Automate Google Ads Activity Detection

Overview

This workflow demonstrates how to automatically check if a list of companies is running ads on Google by leveraging the Google Ads Transparency Library, integrated via Clay.com and Apify. This workflow is particularly valuable for sales, marketing, and research professionals seeking actionable insights into digital advertising activity at scale.

Why This Use Case is Valuable

• Competitive Intelligence: Identify which companies are investing in Google Ads for prospecting and strategy.
• Lead Qualification: Quickly assess companies' advertising activity as part of lead enrichment.
• Efficiency: Automate checks across large company lists, saving time and reducing manual effort.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Prerequisites

1. Clay.com account
2. Apify account (to access a Google Ads scraper)
3. List of company websites/domains

Configuration Steps

1. Set Up Your Data Table
   • Prepare a table in Clay with company names and their website URLs.
2. Integrate Apify in Clay
   • Choose an Apify integration and select a Google Ads Library scraper actor.
3. Construct the Google Ads Library URL
   • Use Clay's formulaa generator to build the Ads Library URL for each company:
   • Example base URL: https://transparency.google.com/ads/advertiser/region/US/domain=
   • Concatenate this base with each company’s normalized domain.
4. Send Data to Apify Scraper
   • Forward the constructed URL to the Apify column for processing.
5. Set Desired Output
   • For this workflow, retrieve a simple indicator (e.g., result equals 1) to confirm whether ads are running, rather than extracting all ads.
6. Review and Interpret Results
   • Clay will display, for each listed company, whether Google Ads are detected (e.g., Gym Shark runs ads, Panda Express does not). Manual checks can validate unexpected results.

Tips and Recommendations

1. Scalability: This setup enables scaling to check hundreds of companies programmatically.
2. Customization: Expand the workflow to extract more detailed ad data if necessary (e.g., ad volume, types).
3. Cost: The main cost considerations relate to Clay.com’s minimum subscription and any Apify usage fees based on scraping volume.
4. Use Cases: Useful for sales prospecting, marketing research, and competitive landscape analysis.

Summary

This workflow unlocks easy, automated insight into brands’ Google advertising activity for efficient, data-driven business development and market research.