# Google Ads Transparency Scraper - Competitor Ads & Creatives (`snappytools/google-ads-transparency-scraper`) Actor Get every ad a company runs on Google Search, YouTube and Display from the Ads Transparency Center. Search by website, company name or advertiser ID. Formats, dates, images, YouTube links and optional ad text read from text-ad pictures, with a status row for every search. - **URL**: https://apify.com/snappytools/google-ads-transparency-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Snappy](https://apify.com/snappytools) (community) - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $0.70 / 1,000 ads 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, Dates & Creatives | $0.70 per 1,000 Get every ad a company is running on Google Search, YouTube, Display and Shopping, straight from Google's public Ads Transparency Center. Type a website, a company name, an advertiser ID or paste a Transparency Center link, and you get one row per ad: advertiser, format, first and last shown dates, image, a link to the ad, and optionally the ad text: the headline and description, read straight from the picture when Google only stores the ad as an image. Every search also gets a free status row that says exactly what happened: how many ads were delivered, how many Google says exist, and why if anything is missing. You only pay for ads you actually receive. A search that comes back empty, gets blocked, or only finds ads you already have costs nothing. ### Why this scraper? Most complaints about Transparency Center scrapers are about runs that "succeed" with nothing in them, or results that don't match what you see on Google's site. This one is built around those problems. | Problem | Typical scrapers | This scraper | | --- | --- | --- | | Empty results | Often an empty dataset with no explanation, sometimes still billed | A status row for every search explaining why (age-restricted ads, region, filters, no such advertiser). Empty searches are re-checked on a fresh connection before being reported, and never charged | | What to type | Often need the advertiser ID (AR...) found by hand | Websites, company names, advertiser IDs and Transparency Center links, mixed in one list | | Company name searches | Can quietly pick the wrong advertiser | The status row lists exactly which advertiser accounts were matched, with their IDs | | Large advertisers | Can stop after the first page or lose progress when Google blocks | Reads every page. If Google blocks mid-way, the same page is retried on a new IP, so nothing collected is lost | | Ads missing for some countries | Region often ignored | Country dropdown. Links with `?region=` keep their country | | Text ads saved only as pictures | Often come back with no headline or description | Optional text reader pulls the headline, description and web address out of the picture, charged only when text is found | | Monitoring competitors | Often return and charge for the same ads on every run | "Only new ads" mode remembers what you already have and only returns new ones | | One bad entry | Can crash the whole run | Each search is handled on its own. The run always finishes | ### What data you get The dataset has two kinds of rows. Use the **Ads**, **Ad text and landing pages** and **Run status** tabs in the Output to see each. | Row type | Fields | Example | | --- | --- | --- | | `ad` | `advertiserName`, `advertiserId`, `creativeId`, `format`, `firstShown`, `lastShown`, `daysShown`, `imageUrl`, `imageWidth`, `imageHeight`, `previewUrl`, `adUrl`, `advertiserUrl`, `query`, `searchedFor`, `region` | Nike, Inc., TEXT ad, first shown 2026-06-05, last shown 2026-10-14, 125 days | | `ad` (with ad text or the text reader on) | `headline`, `description`, `displayUrl`, `sitelinks`, `landingUrl`, `landingDomain`, `adTextSource` (`google` or `image`), `ocrText`, `ocrConfidence`, `youtubeVideoId`, `youtubeUrl`, `videoUrl`, `adTextFound` | Headline and description of a text ad, read from its picture, with a confidence score | | `status` (free) | `query`, `status` (`complete`, `partial`, `no data`, `failed`, `skipped`), `adsDelivered`, `googleAdCount`, `matchedAdvertisers`, `alreadySeenSkipped`, `message` | complete, 200 ads delivered, Google lists 8000-9000 | A run summary (searches by status, ads charged, whether the run stopped at your spending limit) is saved as the `OUTPUT` record in the key-value store. ### Who uses it | Who | What for | | --- | --- | | PPC and paid search agencies | See which ads and creatives competitors are running before pitching or planning a campaign | | Brand and marketing teams | Track which creatives a competitor keeps running (long-running ads are usually the ones that work) | | Brand protection | Find advertisers running ads that point to your domain | | Sales and lead generation | Check whether a prospect is currently running Google Ads, and how many ads | | Researchers and journalists | Archive what an advertiser has shown over time | ### How to use it 1. Click **Try for free**. 2. In **Websites, companies or advertiser IDs**, add one entry per line, for example `nike.com`, `Canva` or `AR16735076323512287233`. 3. Pick a **Country** if you only want ads shown there. Leave it on "Anywhere" for all countries. 4. Optionally set a format, a date range, or turn on ad text and the text reader. 5. Click **Start**. Ads appear in the Output tab as they're found. Check the **Run status** tab to see how each search went. ### Input example ```json { "queries": ["nike.com", "Canva", "AR16735076323512287233"], "region": "US", "maxAdsPerQuery": 200, "adFormat": "ALL", "shownAfter": "2026-07-01", "includeAdText": true, "readTextFromImages": true, "onlyNewAds": false } ``` #### Useful inputs - **Websites** return every ad that links to that site, which can include more than one advertiser account (regional companies, resellers). This is usually what you want for competitor research. - **Company names** are matched against Google's advertiser list by whole words, so "Canva" never picks up "Canvas". If no account has exactly that name, the company's own website is searched instead when Google suggests one. If nothing matches, you get a status row listing the closest suggestions and nothing is collected or charged. For the most complete results, search by website. - **Transparency Center links** work as they are. Copy the address bar from adstransparency.google.com. - **Read text from text ads stored as pictures** is for when you need the actual ad copy. Google keeps most text ads only as a picture, so without it those rows have an image but no words. It makes runs slower: in our tests a 30-ad search with it on took between 15 seconds and a minute and a half. - **Only new ads since my last run** is for scheduled runs. The first run returns everything; later runs return only ads you haven't received before. ### Output example Real rows from a test run (`nike.com`, any country): ```json { "type": "ad", "query": "nike.com", "advertiserName": "Nike, Inc.", "advertiserId": "AR16735076323512287233", "creativeId": "CR17065361172590493697", "format": "TEXT", "firstShown": "2026-06-05T07:00:00.000Z", "lastShown": "2026-10-14T22:26:28.000Z", "daysShown": 125, "imageUrl": "https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/archive/simgad/17845050656417904448", "imageWidth": 348, "imageHeight": 229, "adUrl": "https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR16735076323512287233/creative/CR17065361172590493697?region=anywhere", "advertiserUrl": "https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR16735076323512287233?region=anywhere", "region": "anywhere" } ``` A text ad read by the text reader (`Canva`, Australia, text reader on). Google only stores this ad as a picture: ```json { "type": "ad", "advertiserName": "Canva, Pty Ltd", "creativeId": "CR11556245749163360257", "format": "TEXT", "firstShown": "2023-07-11T10:55:04.000Z", "lastShown": "2026-10-15T07:41:21.000Z", "daysShown": 1053, "headline": "Simple, Fast And Free - Try Canva For Free", "description": "Create Social Media Designs With Heaps of Templates, Fonts, And Elements To Choose From. Choose One Of Our Professional Templates To Quickly Inspire Your...", "displayUrl": "www.canva.com/", "sitelinks": ["Canva Free", "Start Designing", "Browse Templates", "Create With Your Team on Canva"], "landingDomain": "canva.com", "adTextSource": "image", "ocrConfidence": 95, "adUrl": "https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR06374349942554624001/creative/CR11556245749163360257?region=AU" } ``` The status row from a company-name search (`Canva`, Australia): ```json { "type": "status", "query": "Canva", "status": "complete", "searchedFor": "canva.com", "adsDelivered": 50, "googleAdCount": "3000-4000", "pagesRead": 2, "message": "Delivered 50 ads. Stopped at your limit of 50 ads per search. No Google advertiser account is named exactly \"Canva\", so ads for its website canva.com were collected instead (this covers every account advertising that site)." } ``` ### Pricing $0.70 per 1,000 ads ($0.0007 per ad), plus a $0.00005 start fee per run. There's no separate platform usage charge. Status rows are free, and turning on "ad text" doesn't change the price. The optional text reader costs an extra $1 per 1,000 ads ($0.001 per ad), and only for ads where it actually read some text. Image and video ads, and pictures it couldn't read, are never charged for it. | What you run | Ads | Cost | | --- | --- | --- | | One competitor's latest ads | 100 | $0.07 | | Five competitors, 200 ads each | 1,000 | $0.70 | | Weekly check with "only new ads", 30 new ads | 30 | $0.02 | | Canva in Australia, 30 ads, text reader on (13 text ads read) | 30 | $0.021 + $0.013 = $0.034 | | 100 text ads with the text reader on (all read) | 100 | $0.07 + $0.10 = $0.17 | | A search that finds nothing | 0 | $0.00 | If you set a maximum cost per run, the scraper stops cleanly at that limit, marks the search as `partial`, and lists any searches it didn't reach as `skipped`. ### Reliability, built in - **Status row for every search.** You never have to guess whether an empty result is real. - **Re-checks before saying "no data".** An empty search is tried again on a different connection first. - **Explains the usual reasons for missing ads.** Google hides age-restricted ads from anyone who isn't signed in, and some ads only show for certain countries. When Google's own count says ads exist but none come back, the status row says so. - **Handles Google's blocking.** Requests rotate IPs, back off when blocked, and move to residential proxies automatically if they're needed and available. - **Never charges for nothing.** Only delivered ads are charged. ### Integrations and scheduling Run it on a schedule (daily or weekly) with **Only new ads** turned on to get a feed of competitors' new creatives. Send results to Google Sheets, Slack, email, Zapier, Make or n8n with Apify integrations, or call it from your own code through the Apify API. It also works as a tool for AI agents through the Apify MCP server. ### FAQ **Why did a search come back empty?** Read the `message` on its status row. The common reasons are: the ads are age-restricted (Google only shows those to signed-in users, so no public tool can see them); the ads don't run in the country you picked; your date or format filters removed them; or the company advertises under a different name, so try its website instead. **Why are there fewer ads than on Google's site?** The same reasons as above. Also check the country. The Transparency Center shows different ads depending on the region selected. **Why is the headline or landing page empty on some ads?** Google stores many text ads only as a picture of the ad (that's the `imageUrl` on TEXT rows). Turn on **Read text from text ads stored as pictures** to get the headline, description and web address out of those pictures. Rows read this way have `adTextSource: "image"` and an `ocrConfidence` score. The "ad text" option adds what Google publishes as real text: landing pages, and the YouTube link for video ads. Image ads (banners) aren't read, only text ads. `adTextFound` tells you which rows have text. **How accurate is the text reader?** It reads the picture the same way a scanner reads a page, so short words and unusual fonts can come out slightly wrong. The headline is the blue text in the ad, the description is the grey text under it, and any blue links under the description go in `sitelinks`. The advertiser's name and logo above the web address are left out. `ocrText` keeps everything it read, line by line, and `ocrConfidence` (0 to 100) tells you how sure it was. If Google serves its own error picture instead of the ad, nothing is returned and nothing is charged. **Why does a website search include more than one advertiser?** Google matches every advertiser account whose ads link to that website. That often includes regional companies or resellers. Use `advertiserName` to filter. **Can I search by keyword or industry, like "running shoes"?** No. Google removed keyword search from the Transparency Center, so ads can only be looked up by advertiser or website. If you have a list of competitor websites, put them all in one run. **Do I get impressions, spend or targeting?** No. Google doesn't publish spend for normal ads, and only publishes impression ranges and targeting for ads shown in the EU and for political ads. This tool collects the advertiser, format, dates, creative and links. **How far back does it go?** As far as the Transparency Center goes. Some ads in our tests were first shown in 2021. Use the date filters to narrow it down. **Is this legal?** The Ads Transparency Center is a public library Google publishes so anyone can see who is advertising. This tool reads only that public data, doesn't log in, and doesn't collect personal data. You're responsible for how you use the results. **Something isn't working?** Open an issue on the Issues tab with the search and the run link. I usually reply within one business day. ### Related tools - [Google Trends Scraper](https://apify.com/snappytools/google-trends-scraper): interest over time, regions and rising queries. This tool is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to Google. # Actor input Schema ## `queries` (type: `array`): One per line. A website (nike.com), a company name (Canva), an advertiser ID (AR16735076323512287233) or a link copied from adstransparency.google.com. You can mix them. ## `region` (type: `string`): Only return ads shown in this country. Some ads are only visible when you pick the country they run in, so choose one if you know it. ## `maxAdsPerQuery` (type: `integer`): Stop after this many ads for each line above. Google lists 40 ads per page. ## `adFormat` (type: `string`): Only keep ads of this format. ## `shownAfter` (type: `string`): Only keep ads that were running on or after this date. Leave empty for no limit. ## `shownBefore` (type: `string`): Only keep ads that were running on or before this date. Leave empty for no limit. ## `includeAdText` (type: `boolean`): Reads each ad's preview to add the YouTube link for video ads, and the headline, description and landing page where Google publishes them as text. Many text ads are stored by Google only as a picture, so those stay empty. Slower, same price. ## `readTextFromImages` (type: `boolean`): Google keeps many text ads only as a picture of the ad. Turn this on to read the headline, description and web address out of those pictures. Adds about half a second per ad. Charged at $1 per 1,000 ads, and only for ads where text was actually read. The text is machine-read, so expect the odd small error. ## `onlyNewAds` (type: `boolean`): For scheduled monitoring. Remembers the ads you already collected for each search and only returns (and charges for) ads you have not seen before. ## `maxAdvertisersPerName` (type: `integer`): A company name can match several Google advertiser accounts (for example regional ones). How many to include. Has no effect on websites or advertiser IDs. ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): Google blocks IPs that send too many requests. The default rotates Apify proxies automatically and switches to residential proxies if needed. ## Actor input object example ```json { "queries": [ "nike.com" ], "region": "anywhere", "maxAdsPerQuery": 20, "adFormat": "ALL", "includeAdText": false, "readTextFromImages": false, "onlyNewAds": false, "maxAdvertisersPerName": 3, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true } } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `allResults` (type: `string`): No description ## `ads` (type: `string`): No description ## `adText` (type: `string`): No description ## `status` (type: `string`): No description ## `runSummary` (type: `string`): No description # 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 = { "queries": [ "nike.com" ], "maxAdsPerQuery": 20, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true } }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("snappytools/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 = { "queries": ["nike.com"], "maxAdsPerQuery": 20, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": True }, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("snappytools/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 '{ "queries": [ "nike.com" ], "maxAdsPerQuery": 20, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true } }' | apify call snappytools/google-ads-transparency-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "type": "http", "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,snappytools/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/3o2y7lTbC9zgyMEKN/builds/pQrm7slomPy3gw9Iw/openapi.json