Information is one of the most valuable assets around the globe. However, you need a solid strategy to access it. Fortunately, web scraping allows you to extract data automatically and quickly.
Web scraping is typically easy when harvesting data through small websites. However, when trying to scrape big sites, you may face issues.
For instance, getting blocked is one of the common problems encountered by junior and not experienced developers.
If you’re in the same boat, perhaps you’re making some mistakes. Find out yours in the guide below.
Web Scraping and the Benefits It Offers
Whenever we need some information, we dash toward the internet. It includes unlimited data just a click away. You can find information in the blink of an eye, copy-paste it, and use it at your convenience.
However, copy-pasting it and collecting it manually doesn’t make much sense when you require big data. What’s worse, it’ll hike your costs and increase data extraction time, slowing the overall work.
Here’s when web scraping comes into play. It gives you access to critical information that you can utilise to leverage your business. Take a closer look at how you can benefit from it below.
Lead Generation
The core to gaining leads is accurate and up-to-date information. While you can download it from the internet, not all information is structured or readily available, for that matter.
Luckily, web scraping saves your day by allowing you to scrape your competitor’s websites. You know the niche your competitors belong to; all you need to do is send a crawling bot to get the job done.
This gives you an idea of what strategies high lead activity websites follow to convert customers and boost sales.
Ultimately, you can optimise your ways of drawing leads and find the right sales solutions.
Price Monitoring
You might have an excellent product, but if you do not know the pricing policy, you will fail to sell it. Unfortunately, predicting the price of an item for it to sell in the market is a tough cookie to crack.
You must set the pricing strategically where you enjoy the profit and your customers take delight in the flexible prices.
Luckily, web scraping allows you to monitor the prices of your rival products, helping you determine the best price for your items and services.
Product Optimization
Knowing what consumers are interested in is one of the top ways to boost sales. What customers think of a particular product and how they expect to see it helps you cross-examine and improve your products for the better.
Web scraping allows you to automate the extraction process and save time otherwise spent in manual data collection.
Effective Data Management
Of course, web scraping saves the hassle of a lengthy copy-pasting process. You can pick the data you’d want to collect and store it in a preferred format.
By managing data effectively, your employees and company spend less time on unnecessary tasks and focus more on assignments that matter.
Top 5 Reasons You’re Getting Blocked During Web Scraping
Do you keep getting blocked during web scraping, and you don’t know why? Check out the top reasons to figure it out.
- You’re Sending Multiple Requests
If you’re sending multiple requests from the same IP address, there’s no reason why you won’t get blocked. Website owners detect your footprint and ban you from accessing the information.
Luckily, rotating proxies can resolve the issue. It provides you with new IP everywhere you scrape data, making the process convenient for you.
- There’s a Problem With Web Scraping Tool
Your scraping tool may have an underlying issue. For instance, they often fail to imitate human-like behaviour due to which websites block them.
However, you can always switch to another, better scraping tool that solves the problem for you.
Learn more from Online Success Genie about the top 10 web scraping tools to boost your business.
- You’re Not Taking Pauses
The speed of crawlers is undoubtedly faster than humans. So when you extract data at a fast pace, without taking pauses, websites slow down.
However, you can avoid this blunder by making your crawler sleep during the scraping process. Try scraping fewer pages by sending concurrent requests and taking 10-20 second intervals before continuing.
- The Scraping Pattern Is the Same
Web scraping bots typically crawl in a similar pattern, unlike humans that do not perform the same tasks when browsing. Consequently, websites with anti-scraping mechanisms will catch your crawler and block it.
- You’re Scraping at the Same Time Everyday
Visiting the same website on a different day also reduces your footprint, decreasing the chance of unwanted bans. If you have been scraping at the same time every day, you need to reconsider your scraping habits.
Further, a few handy tips can help avoid such blocks and ease web scraping for you.
Avoid Unnecessary Blocks With Web Scraper API
You must perform data collection cautiously to overcome the web scraping challenges. But the question is how? Fortunately, there are various advanced web scraper APIs that save the day for companies.
Most of the time, a reliable scraper API takes care of IP blocks by using different IPs from proxy pools across several regions. Beyond that, trustworthy scraping tools allow the use of headless browsers to render javascript and access dynamic websites. Also, they constantly amend the details. As a result, websites see varying requests you send, allowing for an easier web scraping process. Click here to learn more about web scraper APIs and how they help companies and individuals achieve their goals.
Conclusion
Web scraping is perfectly legal as long as you act nice and follow the web scraping policies. Nonetheless, you may still encounter unexpected issues during the process.
Fortunately, web scraper APIs offer features that help you avoid problems and upgrade your business game through convenient web scraping.
