Google Ads Transparency Scraper

Scrape ads from Google's Ads Transparency Center using the Apify xtech/google-ad-transparency-scraper actor. Covers Search, YouTube, Display, and Gmail ads.

Quick Start

Requires APIFY_API_TOKEN env var (or --token flag). Install dependency: pip install requests.

# Search by company name (auto-resolves advertiser ID)
python3 skills/google-ad-scraper/scripts/search_google_ads.py \
  --company "Nike"

# Search by domain (more precise)
python3 skills/google-ad-scraper/scripts/search_google_ads.py \
  --domain "nike.com"

# Direct advertiser ID (skip lookup step)
python3 skills/google-ad-scraper/scripts/search_google_ads.py \
  --advertiser-id "AR13129532367502835713"

# With region filter
python3 skills/google-ad-scraper/scripts/search_google_ads.py \
  --company "Shopify" --region US

# Limit results
python3 skills/google-ad-scraper/scripts/search_google_ads.py \
  --domain "hubspot.com" --max-ads 30

# Human-readable summary
python3 skills/google-ad-scraper/scripts/search_google_ads.py \
  --company "Stripe" --output summary

How It Works

1. Advertiser Resolution (if no --advertiser-id provided):
   • Takes company name or domain
   • Searches Google Ads Transparency Center using Apify's web-scraper (Puppeteer)
   • Extracts advertiser ID(s) from search results (format: AR + 20 digits)
2. Ad Scraping:
   • Constructs transparency center URL for the advertiser
   • Calls the Apify xtech/google-ad-transparency-scraper actor
   • Polls until complete, fetches dataset
3. Output: Returns ads as JSON or human-readable summary

Advertiser ID Resolution

The script handles the name → ID lookup automatically:

• By domain (--domain nike.com): Searches adstransparency.google.com/?domain=nike.com. Most reliable method.
• By name (--company "Nike"): Searches adstransparency.google.com/?text=Nike. May return multiple matches.
• Direct ID (--advertiser-id AR...): Skips lookup entirely. Use when you already have the ID.

Finding the Advertiser ID Manually

If auto-resolution fails:

1. Go to https://adstransparency.google.com
2. Search for the company
3. Click on the advertiser
4. Copy the ID from the URL: https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR17828074650563772417
5. Pass it via --advertiser-id AR17828074650563772417

CLI Reference

At least one of --company, --domain, or --advertiser-id is required.

Output Fields

Each ad in the output may contain (varies by ad format):

{
  "advertiser_name": "Nike, Inc.",
  "advertiser_id": "AR13129532367502835713",
  "ad_format": "TEXT",
  "headline": "Nike.com - Official Site",
  "description": "Shop the latest Nike shoes, clothing...",
  "display_url": "nike.com",
  "destination_url": "https://www.nike.com/",
  "region": "United States",
  "last_shown": "2026-02-20",
  "first_shown": "2026-01-15",
  "image_url": "https://...",
  "video_url": "https://..."
}

Cost

• Advertiser lookup: ~$0.05 (one web-scraper page)
• Ad scraping: Varies by actor pricing, typically a few cents per advertiser

Common Workflows

1. Competitor Ad Research

python3 skills/google-ad-scraper/scripts/search_google_ads.py \
  --domain "competitor.com" --max-ads 100 --output summary

2. Compare Multiple Competitors

# Get IDs first, then scrape in one run
python3 skills/google-ad-scraper/scripts/search_google_ads.py \
  --advertiser-id "AR111,AR222,AR333" --max-ads 50

3. Regional Ad Targeting Analysis

# See what ads run in specific regions
python3 skills/google-ad-scraper/scripts/search_google_ads.py \
  --domain "shopify.com" --region US --output summary

python3 skills/google-ad-scraper/scripts/search_google_ads.py \
  --domain "shopify.com" --region GB --output summary

Limitations

• Advertiser ID lookup uses Puppeteer-based web scraping of Google's SPA. It may occasionally fail — use --domain for best results or provide --advertiser-id directly.
• Ad coverage: Google only shows ads from verified advertisers. Some smaller advertisers may not appear.
• Historical data: The Transparency Center primarily shows recently active ads.

Configuration

See references/apify-config.md for detailed API configuration, token setup, and rate limits.