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

Every ad an advertiser runs on Google, from the Ads Transparency Center: by advertiser name, id, domain or link, with format, preview, first and last shown, and per-region impressions where Google publishes them. No browser, no login; empty answers are free.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/steadyscrape/google-ads-transparency-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Steady Scrape](https://apify.com/steadyscrape) (community)
- **Categories:** Marketing, Developer tools, Other
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.00 / 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

Every ad an advertiser runs on Google, straight from the Ads Transparency Center: give it advertiser names, advertiser ids, the domains the ads point at, or links copied from the Center, and get one row per ad with its format, preview, first and last shown dates, and (optionally) every region it ran in with impression ranges and platforms where Google publishes them. **Every target you ask for comes back as a row**, and when there is nothing the row says why (`no_ads`, `not_found`, `blocked`) instead of an empty dataset. You pay only for rows that carry an ad.

No browser, no login: it calls the same JSON endpoints the Center's page uses, paces itself, and rotates IPs before Google's rate limit shows up.

### What you get

For each ad, one row with:

- **The advertiser**: `advertiserId`, `advertiserName`, `advertiserCountry`, `advertiserVerified`, `advertiserUrl`.
- **The ad**: `creativeId`, `url` (its page on the Center), `format` (`text`, `image`, `video`), `previewUrl` (a snapshot image, or the script that renders HTML5/video ads) with `previewType`, `firstShown` and `lastShown` in ISO 8601 UTC.
- **`details`** (with `includeDetails`): impressions range and dates across regions, the ad's `topic`, every `region` it was shown in with its own dates, impression range and platform breakdown (Google publishes counts for ads shown in the EU; elsewhere it publishes dates), and every variant's preview.
- **`status` and `reason`**: `ok`, `no_ads` (the advertiser exists but has no ads matching the filters), `not_found` (no advertiser for that id or name), or `blocked` (every IP route refused; unpaid).

### Input

| field | what it does |
|---|---|
| `advertisers` | One per line: a name, an `AR…` id, a domain (`nike.com`), or a Center link to an advertiser or to one ad. |
| `region` | Country code to keep only ads shown there (`US`, `DE`, `BR`); `anywhere` by default. |
| `formats` | Any of `text`, `image`, `video`. Default all. |
| `platforms` | Any of `search`, `youtube`, `shopping`, `maps`, `play`. Empty: all. Google knows the platform of ads shown since September 2023. |
| `shownFrom`, `shownTo` | Keep only ads whose shown period overlaps the window (`YYYY-MM-DD`). |
| `maxAdsPerAdvertiser` | Newest first. Default 100. |
| `maxAdvertisersPerName` | For a name, how many matching advertisers (most ads first) to scrape. Default 3. |
| `includeDetails` | One more request per ad for regions, impressions, platforms, topic and variants. |
| `residentialFallback` | Retry through residential proxies when Google refuses the datacenter IPs. Default on. |

```json
{
    "advertisers": ["Nike, Inc.", "nike.com", "https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR16735076323512287233?region=US"],
    "region": "US",
    "formats": ["image", "video"],
    "maxAdsPerAdvertiser": 200,
    "includeDetails": true
}
```

### Output example

```json
{
    "query": "AR16735076323512287233",
    "queryType": "advertiserId",
    "status": "ok",
    "reason": null,
    "advertiserId": "AR16735076323512287233",
    "advertiserName": "Nike, Inc.",
    "advertiserCountry": "US",
    "advertiserVerified": true,
    "advertiserUrl": "https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR16735076323512287233?region=US",
    "creativeId": "CR01003845904182018049",
    "url": "https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR16735076323512287233/creative/CR01003845904182018049?region=US",
    "format": "image",
    "previewUrl": "https://displayads-formats.googleusercontent.com/ads/preview/content.js?client=ads-integrity-transparency&…",
    "previewType": "script",
    "firstShown": "2023-03-01T10:12:44.000Z",
    "lastShown": "2026-09-17T14:29:08.000Z",
    "region": "US",
    "details": {
        "impressions": { "lowerBound": 3000, "upperBound": 4000 },
        "firstShown": "2023-03-01",
        "lastShown": "2024-08-27",
        "topic": { "id": 166, "name": "Apparel & Accessories" },
        "regions": [
            { "region": "ES", "firstShown": "2023-03-05", "lastShown": "2024-08-27", "impressions": { "lowerBound": null, "upperBound": 1000 }, "platforms": [{ "platform": "shopping", "impressions": { "lowerBound": null, "upperBound": 1000 } }] },
            { "region": "GB", "firstShown": null, "lastShown": "2024-08-17", "impressions": { "lowerBound": null, "upperBound": null }, "platforms": [] }
        ],
        "variantPreviewUrls": ["https://displayads-formats.googleusercontent.com/ads/preview/content.js?…"]
    }
}
```

### Why this one

- **Names, ids, domains and links all work**, and a name is resolved the way the Center's own search box does it, taking the accounts with most ads first (there are eight "Nike" advertisers; the one you mean has ten thousand ads).
- **Every filter of the Center**: region, format, platform, and a date window, plus paging as deep as you ask.
- **Per-region impressions and platforms** for ads shown in the EU, straight from the ad's detail call, with the ad's topic and every variant.
- **Stays under Google's limits by design**: one request per second per IP, several IPs in parallel, a fresh IP every 40 requests, and a route Google keeps refusing is abandoned for the run instead of retried forever. Refused targets come back as `blocked`, unpaid.
- **Says why a row is empty** instead of ending with an empty dataset.

### Pricing

Pay per **ad row** (`status: ok`); a run with `includeDetails` pays the ad-with-details price instead. Rows with any other status are free.

### Limits and notes

- Impression counts exist only for ads Google shows in the EU (Digital Services Act data); other regions carry first/last shown days only.
- Google reports platforms only for ads shown since 4 September 2023; a platform filter hides older ads.
- The date window filters what was fetched: with a low `maxAdsPerAdvertiser`, older ads may not be reached.
- This Actor reads public data the Ads Transparency Center shows to any visitor. Advertiser names are business names as Google publishes them.

# Actor input Schema

## `advertisers` (type: `array`):

One per line: an advertiser name (<code>Nike, Inc.</code>), an advertiser id (<code>AR16735076323512287233</code>), a domain the ads point at (<code>nike.com</code>), or a link copied from the Transparency Center (an advertiser page or a single ad page). A name is looked up and the advertisers with most ads are taken.

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

A country code (<code>US</code>, <code>DE</code>, <code>BR</code>) to keep only ads shown there, or <code>anywhere</code>.

## `formats` (type: `array`):

Which ad formats to fetch.

## `platforms` (type: `array`):

Keep only ads shown on these Google surfaces. Empty: all. Google only knows the platform of ads shown since September 2023.

## `shownFrom` (type: `string`):

<code>YYYY-MM-DD</code>. Keep only ads still shown on or after this day.

## `shownTo` (type: `string`):

<code>YYYY-MM-DD</code>. Keep only ads first shown on or before this day.

## `maxAdsPerAdvertiser` (type: `integer`):

Newest first, 40 per request.

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

When a line is a name, how many of the matching advertisers (most ads first) to scrape.

## `includeDetails` (type: `boolean`):

One more request per ad: every region the ad was shown in with first/last day, impression ranges and platforms where Google publishes them (EU ads), the ad's topic, and every variant's preview. Priced as an ad with details.

## `residentialFallback` (type: `boolean`):

When Google refuses the run's own IP and the datacenter proxies, retry through residential proxies (included in the price: you pay per row, not per proxy byte). Off: those targets come back with status <code>blocked</code>, unpaid.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "advertisers": [
    "AR16735076323512287233",
    "adidas"
  ],
  "region": "US",
  "formats": [
    "text",
    "image",
    "video"
  ],
  "platforms": [],
  "maxAdsPerAdvertiser": 100,
  "maxAdvertisersPerName": 3,
  "includeDetails": false,
  "residentialFallback": true
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `ads` (type: `string`):

No description

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

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "advertisers": [
        "AR16735076323512287233",
        "adidas"
    ],
    "region": "US"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("steadyscrape/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 = {
    "advertisers": [
        "AR16735076323512287233",
        "adidas",
    ],
    "region": "US",
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("steadyscrape/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 '{
  "advertisers": [
    "AR16735076323512287233",
    "adidas"
  ],
  "region": "US"
}' |
apify call steadyscrape/google-ads-transparency-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,steadyscrape/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/vDYccjjd2llobxuNo/builds/FUKt7UlC8WHlCnA3B/openapi.json