Build an n8n data API workflow with a real JSON input

Workflow automation tools like n8n allow engineering and growth teams to build resilient data pipelines without maintaining dedicated backend servers. Whether you are synchronizing leads into a CRM, monitoring competitors on a weekly schedule, or feeding fresh intelligence into an internal database, n8n provides a visual node canvas backed by self-hosted or cloud execution.

Connecting external data APIs into n8n is straightforward, but production workflows require proper architectural discipline: securing API credentials, validating responses, handling empty states, and preventing alert fatigue.

This guide walks through building an end-to-end competitor intelligence watcher in n8n using the Google Ads Transparency Scraper. We will configure an HTTP Request node, validate the structured JSON response, and route formatted alerts to Slack or Google Sheets.

Architecture of the workflow

A reliable data automation in n8n follows a four-stage pipeline:

Trigger: A Manual Trigger for testing, transitioning to a Schedule Trigger (e.g., every Monday at 09:00 AM) in production.
API Call: An HTTP Request node calling Apify’s synchronous dataset endpoint (run-sync-get-dataset-items) with a JSON payload.
Validation & Filtering: An IF or Switch node verifying that data was returned and isolating new ad creatives.
Action: Appending new rows to a Google Sheet or posting formatted alerts to a team Slack channel.

Step 1: Configure the HTTP Request Node

In your n8n workflow canvas, add an HTTP Request node and configure the connection parameters:

Method: POST

URL:

https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/hirepulse~google-ads-transparency-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN

Send Headers: Enable headers and add:
- Content-Type: application/json

Send Body: Enable and select JSON. Paste the target request object:

{
  "domains": [
    "nike.com"
  ],
  "country": "US",
  "max_ads_per_domain": 40,
  "mode": "ads"
}

Managing API tokens securely in n8n

Never hardcode raw API tokens directly into the URL field in shared or version-controlled workflows. Instead:

In n8n, create a new Header Auth credential named Apify Auth. Set the header name to Authorization and the value to Bearer YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN.
Alternatively, use n8n’s environment variables ($env.APIFY_TOKEN) to reference your secret securely at runtime.

Step 2: Validate the raw JSON response

Execute the HTTP Request node manually. Because we are calling the synchronous dataset endpoint (run-sync-get-dataset-items), Apify runs the Actor and returns the resulting dataset items directly as a JSON array of items:

[
  {
    "domain": "nike.com",
    "advertiser_name": "Nike, Inc.",
    "advertiser_verified": true,
    "format": "text",
    "first_shown": "2023-11-16T21:51:37Z",
    "last_shown": "2026-10-14T15:10:53Z",
    "days_running": 1062
  }
]

Inspect the returned items in n8n’s output panel. Confirm that expected attributes—such as domain, advertiser_name, format, and days_running—are present before adding downstream consumers.

Step 3: Implement branching and filtering

Not every execution will contain actionable creative changes. If you configure recurring competitor surveillance using the "only_new_ads": true setting:

Runs where competitors launched new ads will return creative items with format and timestamps.
Runs where no new ads appeared will return an empty array or an informational status message.

Add an IF Node after your HTTP step:

Condition: String {{ $json.format }} is not empty.
True branch: Connect to your Slack or database notification steps.
False branch: Connect to a No-Operation (NoOp) node or log entry.

This simple condition ensures your team only receives alerts when actionable new creatives are detected, eliminating notification spam.

Step 4: Formatting Slack and team alerts

Connect a Slack Node or Webhook Node to the True branch of your IF node. Format the message markdown to highlight key competitor intelligence:

🚨 New Competitor Ad Detected: {{ $json.domain }}
• Advertiser: {{ $json.advertiser_name }} (Verified: {{ $json.advertiser_verified }})
• Format: {{ $json.format }}
• First Seen: {{ $json.first_shown }}
• Days Running: {{ $json.days_running }} days

Recipients can immediately see the ad format, advertiser identity, and lifespan without leaving Slack.

Error handling and retry strategies

For enterprise reliability, configure n8n’s node error handling settings:

Retry on Fail: Enable with 2 retries and a 5-second interval to handle transient network hiccups.
Error Trigger: Create a global Error Trigger workflow that catches unexpected HTTP 4xx/5xx responses and alerts an on-call engineer rather than failing silently.
Execution Logging: n8n saves execution histories by default. When auditing historical runs, you can inspect the exact input payload submitted and compare it with the downstream records written to your database.

Technical limitations and pricing

Scope: The scraper extracts public Google Ads Transparency data (text, image, and video creatives, first/last seen dates, preview assets, and verification status). It does not expose private ad spend, conversion numbers, or CPC bidding metrics.
Pricing: Billed at $0.005 per domain checked + $0.0015 per ad returned. The free Apify plan supports testing 1 domain with up to 5 ads.

Next steps

Open Google Ads Transparency Scraper on the Apify Store
Review full input documentation on the tool page
Learn more about competitor creative analysis in How to see every Google ad a competitor runs, or explore automated job tracking in Google Jobs API with Python