# Google Ads Transparency Scraper (`scrapewell/google-ads-transparency-scraper`) Actor

See every Google ad a brand runs. Search by name, domain or advertiser ID; filter by country, format and date. Get first and last shown dates, ad images and per-country impression ranges.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/scrapewell/google-ads-transparency-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Hunter](https://apify.com/scrapewell) (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

### What does Google Ads Transparency Scraper do?

It shows you **every ad a company runs on Google** (Search, YouTube, Display and Shopping), straight from the public
**Google Ads Transparency Center**. Search by **brand name, website domain or advertiser ID**, filter by
**country, format and date**, and export clean, structured rows.

- Competitor research: what a rival runs now, in which countries, and since when.
- Agency pitches and creative inspiration across text, image and video ads.
- Brand and trademark monitoring.

### What data can you extract?

| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| `advertiserName`, `advertiserId`, `domain` | Who runs the ad |
| `format` | `text`, `image` or `video` |
| `firstShown`, `lastShown` | When Google first and last showed the ad (UTC) |
| `imageUrl` | Ad image, including rendered text ads |
| `previewUrl`, `adUrl` | Google's preview and the Transparency Center page |
| `advertiserTotalAds` | Total ads Google lists for the advertiser |
| `countries` (with Ad details) | Every country the ad ran in, with first/last shown dates and Google's impression range |

Brand-name searches also return one free row per matched advertiser, with its country, verification status and
approximate ad count.

### How to use it

1. Add search terms: `Nike`, `nike.com` or `AR06641858037806006273`. Brand names match the biggest advertisers first.
2. Optionally set country, format, date range and the maximum ads per search.
3. Turn on **Ad details** for per-country dates and impression ranges.
4. Click **Start** and export JSON, CSV or Excel, or schedule it to watch competitors weekly.

### Example output

```json
{
  "type": "ad",
  "advertiserName": "Shopify Inc.",
  "domain": "shopify.com",
  "format": "image",
  "firstShown": "2026-10-09T23:59:48Z",
  "lastShown": "2026-10-29T18:30:38Z",
  "imageUrl": "https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/archive/simgad/...",
  "adUrl": "https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR.../creative/CR...",
  "countryCount": 1,
  "countries": [{ "country": "US", "firstShown": "2026-10-09", "lastShown": "2026-10-29", "impressionsLowerBound": 1000 }]
}
```

### How much does it cost?

You pay per ad, plus a small extra per ad when **Ad details** is on. Advertiser and error rows are free, and each run has a
tiny $0.00005 start charge.

### FAQ

**Where does the data come from?** Google's public Ads Transparency Center. No login or Google Ads account is needed.

**Why fewer ads than on the website for some brands?** Country and date filters apply, and Google lists some ads only
in certain regions. Try without filters first.

**Large runs?** Google rate-limits bursts; the scraper paces requests and rotates proxy sessions. The residential
proxy is recommended for big jobs.

**Need a field or found a problem?** Open an issue on the Issues tab.

# Actor input Schema

## `searchTerms` (type: `array`):

Brand name (e.g. Shopify), domain (e.g. shopify.com) or advertiser ID (e.g. AR01625195283841286145).

## `maxAdvertisersPerName` (type: `integer`):

A name like 'Nike' matches several verified advertisers. Exact name matches are taken first.

## `maxAdsPerSearch` (type: `integer`):

Stops each search term after this many ads (newest first).

## `region` (type: `string`):

Two-letter country code (e.g. US, DE). Empty = anywhere.

## `format` (type: `string`):

Only return ads of this format.

## `dateFrom` (type: `string`):

Shown on/after (YYYY-MM-DD)

## `dateTo` (type: `string`):

Shown on/before (YYYY-MM-DD)

## `includeAdDetails` (type: `boolean`):

One extra request per ad: every country the ad ran in, with first/last shown dates and Google's impression range. Charged as an extra event.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Residential proxy is recommended for big runs; Google rate-limits bursts from one IP.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchTerms": [
    "shopify.com"
  ],
  "maxAdvertisersPerName": 3,
  "maxAdsPerSearch": 100,
  "region": "",
  "format": "all",
  "includeAdDetails": false,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

All rows in the default dataset (JSON).

## `overview` (type: `string`):

The main fields as a table.

# 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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "searchTerms": [
        "shopify.com"
    ],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("scrapewell/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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "searchTerms": ["shopify.com"],
    "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": True },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("scrapewell/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": [
    "shopify.com"
  ],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}' |
apify call scrapewell/google-ads-transparency-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,scrapewell/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 <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` 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/GBq8i7ZtMB8XMPd0Q/builds/b5z8yS1JBoZyIEeiw/openapi.json