Google Ads Transparency Scraper — Spy on Competitor Ads (CSV/JSON)

Track which Google ads your competitors are running across Search, YouTube, Maps, Shopping & Play — without paying $200/mo for SpyFu or SEMrush. Trusted by performance marketers running competitor-creative sweeps across 250+ countries.

Scrape ad creatives, advertiser info, and metadata from Google's Ads Transparency Center (adstransparency.google.com). Supports all ad formats (Text, Image, Video) across all Google platforms (Search, YouTube, Maps, Shopping, Play).

What does this scraper do?

This scraper extracts advertising data from Google's official Ads Transparency Center, which provides public access to ads running across Google's network. No Google account or API key required.

• Search by keyword, domain, or advertiser ID
• Filter by ad format (Text, Image, Video), platform, and region
• Get ad creatives, dates, advertiser info, and thumbnails
• Quick Search mode for fast bulk extraction
• Full mode with detail enrichment per ad
• Covers 250+ countries and all Google ad platforms

Features

• Search by keyword/brand name with smart advertiser matching (ranks results by ad count)
• Direct advertiser ID lookup (AR-prefixed IDs)
• Domain-based advertiser discovery
• All ad formats: Text ads, Image ads, Video ads
• All platforms: Google Search, YouTube, Maps, Shopping, Play Store
• Pagination for large advertiser catalogs (10,000+ ads)
• Quick Search (listing-level data) or Full mode (with detail enrichment)
• Pay-per-result pricing

Who is this Google Ads spy tool for?

• PPC managers — Spy on competitor ad copy, landing pages, and how long specific creatives have been running. The firstShown/lastShown fields tell you if a competitor ad has been live for 2 weeks or 2 years (r/googleads).
• Performance-marketing agencies — Bulk-export client competitor creatives across Search, YouTube, Maps, Shopping, and Play in one run. Pipe into a Google Sheet for the client brief.
• Founders running competitor sweeps — Verify which competitors are actually running paid Google traffic before deciding to enter a market or match their spend. Export directly to ChatGPT for clustering (r/microsaas).
• SEO/SEM analysts — Pair Transparency Center data with Auction Insights to see which competitors are scaling spend without paying $199/mo for SpyFu (r/googleads).
• Dropshippers and e-commerce buyers — See which Google Shopping ads competitors are running in specific regions, and filter by creative format to find the winning product-image ad styles.

How much does it cost?

Mode	Price per ad	Best for
Quick Search	~$0.005	Large-volume competitive research
Full Mode	~$0.015	Detailed creative analysis

Input

Search by keyword

{
    "searchQuery": "nike",
    "region": "2840",
    "maxResults": 100,
    "quickSearch": true
}

Search by advertiser ID

{
    "advertiserId": "AR16735076323512287233",
    "region": "2840",
    "creativeFormat": "image",
    "maxResults": 50
}

Output

{
    "advertiserId": "AR16735076323512287233",
    "advertiserName": "Nike, Inc.",
    "creativeId": "CR04739221842466701313",
    "adFormat": "IMAGE",
    "imageUrl": "https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/archive/simgad/9843983796603441212",
    "firstShown": "2023-11-16",
    "lastShown": "2026-03-28",
    "source": "google_ads_transparency",
    "sourceUrl": "https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR16735076323512287233/creative/CR04739221842466701313",
    "scrapeDate": "2026-03-28T10:00:00.000Z"
}

Integrations & Code Examples

bash (curl)

curl -X POST \
  "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/whoareyouanas~google-ads-transparency-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"searchQuery":"nike","region":"2840","maxResults":50,"quickSearch":true}'

Python SDK

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("whoareyouanas/google-ads-transparency-scraper").call(run_input={
    "searchQuery": "nike",
    "region": "2840",
    "maxResults": 50,
    "quickSearch": True,
})
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item["advertiserName"], item["firstShown"], item["lastShown"])

Node.js SDK

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN' });
const run = await client.actor('whoareyouanas/google-ads-transparency-scraper').call({
    searchQuery: 'nike',
    region: '2840',
    maxResults: 50,
    quickSearch: true,
});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items.map(i => `${i.advertiserName} — ${i.firstShown} to ${i.lastShown}`));

Make.com / n8n / Zapier

Use the Apify module in Make.com or n8n. Pass searchQuery from a brand-name list, collect the structured output, and pipe it into a Google Sheets "competitor creative log" or a Slack digest. Full integration docs: Apify integrations.

Common region codes

Code	Region	Code	Region
0	Anywhere	2356	India
2840	United States	2392	Japan
2826	United Kingdom	2410	South Korea
2124	Canada	2076	Brazil
2036	Australia	2484	Mexico
2276	Germany	2792	Turkey
2250	France	2682	Saudi Arabia
2380	Italy	2784	UAE

Tips

1. Use keyword search — The scraper auto-finds the advertiser with the most ads matching your keyword
2. Image ads have the richest data — Text ads don't expose landing pages
3. No impression data — Google doesn't expose impression counts for commercial ads
4. Region filtering — Results change significantly by region. Try US (2840) for the broadest coverage

Frequently Asked Questions

Is scraping the Google Ads Transparency Center legal? Yes. The Ads Transparency Center is Google's public disclosure tool, mandated under EU Digital Services Act transparency requirements. All data accessed is publicly available without authentication.

Do I need a Google account or API key? No. The scraper accesses the public adstransparency.google.com interface directly. No Google account, OAuth, or API key required.

Why am I getting zero advertisers for my keyword? Most common causes: (1) the brand name is too generic — try the exact company name ("The North Face" instead of "north face"), (2) the advertiser has no active ads in the selected region — try region code 0 for global, (3) the scraper matched an advertiser with few ads — use advertiserId directly if you have it.

How do I find an advertiser's AR-prefixed ID? Search by keyword first. The output includes advertiserId in AR00000000000000000000 format. Copy that and use it directly in future runs for faster, more targeted results.

Why do some advertisers have no video ads? Video ads (YouTube) are only exposed in the Transparency Center for some advertisers — particularly those running TrueView campaigns. Text ads and Image ads have the broadest coverage. The scraper returns whatever Google exposes for that advertiser.

Can I filter by date range? Not directly via the Transparency Center API — Google only exposes firstShown and lastShown dates in the output, not as filter parameters. Filter by date range in your downstream spreadsheet or code using those fields.

What's the difference between Quick Search and Full Mode? Quick Search (listing-level only) costs ~$0.005/ad and returns the basic creative preview. Full Mode costs ~$0.015/ad and visits each ad's detail page to get the landing page URL, ad copy, and additional metadata. Use Quick Search for large-volume sweeps; Full Mode for targeted analysis.

Does this expose impression counts or spend data? No. Google's Transparency Center deliberately omits impression counts and spend estimates for commercial advertisers. The firstShown/lastShown dates let you infer longevity (a 2-year-old ad is almost certainly profitable) but no spend model is possible from the public data alone. SpyFu and SEMrush offer spend estimates via proprietary data, but at $39–$299/mo.

How does this compare to SpyFu / SEMrush / Adbeat? SpyFu and SEMrush have multi-year historical PPC keyword data and spend estimates — but charge $39–$299/mo and gate advanced features behind credit systems. This actor gives you live ad creatives from the official Transparency Center at $0.005/ad with no monthly minimum. It complements paid tools (use us for creative harvesting, use SpyFu for keyword/spend history).

What EU vs US filter differences should I expect? EU regions (especially DE/FR/GB) show more ad copy detail due to DSA transparency requirements. US (2840) has the broadest advertiser coverage. Run both for the most complete picture.

Was this scraper useful?

If this actor saved you time or money on Google Ads competitor research, please leave a review on the Apify Store. Five reviews would push this actor from rank 5 toward the top of every Google Ads Transparency search.

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Legal disclaimer

This scraper accesses publicly available data from Google's Ads Transparency Center. Users are responsible for ensuring their use of this tool complies with all applicable laws and Google's Terms of Service.