# Google Ads Transparency Scraper - Competitor Ads & PPC Copy (`madeingermany/google-ads-scraper`) Actor

Scrape any company's current & past Google ads – 2× faster than any competitor with unique extra fields they don't have. made

- **URL**: https://apify.com/madeingermany/google-ads-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Made In Germany](https://apify.com/madeingermany) (community)
- **Categories:** E-commerce, Lead generation, Social media
- **Features:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 24 total users, 0 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 1 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage.

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 Scraper (2X Faster, More Data)

**Google Ads Scraper** is designed to quickly and efficiently extract detailed data from Google's Ads Transparency Center. Instead of using a slow, resource-heavy browser automation tool, this scraper directly mimics the internal Google API behavior.

It is capable of fetching ads 2× faster than standard scrapers while returning exclusive inner metrics that aren't natively exposed on the page.

![Banner](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c7/Google_Ads_logo.svg/1024px-Google_Ads_logo.svg.png)

### 🔄 Comparison vs Competitors

| Feature | Competitor | This Scraper |
|---------|------------|--------------|
| Avg Speed (100 ads) | ~81s | **39s** 🚀 |
| Ad formats | Text, Image, Video | Text, Image, Video |
| Media download | ✅ | ✅ |
| `url` (full ad link) | ❌ | ✅ |
| `firstShownAt` | ❌ | ✅ |
| `audienceSelections` | ❌ | ✅ |
| Age-restricted ads | ❌ | ✅ *(via cookies)* |
| Reliability | Occasional gaps | **Error-free API runs** ✅ |

### ✨ Features

- ⚡ **2× faster API bypassing:** We scrape the data exactly like the native App does, cutting overhead by up to 90%.
- **Scrapes all ad formats:** Extract TEXT, IMAGE, and VIDEO seamlessly.
- **Country Stats & Demographics:** Fetches total arrays of impression bounds and demographics (perfect for permitted political ads).
- **Cross-Platform Mapping:** Tracks specific impression ranges mapped accurately across YouTube, App Networks, Shopping, and Google Search.
- **Detailed Cookie Integration:** Instantly unlock gambling, alcohol, or age-restricted content by safely injecting a JSON cookie sequence.
- **Media Sync:** Optionally download the target advertiser's assets directly to Apify's Key-Value Store logic!

### 📥 Getting Started & Input

You will need at least one Google Transparency Center Search URL to get started. Navigate to [Google Ads Transparency Center](https://adstransparency.google.com/), construct your filter (Date, Region, Format), and simply copy the URL.

#### Sample Input JSON

```json
{
  "startUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR07117872862404280321?region=US&start-date=2025-05-22&end-date=2025-05-22"
    }
  ],
  "cookies": [], 
  "maxItems": 100,
  "downloadMedia": false,
  "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true }
}
```

### 📤 Output Structure

The data will be seamlessly generated inside your default dataset associated with the actor. Every item retains exhaustive insight structure:

```json
{
  "id": "CR08100116008800354305",
  "advertiserId": "AR10303883279069085697",
  "creativeId": "CR08100116008800354305",
  "advertiserName": "My Jewellery B.V",
  "format": "IMAGE",
  "url": "https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR.../creative/...",
  "previewUrl": "https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/shopping?q=tbn:...",
  "firstShownAt": "2024-03-14T00:00:00.000Z",
  "lastShownAt": "2025-10-26T00:00:00.000Z",
  "impressions": "600000",
  "shownCountries": ["Germany"],
  "countryStats": [
    {
      "code": "DE",
      "name": "Germany",
      "impressions": {
        "lowerBound": "500000",
        "upperBound": "600000"
      },
      "platformStats": [
        {
          "name": "YouTube",
          "code": "YOUTUBE",
          "impressions": { "lowerBound": "8000", "upperBound": "9000" }
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "audienceSelections": [
    {
      "name": "Demographic info",
      "hasIncludedCriteria": true,
      "hasExcludedCriteria": false
    }
  ],
  "variants": [
    {
      "textContent": "Handykette mit Leopardemuster...",
      "images": [
        "https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/shopping?q=tbn:..."
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```

#### ⚠️ Note on Private Authenticated Searches

If you choose to search for alcohol/gambling or other highly sensitive restricted ad domains, populate the `cookies` array using the export produced by the official [Cookie-Editor Extension](https://cookie-editor.com/).

Ensure you have browsed Google transparency tools first using that browser, export the JSON format natively, and paste it into the array field.

#### Usage Legality Notice

Scraping public information from Google's Ads Transparency Center is broadly considered legal data consumption as the registry operates under mandatory government guidelines for public advertisement transparency. However, respect terms of services explicitly where appropriate to your jurisdiction!

# Actor input Schema

## `startUrls` (type: `array`):

Google Transparency Center URLs.

## `cookies` (type: `array`):

Cookies JSON from Cookie-Editor extension.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of ads to scrape.

## `downloadMedia` (type: `boolean`):

If true, media is downloaded to KV Store.

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

Select proxies to be used by your scraper.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "startUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR07117872862404280321?region=US&start-date=2025-05-22&end-date=2025-05-22"
    }
  ],
  "cookies": [],
  "maxItems": 100,
  "downloadMedia": false,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}
```

# 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 = {
    "startUrls": [
        {
            "url": "https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR07117872862404280321?region=US&start-date=2025-05-22&end-date=2025-05-22"
        }
    ],
    "cookies": [],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("madeingermany/google-ads-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 = {
    "startUrls": [{ "url": "https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR07117872862404280321?region=US&start-date=2025-05-22&end-date=2025-05-22" }],
    "cookies": [],
    "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": True },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("madeingermany/google-ads-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 '{
  "startUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR07117872862404280321?region=US&start-date=2025-05-22&end-date=2025-05-22"
    }
  ],
  "cookies": [],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}' |
apify call madeingermany/google-ads-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,madeingermany/google-ads-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/lEM3YW7Rd5L4O9aKf/builds/J5WO3mbdTmR0CW3tF/openapi.json