How to Scrape Reddit Ads with Ruby

Extract ad data from Reddit

💎 Using Ruby

Overview

Learn how to scrape Reddit ads using Ruby. This comprehensive guide will walk you through the entire process, from setup to implementation.

What You'll Learn

  • • Setting up your development environment
  • • Installing the required HTTP client
  • • Authenticating with the ScrapeCreators API
  • • Making requests to Reddit
  • • Handling responses and errors
  • • Best practices for production use

What You'll Get

  • • Access to ads data
  • • JSON formatted responses
  • • Real-time data access
  • • Scalable solution
  • • Error handling patterns
  • • Performance optimization tips

Prerequisites

1. API Key

First, you'll need a ScrapeCreators API key to authenticate your requests.

Sign up at app.scrapecreators.com to get your free API key with 100 requests.

2. Development Environment

Make sure you have the following installed:

  • • Ruby and its dependencies
  • • A code editor (VS Code, Sublime, etc.)
  • • Basic understanding of API requests
  • • Command line interface access

Step 1: Install HTTP Client

HTTParty is a Ruby library that makes HTTP requests easy

gem
gem install httparty

Step 2: API Implementation

Now let's make a request to the Reddit API using Ruby. Replace YOUR_API_KEY with your actual API key.

Ruby
require 'httparty'
require 'json'

API_KEY = 'YOUR_API_KEY'

def scrape
  response = HTTParty.get(
    "https://api.scrapecreators.com/v1/reddit/ad",
    headers: {
      'x-api-key' => API_KEY,
      'Content-Type' => 'application/json'
    },
    query: {
        'id' => '79e005f1e09ec72245e904d87d2a0869'
    }
  )

  puts 'Response:'
  puts JSON.pretty_generate(response.parsed_response)
  response.parsed_response
rescue => e
  puts "Error: #{e.message}"
  nil
end

# Usage
result = scrape

Step 3: Testing Your Code

API Parameters

This endpoint accepts the following parameters:

idRequired(string)

Ad id

Example: 79e005f1e09ec72245e904d87d2a0869

Run Your Code

Execute your script to test the API connection. You should see a JSON response with Reddit ads data.

✅ Success: You should receive a structured JSON response containing the requested data.

Expected Response

Here's an example of the JSON response you'll receive:

Sample Response
{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "analysis_summary": {
      "headline": [
        "Direct Question/Engagement: The headline poses a direct question to the reader. This is highly effective on Reddit as it immediately invites user participation and sparks curiosity. It encourages users to think about the topic and potentially share their own experiences or insights in the comments, aligning with Reddit's interactive and discussion-focused nature. This direct engagement fosters a sense of community and encourages users to click to find out more or participate in the conversation.",
        "Intrigue/Curiosity Gap: The headline uses the phrase \"rich person’s money tip\" creating a sense of mystery. This builds intrigue and taps into the user's desire to gain insider knowledge or learn something valuable. This resonates with Redditors who are often interested in learning new things, self-improvement, and financial literacy. The \"wish you knew sooner\" component further amplifies this curiosity, implying that the answer could save time or money.",
        "Relatability/Aspiration: The headline addresses a common desire: financial success. The phrase \"rich person’s money tip\" is aspirational, appealing to the audience's aspirations and goals. This creates a relatable hook that makes the ad relevant to a broad range of users, especially in subreddits related to finance, personal development, or career advice. It speaks to a universal desire for financial security and knowledge, positioning the ad as potentially offering valuable information."
      ],
      "media": []
    },
    "inspiration_creative": {
      "id": "79e005f1e09ec72245e904d87d2a0869",
      "budget_category": "HIGH",
      "industry": "OTHER",
      "placements": [
        "FEED",
        "COMMENTS_PAGE"
      ],
      "objective": "CONVERSIONS",
      "creative": {
        "id": "t3_1cdt7o6",
        "type": "TEXT",
        "content": [
          {
            "destination_url": null,
            "display_url": "self.thepennyhoarder",
            "call_to_action": null,
            "media_url": null
          }
        ],
        "headline": "What is a rich person’s money tip you wish you knew sooner?",
        "body": "Life would be a whole lot easier if someone would just Venmo us $1 million, but unfortunately the chance of that happening is, well, probably zero.",
        "thumbnail_url": "https://b.thumbs.redditmedia.com/9gzdjvf9fDu1vN2zxxVrvGqOJizhLf80W701zzkml2k.jpg",
        "allow_comments": false,
        "created_at": "2024-04-26T18:47:57+00:00",
        "profile_id": "t2_3usby",
        "post_url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/u_thepennyhoarder/comments/1cdt7o6/what_is_a_rich_persons_money_tip_you_wish_you/"
      },
      "profile_info": {
        "name": "u_thepennyhoarder",
        "snoovatar_icon_url": "https://www.redditstatic.com/avatars/defaults/v2/avatar_default_6.png"
      }
    }
  }
}

Verify Response Structure

Check that your response includes the expected fields:

  • ✓success(boolean)
  • ✓data(object)

Best Practices

1

Error Handling

Implement comprehensive error handling and retry logic for failed requests. Log errors properly for debugging.

2

Caching

Cache responses when possible to reduce API calls and improve performance. Consider data freshness requirements.

3

Security

Never expose your API key in client-side code. Use environment variables and secure key management practices.

Performance Tips

Batch Requests

When scraping multiple ads, consider batching requests to maximize throughput while staying within rate limits.

Async Processing

Use asynchronous processing in Ruby to handle multiple requests concurrently and improve overall performance.

Common Use Cases

Market Research

Analyze Reddit ads to understand market trends, competitor analysis, and audience insights.

Content Analytics

Track performance metrics, engagement rates, and content trends across Reddit ads.

Lead Generation

Identify potential customers and business opportunities throughReddit data analysis.

Troubleshooting

Common Errors

401 Unauthorized

Check your API key is correct and properly formatted in the x-api-key header.

402 Payment Required

You ran out of credits and need to buy more.

404 Not Found

The resource might not exist or be private.

500 Server Error

Temporary server issue. Implement retry logic with exponential backoff.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to scrape Reddit ads?

ScrapeCreators offers 100 free API calls to get started. After that, pricing starts at $10 for 5k requests with volume discounts available.

Is it legal to scrape Reddit data?

Scraping publicly available data is fair game, and we only collect public data. So anything that you can see in an incognito browser is what we collect.

How fast can I scrape Reddit ads?

There is no rate limit! So you can scrape as fast as you want!

What data format does the API return?

All API responses are returned in JSON format, making it easy to integrate with any programming language or application.

Can I use this with other Ruby frameworks?

Yes! This tutorial focuses on core Ruby HTTP concepts that work with any framework. The API calls remain the same regardless of your specific Ruby setup.

How do I handle large datasets?

For large datasets, implement pagination, use streaming responses where available, and consider storing data in a database for efficient querying.

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