	integer or null	Event interest count.
goingCount	integer or null	Event going count.
priceText	string or null	Marketplace price or event ticket price text.
price	number or null	Marketplace numeric price.
city	string or null	Marketplace city.
state	string or null	Marketplace state or region.
locationName	string or null	Marketplace display location.
isSold	boolean or null	Marketplace sold status.
deliveryTypes	array	Marketplace delivery or pickup options.
pageName	string or null	Ad or advertiser page name.
pageId	string or null	Ad or advertiser page ID.
adArchiveId	string or null	Ad Library archive ID.
isActive	boolean or null	Whether the ad is currently running.
startDate	string or null	Ad start date in ISO 8601 format.
endDate	string or null	Ad end date in ISO 8601 format.
ctaText	string or null	Ad call-to-action label.
ctaType	string or null	Ad call-to-action type code.
linkUrl	string or null	Ad landing page URL.
adText	string or null	Primary ad copy.
displayFormat	string or null	Ad creative format.
pageCategories	array	Ad page categories.
category	string or null	Advertiser page category.
likes	integer or null	Advertiser page like count.
verification	string or null	Advertiser verification status.
igUsername	string or null	Linked Instagram username.
igFollowers	integer or null	Linked Instagram follower count.
pageAlias	string or null	Page vanity handle.
country	string or null	Advertiser page country.
scrapeSource	string	Managed provider that returned the record.
scrapedAt	string	ISO 8601 timestamp when the record was emitted.

Illustrative output record

{
  "searchType": "ads",
  "resultType": "ad",
  "query": "electric bike",
  "position": 1,
  "id": "1378176106734781",
  "adArchiveId": "1378176106734781",
  "url": "https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/?id=1378176106734781",
  "title": "Summer Sale - 40% Off E-Bikes",
  "imageUrl": "https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/example.jpg",
  "pageName": "VoltRide",
  "pageId": "119749581219299",
  "isActive": true,
  "startDate": "2026-05-01T00:00:00.000Z",
  "ctaText": "Shop now",
  "ctaType": "SHOP_NOW",
  "linkUrl": "https://voltride.com/summer",
  "adText": "Ride further for less...",
  "displayFormat": "IMAGE",
  "pageCategories": ["Sporting goods"],
  "scrapedAt": "2026-07-01T12:00:00.000Z"
}

How it works

The actor is provider-backed and cookieless. It routes each searchType to the correct managed data provider:

• ads and advertisers use the public Ad Library.
• events finds public events.
• marketplace finds for-sale listings and resolves the supplied location to coordinates.

The actor paginates until it reaches maxResults or the provider returns no more results. Output is normalized into a flat dataset schema so different surfaces can be processed together. The live contract also defines soft-fail validation, honest-fail behavior on provider outage, and safe dataset writes. Provider routing is controlled with fallbackProvider, where auto tries a primary data provider first, then a fallback provider; Events search uses the primary data provider.

Pricing

This actor uses Pay per event with Apify platform usage on top. The charging model includes a small run-start event and a per-result event for each returned search result. Open the live Pricing tab on the actor page to review the current rates before running.

As an example, a run that returns fifty results is charged as fifty result events plus the run-start event. A shorter run with ten returned results is charged for ten result events plus the run-start event.

Use with AI agents (MCP)

This Actor is usable through Apify MCP as a tool for keyword-based Facebook search. The precise tool behavior is: accept a keyword plus a Facebook surface selector, return normalized records, and preserve scrapeSource, scrapedAt, and the surface-specific fields so the agent can inspect, rank, and route results into follow-up steps.

Actor identity: khadinakbar/facebook-search-scraper

Search Facebook for the keyword "coffee festival" on the Events surface. Return up to 10 records. Summarize the most relevant fields for each result and note which returned URL or ID could be used in a follow-up workflow.

Output interpretation:

• resultType tells the agent whether the record is an event, marketplace listing, ad, or advertiser.
• scrapeSource shows which managed provider returned the item.
• position reflects rank within the run.
• url and id are the safest references for downstream steps.
• Event fields such as startTime, placeName, interestedCount, and goingCount are event-specific.
• Ad fields such as pageName, adArchiveId, ctaText, linkUrl, and displayFormat are ad-specific.
• maxResults controls how many records are paged and charged.
• If the configured route starts with the primary data provider and a different provider is needed for ads or advertisers, fallbackProvider: "auto" can route through the available managed providers. Events search uses the primary data provider.
• The normalized dataset format makes it straightforward for an agent to pick a returned url or id and continue with a downstream workflow.

Apify API example

import { ApifyClient } from "apify-client";

const client = new ApifyClient({
  token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN,
});

const input = {
  query: "electric bike",
  searchType: "ads",
  country: "US",
  maxResults: 10,
  fallbackProvider: "auto",
};

const run = await client.actor("khadinakbar/facebook-search-scraper").call(input);

const dataset = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems({ clean: true });
console.log(dataset.items);

Best results and outcome guidance

Use a plain keyword that matches the Facebook surface you want to inspect.

• For ads, pair query with country, adStatus, and adType when you want a narrower Ad Library slice.
• For events, keep the keyword close to the event topic and read startTime, dateText, placeName, and attendance counts together.
• For Marketplace, supply a real place in location so the listing search can anchor results geographically.
• For advertisers, treat pageName, category, likes, verification, igUsername, and country as the main summary fields.
• Keep maxResults aligned with the size of the workflow stage. Use a smaller number for quick discovery and a larger number when you plan to review more returned records.
• Use url or id as the handoff to downstream scrapers or manual review.

Continue the workflow

• Then use Facebook Video Downloader - Reels & MP4 Links to continue Facebook records selected with Facebook Search Scraper into a focused media workflow.
• Then use Facebook Video Transcript Extractor to continue Facebook records selected with Facebook Search Scraper into a focused media workflow.

Design note

I found that the dataset contract keeps searchType, resultType, query, position, scrapeSource, and scrapedAt as required fields. That means every emitted record carries the surface, ranking, source, and emission time even when optional surface-specific fields stay empty.

FAQ

Which Facebook surfaces does this actor search?

It searches Events, Marketplace, Ad Library ads, and Ad Library advertisers by keyword.

When should I use searchType: "ads" versus searchType: "advertisers"?

Use ads when you want individual ad creatives with copy, CTA, landing URL, and run dates. Use advertisers when you want advertiser pages with page-level metadata such as category, likes, verification, and Instagram linkage.

What should I pass in location?

Pass a city or place name such as Austin, TX or London, UK. The actor uses it to anchor Marketplace listings.

How do I route from discovery to detail scraping?

Use the returned url or id from this actor, then pass that record into a downstream workflow such as Facebook Ads Library Scraper or Facebook Post Comments Scraper when the follow-up actor accepts the returned Facebook reference.

How does fallbackProvider affect routing?

auto tries a primary data provider first, then a fallback provider for supported surfaces. You can also select one provider directly. Events search uses the primary data provider.

Responsible use

Use the actor in line with Facebook's public surface access, Apify's terms, and applicable laws. This actor works without login and targets public keyword-searchable surfaces only. Review the live Pricing tab before running larger searches, and keep maxResults sized to the actual workflow need.