# YouTube Ads Scraper | Video Creatives & Landing Pages (`xtech/youtube-ads-scraper`) Actor

Find public YouTube ad video creatives by brand, domain, or advertiser ID. Export video URLs and landing pages, with optional YouTube metadata enrichment.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/xtech/youtube-ads-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Xtech](https://apify.com/xtech) (community)
- **Categories:** E-commerce, Videos, Social media
- **Features:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 116 total users, 0 monthly users, 94.0% runs succeeded, 6 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $6.10 / 1,000 results

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

## YouTube Ads Scraper

Collect YouTube ad creatives with the video details and landing page URL in a clean dataset.

This is an unofficial research tool. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by YouTube or Google.

### What You Get

- YouTube video URL
- Video title and description
- Publish date
- Channel name
- View, like, and comment counts
- Landing page URL used by the ad

### Best For

- Competitive ad research
- Brand monitoring
- Campaign discovery
- Creative analysis
- Lead generation from advertiser landing pages

### Input

#### `searchInputs`

Provide one or more search terms. You can use:

- Advertiser IDs
- Brand names
- Websites or domains

#### `maxPages`

Maximum pages to scan for each search input.

- `1` = first page only and the recommended starting point
- Up to `5` pages per search input for broader coverage

#### `youtubeApiKey` (optional)

Add your YouTube Data API key when you want each matching ad enriched with public video details such as title, channel, and engagement counts. Without a key, the Actor still saves each matching YouTube video URL/ID and landing page; the key is optional enrichment, not a prerequisite. The value is encrypted and used only during the run. If an account-level key is configured but you want the low-cost keyless mode, send `"youtubeApiKey": ""` explicitly.

#### `proxyConfiguration`

Use the built-in Apify proxy settings.

- Direct access is the low-cost default
- Enable Apify Proxy if the public source blocks a run
- Limit runs to five search inputs and five pages per input to keep runtime predictable. Each page processes at most 30 video creatives so one unusually large response cannot consume the whole run.

### Output

Each dataset item contains:

```json
{
  "video": {
    "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLgnmIB_TRA",
    "title": "Learn the Alphabet with Alison - A to Z Sounds and Writing #phonics #alphabet #writing #abc #letter",
    "description": "Learn the Alphabet with Alison - A to Z Sounds and Writing...",
    "publishedAt": "2025-03-06T20:16:25Z",
    "channelTitle": "Alison Tarrant Education",
    "viewCount": "13452",
    "likeCount": "32",
    "commentCount": "0"
  },
  "ctaUrl": "https://www.alisontarranteducation.com"
}
```

The Actor checks the result spending limit before searching or fetching further creative details. It stops collecting when the affordable result capacity is filled, and counts only saved, charged results in pay-per-event mode.

`RUN_SUMMARY` includes processed/skipped inputs, spending-limit status, and a direct link to source diagnostics. It records requested inputs, processed pages, candidate ads, saved rows, metadata-enriched rows, API-key presence, and page-limit overflow. This makes keyless versus enriched runs explicit without dropping valid ad/landing-page results.

If one search input is blocked, results from the other inputs are still saved.
The named `sourceResults` dataset records failed or partially completed searches
without mixing error rows into the default results dataset. The run fails only
when every requested search has no usable public-source response.

### Notes

- Results depend on the ads currently available for each search input.
- Some ads may not return a matching YouTube video or landing page.
- Direct access is the default to keep runs fast and low-cost; enable Apify Proxy when the public source blocks a run.
- If direct access fails for a specific brand or domain, retry that input with
  Apify Proxy enabled and inspect `sourceResults` for the bounded error message.

If optional YouTube API enrichment fails, extracted video IDs, video links and landing-page links are retained. The run summary marks `metadataEnrichmentFailed`; the source diagnostics explain the partial result. Check your key and quota before requesting enriched metadata again.

# Changelog

This Actor's version history is a separate document: https://apify.com/xtech/youtube-ads-scraper/changelog.md

# Actor input Schema

## `searchInputs` (type: `array`):

Enter advertiser IDs, brand names, or websites to search.

## `maxPages` (type: `integer`):

Maximum pages to scan for each search input. Start with one page, then increase only when you need broader coverage. Legacy value 0 is safely treated as 5 pages.

## `youtubeApiKey` (type: `string`):

Add your key to enrich each matching ad with public YouTube video details. It is encrypted and used only for this run.

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

Optional. Direct access is the low-cost default. Enable Apify Proxy if the public source blocks your run.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchInputs": [
    "nike.com"
  ],
  "maxPages": 1,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

Items stored in the default dataset.

## `summary` (type: `string`):

Search, page, candidate-ad, and saved-video counts for this run.

## `sourceResults` (type: `string`):

Search inputs that failed or stopped after partial source progress.

# 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 = {
    "searchInputs": [
        "nike.com"
    ],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": false
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("xtech/youtube-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 = {
    "searchInputs": ["nike.com"],
    "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": False },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("xtech/youtube-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 '{
  "searchInputs": [
    "nike.com"
  ],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}' |
apify call xtech/youtube-ads-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,xtech/youtube-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/4atlVQTKcDqiOxhy1/builds/f3Exu9GOcNDHRjnHd/openapi.json