# Google Ads Library Scraper (`practicaltools/google-ad-library-scraper`) Actor

Scrapes ads from the Google Ads Transparency Center. Returns creative content, advertiser info, ad format, dates, and asset URLs.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/practicaltools/google-ad-library-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Practical Tools](https://apify.com/practicaltools) (community)
- **Categories:** Automation, Integrations
- **Stats:** 28 total users, 7 monthly users, 87.3% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: 2.42 out of 5 stars

## Pricing

from $2.00 / 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.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
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.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## 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.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## Google Ads Transparency Center Scraper

Scrapes ads from the Google Ads. Returns creative content, advertiser info, ad format, dates, and asset URLs.

### Features

- **No login required** — Google's Transparency Center is publicly accessible
- **Search by website or advertiser** — `nike.com` searches a website, `Nike` resolves to matching advertisers automatically
- **Filter by region** — 65+ countries supported
- **Filter by platform** — Search, YouTube, Play, Maps, Shopping
- **Filter by format** — text, image, video ads
- **Date range filtering** — custom date range or preset timeframes
- **No browser needed** — pure HTTP API calls with `undici`, fast and lightweight

### How It Works

The actor reverse-engineers Google's internal "anji" RPC API that powers the Transparency Center frontend. It:

1. Establishes session cookies via a simple HTTP GET (no Playwright/browser required)
2. Resolves an advertiser-name query to advertiser IDs via `SearchService/SearchSuggestions`
   (skipped when the query is a domain)
3. Searches for creatives using `SearchService/SearchCreatives`
4. Optionally fetches per-ad detail via `LookupService/GetCreativeById`
5. Normalizes the proto-JSON response into clean JSON output

#### Search scopes

Google's Transparency Center supports exactly two scopes, and there is **no
browse-everything mode** — a query is always required:

| Query      | Scope      | How it works                                                                           |
| ---------- | ---------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `nike.com` | Website    | Sent as a domain filter                                                                |
| `Nike`     | Advertiser | Resolved to advertiser IDs, ranked by exact match → Google's verified flag → ad volume |

With `queryType: "auto"` (the default), a domain-shaped query is tried as a website and
anything else as an advertiser name; if the first scope finds nothing, the other is tried
automatically.

### Input

| Field                | Type    | Description                                                                        | Default                   |
| -------------------- | ------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------- |
| `query`              | string  | **Required.** Website (`nike.com`) or advertiser name (`Nike`) to look up ads for. | —                         |
| `queryType`          | select  | How to read the query: `auto`, `domain`, or `advertiser`.                          | `auto`                    |
| `maxAdvertisers`     | integer | For advertiser-name queries, how many matching advertisers to pull ads from.       | `10`                      |
| `region`             | select  | Country to filter ads by.                                                          | `anywhere`                |
| `platform`           | select  | Platform filter: all, search, youtube, play, maps, shopping.                       | `all`                     |
| `creativeFormat`     | select  | Ad format: all, text, image, video.                                                | `all`                     |
| `dateStart`          | string  | Start date in YYYY-MM-DD format (optional).                                        | (empty)                   |
| `dateEnd`            | string  | End date in YYYY-MM-DD format (optional).                                          | (empty)                   |
| `timeframe`          | select  | Preset date range (used when dateStart/dateEnd not set).                           | `365d`                    |
| `limit`              | integer | Maximum number of ads to collect (up to 100 per page).                             | `20`                      |
| `scrapeAdDetails`    | boolean | Fetch full ad detail for each result (format, assets, dates).                      | `true`                    |
| `proxyConfiguration` | object  | Standard Apify proxy configuration.                                                | `{ useApifyProxy: true }` |

### Output

Each ad in the dataset has this structure:

```json
{
    "id": "CR14652493479645544449",
    "advertiserId": "AR18378488041124659201",
    "advertiserName": "Nike Retail BV",
    "domain": "nike.com",
    "adFormat": "image",
    "firstShownDate": 1677628800,
    "lastShownDate": 1787567197,
    "totalDaysShown": 1256,
    "category": "Apparel & Accessories",
    "categoryId": 166,
    "impressions": { "min": 3000000, "max": 3500000 },
    "platforms": [
        { "platform": "search", "impressionsMin": 2500000, "impressionsMax": 3000000 },
        { "platform": "shopping", "impressionsMin": 60000, "impressionsMax": 70000 }
    ],
    "regions": [
        {
            "code": "CZ",
            "regionId": 2203,
            "impressionsMin": 3000000,
            "impressionsMax": 3500000,
            "firstShown": "2023-03-01",
            "lastShown": "2026-08-24",
            "platforms": [{ "platform": "search", "impressionsMin": 2500000, "impressionsMax": 3000000 }]
        }
    ],
    "assets": {
        "images": [
            { "url": "https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/archive/simgad/104202098", "width": 380, "height": 503 }
        ],
        "videos": [],
        "previews": [
            {
                "url": "https://displayads-formats.googleusercontent.com/ads/preview/content.js?...",
                "width": null,
                "height": null
            }
        ]
    },
    "detail": null
}
```

`assets` is split by what each URL actually is:

- `images` / `videos` — directly downloadable media files
- `previews` — `content.js` ad-preview endpoints. These are **JavaScript, not media**: load them in an iframe, don't fetch them as files.

`scrapeAdDetails` is **on by default**. The search response alone carries only a sparse
subset of a creative's assets; the detail endpoint returns roughly 2.5x as many
downloadable images. The cost is one extra request per ad, so a 20-ad run makes 21
requests instead of 1 — turn it off for fast, cheap listings, or when Google is rate
limiting you.

#### Reach data

`category`, `impressions`, `platforms` and `regions` come from the detail endpoint and
require `scrapeAdDetails: true` (the default). Google reports impressions as a **range**,
never an exact number, and omits the lower bound for low-volume regions — so `min` can be
`null` while `max` is set.

`category` is **localized by Google to the IP the run executes from** — the same ad returns
`"Apparel & Accessories"` from a US proxy and `"לבוש ואביזרים"` from an Israeli one. Key off
`categoryId` (stable numeric) if you need to group or filter reliably.

**Not available:** the detail response contains no landing-page URL, so there is no
`landingPage` field. For image/display creatives Google also returns no downloadable
image — only a `previews` embed — so `assets.images` is legitimately empty for many ads.

### Example Inputs

**Search for Tesla ads in the US:**

```json
{
    "query": "tesla.com",
    "region": "US",
    "limit": 50,
    "scrapeAdDetails": true
}
```

**Search by advertiser name rather than domain:**

```json
{
    "query": "Nike",
    "queryType": "advertiser",
    "maxAdvertisers": 1,
    "limit": 50
}
```

**All video ads a brand ran on YouTube:**

```json
{
    "query": "Coca-Cola",
    "creativeFormat": "video",
    "platform": "youtube",
    "timeframe": "90d",
    "limit": 20,
    "scrapeAdDetails": false
}
```

**Search with custom date range:**

```json
{
    "query": "amazon.com",
    "region": "anywhere",
    "dateStart": "2024-01-01",
    "dateEnd": "2024-06-30",
    "limit": 100
}
```

### Proxy and rate limiting

On the Apify platform, the actor uses Apify Proxy automatically. Configure
`proxyConfiguration` to use residential proxies or custom proxy URLs.

Google rate limits the Transparency Center per IP and answers with HTTP 429. The actor
retries with exponential backoff and **fails loudly** if the limit does not clear — it
will not report a throttled run as "no ads found". If you hit 429s repeatedly, switch
`proxyConfiguration` to residential proxy groups.

# Actor input Schema

## `query` (type: `string`):

Website or advertiser to look up ads for — e.g. 'nike.com' (website) or 'Nike' (advertiser name). Required: Google's Transparency Center has no browse-everything mode, every search must be scoped to a website or an advertiser.

## `queryType` (type: `string`):

How to interpret the query. 'Auto' treats domain-shaped queries (nike.com) as websites and everything else as an advertiser name, falling back to the other if the first finds nothing.

## `maxAdvertisers` (type: `integer`):

For advertiser-name queries: how many matching advertisers to pull ads from. Names are ranked by exact match, then Google's verified flag, then ad volume. Raise it for broad terms like 'insurance', lower it to 1 to stay on a single brand.

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

Country to filter ads by. Google's Ad Transparency Center covers most countries worldwide.

## `platform` (type: `string`):

Filter by Google platform where the ad appeared.

## `creativeFormat` (type: `string`):

Filter by creative format.

## `dateStart` (type: `string`):

Start date in YYYY-MM-DD format (optional). Leave empty to use timeframe.

## `dateEnd` (type: `string`):

End date in YYYY-MM-DD format (optional). Leave empty to use timeframe.

## `timeframe` (type: `string`):

Date range to search within, relative to today. Only used when Start/End Date are not set.

## `limit` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of ads to collect. Google returns up to 100 per page.

## `scrapeAdDetails` (type: `boolean`):

Fetch full creative detail for each ad. Recommended: the search response alone returns only a sparse subset of assets, while this yields roughly 2.5x as many downloadable images. Costs one extra request per ad (a 20-ad run makes 21 requests instead of 1), so turn it off for fast listings or if Google is rate limiting you. Note: landingPage and regions are not yet populated either way.

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

Optional proxy settings. On the Apify platform, Apify proxy is used automatically. Override here to use residential proxies if needed.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "query": "nike.com",
  "queryType": "auto",
  "maxAdvertisers": 10,
  "region": "anywhere",
  "platform": "all",
  "creativeFormat": "all",
  "dateStart": "",
  "dateEnd": "",
  "timeframe": "30d",
  "limit": 20,
  "scrapeAdDetails": true,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": []
  }
}
```

# 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 = {
    "query": "nike.com",
    "timeframe": "30d",
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true,
        "apifyProxyGroups": []
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("practicaltools/google-ad-library-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 = {
    "query": "nike.com",
    "timeframe": "30d",
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": True,
        "apifyProxyGroups": [],
    },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("practicaltools/google-ad-library-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 '{
  "query": "nike.com",
  "timeframe": "30d",
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": []
  }
}' |
apify call practicaltools/google-ad-library-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,practicaltools/google-ad-library-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/8IrcFRAdVCVloEuGt/builds/g9yYp7Ht4UnsUs84H/openapi.json