# Google Ads Transparency Scraper: Competitor Ads & Videos (`ksvan/google-ads-transparency-scraper`) Actor Every Google ad an advertiser or domain runs: text, image and YouTube video ads with first and last shown dates, days running, preview images, YouTube links and countries. Search by brand, advertiser ID or domain. Fast HTTP, no browser. - **URL**: https://apify.com/ksvan/google-ads-transparency-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [K.S. Van](https://apify.com/ksvan) (community) - **Categories:** SEO tools, E-commerce - **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: Competitor Ads & Videos See **every ad a competitor runs on Google** (Search, YouTube, Display, Shopping) straight from the public [Google Ads Transparency Center](https://adstransparency.google.com). Search by brand name, advertiser ID or website domain, pick a country, and get a clean table of ads with dates, formats, preview images and YouTube links. Fast HTTP requests, no browser, no login. ### What you get | Field | Details | |---|---| | Advertiser | Verified advertiser name and ID | | Format | `TEXT`, `IMAGE` or `VIDEO` | | Dates | First shown, last shown, number of days the ad has run | | Preview | Image URL of the ad, plus the preview link | | YouTube | Video ID and URL for video ads (found for most video ads; a few use players without a public YouTube ID) | | Countries | Every country where the ad ran (with **Ad details**) | | Variations | All creative variations of an ad (with **Ad details**) | | Link | Direct link to the ad in the Transparency Center | ### Use cases - **Competitor research**: what ads does a rival run right now, and which ones have run the longest (long-running ads are usually the winners)? - **Creative inspiration**: collect video and image ads in your niche. - **Agency reporting and pitches**: show a prospect their competitors' Google ads. - **Market monitoring**: run daily and track new ads by date. - **AI agents**: give an LLM a list of a brand's current ads via the Apify MCP server. ### Input example ```json { "searchTerms": ["canva.com", "Nike", "AR16735076323512287233"], "region": "US", "maxAdsPerSearch": 100, "formats": ["VIDEO"], "lastShownAfter": "2026-09-01" } ``` - **Domain** (e.g. `canva.com`): every advertiser running ads for that site. - **Name** (e.g. `Nike`): the largest matching verified advertiser (turn on *All advertisers matching a name* to get all of them). - **Advertiser ID** (`AR...`, from the advertiser's page URL in the Transparency Center): exactly that advertiser. ### Output example ```json { "searchTerm": "Nike", "matchedAdvertiser": "Nike, Inc. (AR16735076323512287233)", "region": "US", "advertiserId": "AR16735076323512287233", "advertiserName": "Nike, Inc.", "creativeId": "CR12912096555766382593", "format": "VIDEO", "firstShown": "2026-08-14T09:21:10+00:00", "lastShown": "2026-10-16T22:40:27+00:00", "daysShown": 63, "imageUrl": null, "previewUrl": "https://displayads-formats.googleusercontent.com/ads/preview/content.js?...", "videoId": "DoRW0Op9Lmk", "videoUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoRW0Op9Lmk", "adUrl": "https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR16735076323512287233/creative/CR12912096555766382593?region=US", "totalAdsEstimate": "10000", "scrapedAt": "2026-10-17T08:00:00+00:00" } ``` ### Pricing Pay per result, no start fee: - **$0.0015 per ad** ($1.50 per 1,000 ads) - **$0.0025 per ad with details** (variations and countries), when *Ad details* is on Searches that find nothing and failed requests are free. ### Tips - Sort by `daysShown` to find the ads a competitor keeps paying for. - Use **Shown after** to get only ads that are live or recent. - Pick **Ad formats** (for example only Video) to skip thousands of text ads; the filter runs on Google's side, so it stays fast and cheap. - Big brands have 10,000+ ads. Keep **Max ads** at a few hundred unless you need everything. - Text ads are returned as preview images, the same way Google shows them in the Transparency Center. ### FAQ **Is this legal?** The Ads Transparency Center is a public database Google publishes so that anyone can see who is advertising. The Actor reads the same public data you see in your browser. **Why does a name return a different company?** Names are matched against Google's verified advertiser names. Use the advertiser ID or the domain for exact results. **Something broke or you need a feature?** Open an issue on the Actor page. # Actor input Schema ## `searchTerms` (type: `array`): One per line: an advertiser name (e.g. Nike), an advertiser ID from the Ads Transparency Center (AR...), or a website domain (e.g. canva.com). Domains return every advertiser that runs ads for that site. ## `region` (type: `string`): Where the ads were shown. Choose 'anywhere' for all countries. ## `maxAdsPerSearch` (type: `integer`): 0 = no limit (large advertisers can have 10,000+ ads). When you pick ad formats, the limit applies to each format. ## `formats` (type: `array`): Leave empty for all formats. Filtering happens on Google's side, so a video-only search is fast even for advertisers with thousands of text ads. ## `lastShownAfter` (type: `string`): Keep only ads last shown on or after this date (YYYY-MM-DD). ## `extractVideoIds` (type: `boolean`): Find the YouTube video ID and URL of every video ad. ## `includeDetails` (type: `boolean`): Also collect every creative variation and the list of countries where the ad ran. One extra request per ad, billed as an ad with details. ## `allMatchingAdvertisers` (type: `boolean`): For names, scrape every matching advertiser instead of only the largest one. ## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`): Parallel requests. ## `maxRetries` (type: `integer`): Attempts per request, each on a new proxy IP. ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): Apify Proxy is used by default; the Actor switches to residential IPs automatically if Google starts blocking. ## Actor input object example ```json { "searchTerms": [ "canva.com", "Nike" ], "region": "US", "maxAdsPerSearch": 100, "formats": [], "lastShownAfter": "", "extractVideoIds": true, "includeDetails": false, "allMatchingAdvertisers": false, "maxConcurrency": 5, "maxRetries": 5, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true } } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `results` (type: `string`): One record per ad. # 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": [ "canva.com", "Nike" ] }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("ksvan/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 '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "searchTerms": [ "canva.com", "Nike", ] } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("ksvan/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 '{ "searchTerms": [ "canva.com", "Nike" ] }' | apify call ksvan/google-ads-transparency-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "type": "http", "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,ksvan/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 ` 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/QeDhlQhAmOG8P00Ij/builds/sGNyGkVfI4esE32VS/openapi.json