Google Ads Scraper

Google Ads Scraper

Google Ads Scraper is an Apify actor that collects public ad creative metadata from the Google Ads Transparency portal by advertiser. It solves the manual, time-consuming task of gathering creatives, regions, and run dates by automating extraction into structured datasets—making it a practical Google Ads scraper tool and Google Ads data extractor for PPC research. Built for marketers, developers, analysts, and researchers, this PPC ad scraper for Google scales from one-off checks to bulk advertiser monitoring with reliable proxy handling and pagination. Use it as a Google AdWords scraper or Google Ads competitor analysis tool to power repeatable insights and automation at scale.

What data / output can you get?

Get structured, per-creative JSON records with regional coverage and timestamps.

Data type	Description	Example value
adLibraryUrl	Direct link to the creative in Google Ads Transparency	https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR04619580580634296321/creative/123456789
advertiserId	Unique advertiser identifier	AR04619580580634296321
advertiserName	Name of the advertising company (when available)	Example Advertising Company
creativeId	Unique ad creative identifier	123456789
creativeRegions	Sorted list of country/territory names where the ad was shown	["Canada", "United Kingdom", "United States"]
firstShown	First display date (YYYY-MM-DD, earliest across regions)	2024-01-15
format	Creative format label mapped from source (IMAGE, VIDEO, or UNKNOWN)	IMAGE
lastShown	Last display timestamp (ISO 8601, latest across regions)	2024-11-20T10:30:45Z
previewUrl	Direct link to the creative preview asset (when available)	https://example.com/ad-image.jpg
regionStats	Array of per-region stats (code, name, dates, impression bounds)	[{"regionCode":"US","regionName":"United States","firstShown":"2024-01-15","lastShown":"2024-11-20","impressions":{"lowerBound":0,"upperBound":1000}}]

Notes:

• format may return UNKNOWN for unmapped types.
• previewUrl may be null when the source does not expose a preview.
• Export results to JSON or CSV directly from the Apify dataset.

Key features

• ⚡ Robust pagination & de-duplication: Collects creatives page by page with a token, deduplicates by creativeId, and consolidates regional stats into clean per-creative records.
• 🧭 Region & date awareness: Honors region and preset-date hints included in advertiser URL queries (e.g., ?region=US, ?preset-date=Last+30+days) for targeted extraction windows.
• 💾 Live dataset writes: Saves creatives to the Apify dataset as they’re extracted to protect against long-run interruptions and data loss.
• 🛡️ Smart proxy fallback: Starts direct, then automatically falls back to Apify datacenter (“GOOGLESERP”) and residential proxies if blocking is detected.
• 📦 Structured outputs for analysis: Clean JSON fields (adLibraryUrl, advertiserId, advertiserName, creativeId, format, dates, regions, regionStats) ready for BI tools and pipelines.
• 🧑‍💻 Developer-friendly on Apify: Built with the Apify Python SDK and aiohttp for reliability—use it as a Google Ads scraping API alternative in your workflows.
• 🔁 Production-ready logging: Rich logs for each advertiser (attempts, pages, items added) plus a final dataset verification step for confidence in results.

How to use Google Ads Scraper - step by step

1. Sign in to your Apify account and open the Apify Console.
2. Find “google-ads-scraper” in the Actors section and open it.
3. In Input, add advertiser sources in startUrls:
   • Full advertiser URLs like https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR04619580580634296321
   • Advertiser IDs (e.g., AR04619580580634296321). The actor converts IDs to URLs automatically.
   • Tip: You can append query parameters like ?region=US or ?preset-date=Last+30+days to control scope.
4. Set maxItems to cap how many creatives to collect per advertiser (1–1000; default 100).
5. Configure proxyConfiguration if needed. By default, the actor starts with no proxy and will automatically fall back to Apify datacenter then residential proxies if blocking occurs.
6. Click Start to run. You’ll see progress logs by advertiser, page, and items collected.
7. When finished, open the Dataset tab to view and download your results as JSON or CSV.
8. Pro Tip: For regional snapshots, include region in your input URLs (e.g., ?region=GB). For recent activity, use preset-date=Last+30+days or Last+7+days to focus on fresh creatives.

Use cases

Use case name	Description
PPC competitor flighting analysis	Map when competitors’ creatives were first/last shown and where to understand cadence and market presence.
Regional targeting intelligence	Compare creative distribution across countries using creativeRegions and regionStats for geo coverage insights.
Creative asset cataloging	Build an index of IMAGE/VIDEO creatives per advertiser with preview references for internal reviews.
Compliance and transparency monitoring	Track public transparency records for brands, dates, and regions to support regulatory oversight.
Market trend tracking	Aggregate creatives over time to observe shifts in formats and active markets at a glance.
Data pipeline enrichment (API)	Use the Apify dataset API to feed structured outputs into dashboards, BI tools, or internal analytics.

Why choose Google Ads Scraper?

Google Ads Scraper focuses on precision, reliability, and structured outputs from the official transparency portal.

• 🎯 Accurate consolidation: Merges per-region entries into single, clean creative records with earliest firstShown and latest lastShown values.
• 🌍 Region- and date-aware: Respects region and preset-date parameters in input URLs to scope time windows and locales.
• 📈 Scales with pagination: Handles multi-page results per advertiser with de-duplication and rate limits for stability.
• 🧰 Developer-ready: Works seamlessly within the Apify platform for automated exports and downstream integrations.
• 🛡️ Safer than browser hacks: Avoids brittle extensions or manual copy/paste by calling the transparency RPC with resilient fallbacks.
• 💾 Live-save reliability: Pushes data to the dataset as it’s extracted, reducing the risk of data loss mid-run.
• 🔌 Flexible PPC workflows: A practical Google Ads scraper tool for analysis pipelines without relying on the Google Ads API.

Is it legal / ethical to use Google Ads Scraper?

Yes—when done responsibly. This actor pulls publicly available data from the Google Ads Transparency portal and does not access private or authenticated content.

Guidelines for responsible use:

• Only use data from publicly accessible sources.
• Comply with applicable laws and regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA) in your jurisdiction.
• Review and respect the terms of service of data sources.
• Do not use the data for abusive or unlawful activities.
• Consult your legal team for edge cases or sensitive use scenarios.

Input parameters & output format

Example JSON input

{
  "startUrls": [
    "https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR04619580580634296321?region=anywhere",
    "AR04619580580634296321",
    "https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR01234567890123456789?preset-date=Last+30+days&region=US"
  ],
  "maxItems": 100,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
startUrls	array of strings	Yes	—	List one or more Google Ads transparency URLs (e.g., https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR...), advertiser IDs (e.g., AR04619580580634296321), or keywords for searching advertisers. Note: The current implementation skips keyword inputs and only processes advertiser URLs and IDs.
maxItems	integer	No	100	Maximum number of ad creatives to scrape per advertiser (1–1000).
proxyConfiguration	object	No	Not set (UI prefill sets useApifyProxy: false)	Configure proxy settings for reliable scraping. If blocked, the actor will automatically fall back to datacenter then residential proxies.

Notes:

• Region targeting and date presets can be passed via URL query parameters (e.g., ?region=US, ?preset-date=Last+30+days).
• If no preset-date is provided, the scraper defaults to the last 365 days.

Example JSON output

[
  {
    "adLibraryUrl": "https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR04619580580634296321/creative/123456789",
    "advertiserId": "AR04619580580634296321",
    "advertiserName": "Example Advertising Company",
    "creativeId": "123456789",
    "creativeRegions": ["Canada", "United Kingdom", "United States"],
    "firstShown": "2024-01-15",
    "format": "IMAGE",
    "lastShown": "2024-11-20T10:30:45Z",
    "previewUrl": "https://example.com/ad-image.jpg",
    "regionStats": [
      {
        "regionCode": "US",
        "regionName": "United States",
        "firstShown": "2024-01-15",
        "lastShown": "2024-11-20",
        "impressions": {
          "lowerBound": 0,
          "upperBound": 1000
        }
      }
    ]
  }
]

Which fields may be unknown:

• format can be "UNKNOWN" if the underlying type is unmapped.
• previewUrl can be null if a preview is not exposed in the source.
• firstShown/lastShown can be null if the timestamps are missing in the response.
• advertiserName may be absent for some records.

FAQ

Do I need to log in or provide credentials?

No. The actor accesses publicly available endpoints of the Google Ads Transparency portal and does not require authentication or cookies.

Can I input keywords instead of advertiser URLs or IDs?

Not at this time. While the input schema references keywords, the current implementation skips keyword inputs and only processes advertiser URLs and AR-prefixed advertiser IDs.

Can I filter by region or date range?

Yes. Include region and preset-date parameters in the advertiser URL, for example: ?region=US and/or ?preset-date=Last+30+days, Last+7+days, Last+90+days, or Last+365+days. If omitted, the scraper defaults to the last 365 days.

What data types does the actor return?

Each record contains adLibraryUrl, advertiserId, advertiserName (when available), creativeId, creativeRegions, firstShown, format, lastShown, previewUrl (when available), and regionStats with per-region impression bounds.

How many advertisers can I scrape in one run?

You can provide multiple advertiser URLs/IDs in startUrls. The actor processes them sequentially, applying maxItems per advertiser to cap how many creatives are collected.

What proxy options are available and how are they used?

The actor starts with a direct connection. If blocking is detected, it falls back to Apify datacenter proxies (GOOGLESERP group), and if needed, to Apify residential proxies. You can adjust proxyConfiguration in the input.

Is there a free trial?

Apify plans often include trial minutes for testing. This actor’s listing specifies 120 trial minutes in its pricing info, so you can validate performance before committing.

Is this a SERP ads scraper or a Shopping/YouTube/display ads scraper?

This tool targets the Google Ads Transparency portal and extracts creatives and metadata exposed there. It is not a direct SERP ads scraper for Google, Google Shopping ads scraper, YouTube ads scraper, or Google display ads scraper.

Closing CTA / Final thoughts

Google Ads Scraper is built to extract structured creatives, regions, and run dates from the Google Ads Transparency portal at scale. With live dataset writes, automatic proxy fallback, and clean JSON outputs, it enables marketers, analysts, and developers to run PPC audits, regional analyses, and competitor monitoring reliably. Use it as a Google Ads spy tool alternative within the Apify platform and dataset API integrations. Start extracting smarter, reproducible transparency insights for your PPC workflows today.