# Google Ads & Webhook Alerts (`opalescent_bird/google-ads-transparency-monitor`) Actor Track competitor Google Ads 4x cheaper and faster. Get automated webhook alerts on new launches and calculate ad longevity. - **URL**: https://apify.com/opalescent\_bird/google-ads-transparency-monitor.md - **Developed by:** [Khas-Erdene Tsogtsaikhan](https://apify.com/opalescent_bird) (community) - **Categories:** E-commerce, Lead generation, Automation - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $1.00 / 1,000 results 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/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 Competitor Monitor & Webhook Alerts An ultra-lightweight, workflow-native intelligence tool built to track competitor ad creative velocity and send real-time alerts when new creatives appear. It avoids slow, heavy browser-automation workflows and manual Ads Transparency Center checking by using list-only creative data surfaced through Google's web interface. Provide a list of Advertiser IDs (`AR...`), set a schedule, and let this actor automatically diff incoming creatives against saved baselines so your team can react when a competitor launches new creative. ### Why Use This Monitor Instead of a Standard Scraper? Standard scrapers often dump large, unstructured CSV files that require formulas or scripts to analyze. This actor functions as a scheduled competitor monitoring system designed to plug into your existing growth stack, such as Clay, n8n, Make, Slack, or Discord. | Capabilities & Workflows | Google Ads Transparency Center | Standard Scrapers | This Monitor | |---|---|---|---| | Scheduled Sweeps | Manual | Complex setup | Out-of-the-box | | Change/Delta Detection | None | Usually none | `isNewSinceLastRun` | | Webhook Alerting | None | Usually none | Instant JSON payload | | Ad Longevity Tracking | None | Usually manual | Calculated active days | | LLM-Ready Output | HTML/UI only | Often nested JSON | Structured Markdown | | Execution Speed | Manual browsing | Slow when browser-based | Lightweight HTTP requests | | Compute Run Costs | Free manual use | Often higher with browser automation | Small list-only runs | ### Key Features & Capabilities #### Automated Change Monitoring (`monitorMode`) Automatically persists baseline run states in a named key-value store. On subsequent runs, it compares the current creative catalog, detects newly launched ads, and flags them as `isNewSinceLastRun: true`. #### Direct Webhook Integrations Input an n8n, Make, Zapier, Slack, or custom webhook URL. The actor can trigger an HTTP POST payload summarizing changes only when new ads are detected, or on every successful monitor run if `notifyOnlyOnNew` is disabled. #### Computed Ad Longevity Automatically calculates the age of every creative in days (`adLongevityDays`) from `firstShown` and `lastShown`. Use it to prioritize competitors' longer-running creatives for review. #### LLM-Friendly Markdown Every creative output includes a pre-formatted Markdown summary block (`llmMarkdown`) for RAG pipelines, Claygent-style workflows, AI agents, or internal alert summaries without custom parsing. #### HTTP-First Efficiency This actor uses the same publicly accessible Ads Transparency Center data surfaced by Google's web interface, accessed through an undocumented internal JSON-RPC endpoint discovered during live testing. It is designed to stay list-only and lightweight rather than launching a browser or downloading assets. ### Honest Limitations (Read Before Running) This is a list-only creative monitor designed for fast, scheduled delta sweeps. To keep runs lightweight and reliable, the following features are intentionally out of scope: - **No Ad Copy Extraction:** It does not extract responsive text ad headlines or body descriptions in this version. - **No Destination/Landing URLs:** It does not follow redirect chains or extract final competitor landing pages. - **No Direct Asset Downloading:** It returns Google's preview URLs but does not archive raw media files locally. - **No Autocomplete Search:** You must supply verified Google Ads advertiser IDs starting with `AR...`. It does not perform domain-to-ID, keyword, or advertiser-name resolution. - **No Browser Automation:** It does not use browser rendering, stealth, CAPTCHA solving, or anti-bot bypass logic. If you need deep post-click intelligence, landing-page extraction, or raw creative file archiving, a browser-heavy database scraper may be a better fit. ### Step-by-Step Scheduled Monitoring Setup (Clay & n8n) 1. **Find your Advertiser ID:** Go to `https://adstransparency.google.com`, search your competitor, and copy the `AR...` ID from the browser URL. 2. **Build your Schedule:** In the Apify Console, go to the Schedules tab and set the actor to run daily or weekly. 3. **Configure the Input:** ```json { "advertiserIds": ["AR07085335169422327809"], "monitorMode": true, "maxAdsPerAdvertiser": 50, "minimumLongevityDays": 0, "webhookUrl": "https://your-n8n-or-make-webhook-url.com", "notifyOnlyOnNew": true } ```` 4. **Trigger Actions:** Set your downstream webhook to read the `newCount` value. If `newCount > 0`, use n8n or Make to push generated `llmMarkdown` blocks into your team's Slack, Discord, CRM, or research workflow. ### Input | Field | Type | Default | Notes | |---|---|---|---| | `advertiserIds` | string\[] | none | Required. Google Ads Transparency advertiser IDs like `AR07085335169422327809`. | | `maxAdsPerAdvertiser` | integer | `100` | Hard cap on creatives fetched per advertiser, max `10000`. | | `minimumLongevityDays` | integer | `0` | Only output records with `adLongevityDays >= minimumLongevityDays`. Monitor baselines still track all fetched creatives before filtering. | | `includePreviewUrls` | boolean | `true` | Include preview/creative URLs. Media is never downloaded. | | `monitorMode` | boolean | `false` | Compare against the previous run's stored creative IDs and flag `isNewSinceLastRun`. | | `webhookUrl` | string | none | Optional URL for monitor summary POSTs. Used only when `monitorMode` is `true`. | | `notifyOnlyOnNew` | boolean | `true` | When true, send webhook summaries only if new creatives are found. When false, send a summary every successful advertiser run. | | `debug` | boolean | `false` | Save sanitized JSON payload samples to the key-value store. | | `proxyConfiguration` | object | Apify Proxy | Standard Apify proxy input. | ### Webhook Payload Webhook payloads include up to the first 20 newly detected creatives to keep alerts small. The full dataset remains available in Apify. ```json { "event": "google_ads_new_creatives_detected", "advertiserId": "AR07085335169422327809", "advertiserName": "Apple", "previousCount": 120, "currentCount": 123, "newCount": 3, "removedCount": 0, "newCreatives": [ { "creativeId": "CR03420806151204241409", "adFormat": "video", "firstShown": "2026-04-12T15:39:25.000Z", "lastShown": "2026-06-12T18:36:54.000Z", "previewUrls": ["https://displayads-formats.googleusercontent.com/ads/preview/content.js?..."], "adDetailUrl": "https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR07085335169422327809/creative/CR03420806151204241409" } ], "runStartedAt": "2026-06-13T08:20:00.000Z", "runFinishedAt": "2026-06-13T08:20:10.000Z" } ``` ### Output One record per creative, deduplicated by `advertiserId` + `creativeId`: ```json { "advertiserId": "AR07085335169422327809", "advertiserName": "Apple", "creativeId": "CR03420806151204241409", "adId": "CR03420806151204241409", "adFormat": "video", "firstShown": "2026-04-12T15:39:25.000Z", "lastShown": "2026-06-12T18:36:54.000Z", "adLongevityDays": 62, "previewUrls": ["https://displayads-formats.googleusercontent.com/ads/preview/content.js?..."], "rawRegionMetadata": 27, "adDetailUrl": "https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR07085335169422327809/creative/CR03420806151204241409", "isNewSinceLastRun": false, "llmMarkdown": "### Apple creative CR03420806151204241409\n\n- Advertiser: Apple\n- Creative ID: CR03420806151204241409\n- Format: video\n- First shown: 2026-04-12T15:39:25.000Z\n- Last shown: 2026-06-12T18:36:54.000Z\n- Ad longevity days: 62\n- Preview URLs: https://displayads-formats.googleusercontent.com/ads/preview/content.js?...\n- Ad detail URL: https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR07085335169422327809/creative/CR03420806151204241409\n\nNote: headline, body text, landing URL, and domain are unavailable in list-only mode.", "headline": null, "bodyText": null, "landingUrl": null, "domain": null, "source": { "pageNumber": 1, "fetchedAt": "2026-06-13T08:20:00.000Z" }, "scrapedAt": "2026-06-13T08:20:00.100Z", "dataComplete": true, "errorMessage": null } ``` `adLongevityDays` is calculated from `firstShown` and `lastShown`; it is `null` if either date is invalid or the date range is invalid. `rawRegionMetadata` is the raw region/impression metadata enum from the Transparency Center payload; it is not yet normalized. If an advertiser has zero visible creatives, the actor finishes cleanly with zero records and logs a summary. HTTP errors or unexpected payload shapes emit a `dataComplete: false` error record. ### Compliance This actor accesses data visible through Google's Ads Transparency Center web interface. It relies on an undocumented internal endpoint and is intended for low-volume monitoring, research, and workflow automation. Review Google's terms and your own legal/compliance posture before production or commercial use. - Media is never downloaded; preview/media URLs are stored only as URLs. - No stealth, no anti-bot bypass, no CAPTCHA solving. # Actor input Schema ## `advertiserIds` (type: `array`): Ads Transparency advertiser IDs (e.g. AR07085335169422327809). Find them in the URL on https://adstransparency.google.com/. ## `maxAdsPerAdvertiser` (type: `integer`): Hard cap on creatives fetched per advertiser. ## `minimumLongevityDays` (type: `integer`): Only output creatives with adLongevityDays greater than or equal to this value. Monitor baselines still track all fetched creatives before filtering. ## `includePreviewUrls` (type: `boolean`): Include the ad preview/creative URLs. Media is never downloaded — only URLs. ## `monitorMode` (type: `boolean`): Compare against the previous run's stored creative IDs (per advertiser) and flag isNewSinceLastRun=true on creatives not seen before. First run creates the baseline. ## `webhookUrl` (type: `string`): Optional URL to receive monitorMode summary POSTs after each advertiser run. ## `notifyOnlyOnNew` (type: `boolean`): When true, monitorMode webhook summaries are sent only when new creatives are found. When false, a summary is sent every successful advertiser run. ## `debug` (type: `boolean`): When true, saves sanitized JSON payload samples to the key-value store. Off by default. ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): Apify proxy configuration. ## Actor input object example ```json { "advertiserIds": [ "AR07085335169422327809" ], "maxAdsPerAdvertiser": 100, "minimumLongevityDays": 0, "includePreviewUrls": true, "monitorMode": false, "notifyOnlyOnNew": true, "debug": false, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true } } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `results` (type: `string`): Creative records saved to the default dataset. # 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 = { "advertiserIds": [ "AR07085335169422327809" ] }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("opalescent_bird/google-ads-transparency-monitor").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 = { "advertiserIds": ["AR07085335169422327809"] } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("opalescent_bird/google-ads-transparency-monitor").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "advertiserIds": [ "AR07085335169422327809" ] }' | apify call opalescent_bird/google-ads-transparency-monitor --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=opalescent_bird/google-ads-transparency-monitor", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Google Ads & Webhook Alerts", "description": "Track competitor Google Ads 4x cheaper and faster. Get automated webhook alerts on new launches and calculate ad longevity.", "version": "0.1", "x-build-id": "MLYdIPMb6n5ZRe2CC" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/opalescent_bird~google-ads-transparency-monitor/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-opalescent_bird-google-ads-transparency-monitor", "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/opalescent_bird~google-ads-transparency-monitor/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-opalescent_bird-google-ads-transparency-monitor", "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/opalescent_bird~google-ads-transparency-monitor/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-opalescent_bird-google-ads-transparency-monitor", "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": [ "advertiserIds" ], "properties": { "advertiserIds": { "title": "Advertiser IDs", "type": "array", "description": "Ads Transparency advertiser IDs (e.g. AR07085335169422327809). Find them in the URL on https://adstransparency.google.com/.", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "maxAdsPerAdvertiser": { "title": "Max Ads Per Advertiser", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 10000, "type": "integer", "description": "Hard cap on creatives fetched per advertiser.", "default": 100 }, "minimumLongevityDays": { "title": "Minimum Longevity Days", "minimum": 0, "maximum": 10000, "type": "integer", "description": "Only output creatives with adLongevityDays greater than or equal to this value. Monitor baselines still track all fetched creatives before filtering.", "default": 0 }, "includePreviewUrls": { "title": "Include Preview URLs", "type": "boolean", "description": "Include the ad preview/creative URLs. Media is never downloaded — only URLs.", "default": true }, "monitorMode": { "title": "Monitor Mode (diff)", "type": "boolean", "description": "Compare against the previous run's stored creative IDs (per advertiser) and flag isNewSinceLastRun=true on creatives not seen before. First run creates the baseline.", "default": false }, "webhookUrl": { "title": "Webhook URL", "type": "string", "description": "Optional URL to receive monitorMode summary POSTs after each advertiser run." }, "notifyOnlyOnNew": { "title": "Notify Only On New Creatives", "type": "boolean", "description": "When true, monitorMode webhook summaries are sent only when new creatives are found. When false, a summary is sent every successful advertiser run.", "default": true }, "debug": { "title": "Debug mode", "type": "boolean", "description": "When true, saves sanitized JSON payload samples to the key-value store. Off by default.", "default": false }, "proxyConfiguration": { "title": "Proxy Configuration", "type": "object", "description": "Apify proxy configuration.", "default": { "useApifyProxy": 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 } } } } } } } } } } ```