Web scraping is the process of extracting information from a source or website which contains valuable information and scraping all of that and saving it in your system in the format you would like to view it in such as CSV file and much more.

Previously, if a company needed to extract information from a website, they would opt for the method of copy-pasting. But the drawback here was when it comes to large data the copy-pasting would consume a lot of time to conduct the action and when you copy-paste big data the website slows down alerting the owner of suspicious activity.

Interesting Read : How can web scraping help in efficient growth hacking?

But with web scraping, this isn’t the case. In just a few minutes you can easily extract information without slowing down the website which is why it has grown to be popular. To conduct web scraping activities is convenient, all you need to is:

1 . Select the website/source you want to scrape

2. Choose the data which you needs scraping

3. Run the web scraping code

4. Save it all in your system

Let’s learn better how you can use web scraping better for job posting data.

1. HELPS YOU FIND THE RIGHT AUDIENCE

The key ingredient to tapping leads is to find out first which is your target audience. When you don’t engage with the right target audience, your chances of converting leads becomes relatively less. Hence with web scraping, you can easily find out which audience will be best suited for your brand. You can scrape websites of your competitors and monitor which leads are great for your brand and start engaging with them sooner.

2. COLLECT CONTACT INFORMATION

With web scraping, you can easily collect lead information without any hassle. So many times, your competitors or other sources have a sign-up option for their leads to engage with them.

If you scrape such data you can easily retrieve email addresses and phone numbers which will help you to tap leads and convert them into a potential sales lead. For B2B leads the number one way to go ahead and win leads is through referrals and when you can collect such information it becomes quicker for you to assist them too. 

3. MONITOR DATA

The market keeps changing and so does your client's preferences. Before your competitors can even plan their next move it is crucial that you hit the target audience first With web scraping you can subscribe to daily data capture from sources so that you are always aware of what your current clients are looking out for.

For B2B lead generation, web scraping helps you to monitor the raw data you have in hand so that you can apply the solutions when you plan your next lead generation action. 

Interesting Read : How web scraping can benefit the healthcare industry?

4. STAYING AHEAD OF YOUR COMPETITORS

This is one of the most crucial factors to conduct B2B lead generation. An excellent way to receive quality leads which will instantly turn into hot leads, which will give you the expected results you aim to achieve and which will help you soar your brand higher sooner is by web scraping your competitor's information.

With web scraping you can easily monitor and track down all the information of your competitor's next move, from their pricing patterns to their lead reviews and feedback, you can get all this information in your system via web scraping and apply its solution by improvising your solution to sell them better.

5. CAPTURE DATA FROM SOCIAL MEDIA

‘’49% of B2B marketers site social media marketing as the most difficult lead generation tactic to execute’’

Today every client of yours is on social media. But the sad reality is that there are so many of them but you might not be able to find them all. So many different social media handles, multiple users, constant engagements can lead you to miss out on a few essential leads which could cost your brand a high value. With web scraping this is possible. 

You can extract any information about your clients from Instagram, Linkedin or Facebook and even get a hold of their community so that you can keep a closer eye on who you can engage better with. With almost everyone imprinting its presence, it’s great to capture B2B leads with such a platform that has potential leads right closer to you. 

It’s easy to get started with web scraping.

1. DEXI.IO

Dexi.io also referred to as Cloudscape extracts data from the website without any need of downloading any of the information. With the scraping activities, the data can be easily saved in cloud-based platforms such as Google Drive. Dexi.io also supports the use of proxy servers so that it can conduct anonymous accessing of data.

FEATURES:

1 . Web Scraping

2. Automation Tools

3. High scale knowledge capture

4. Data mining and much more

PRICING:

For business purposes, Standard -$119/m, Professional- $399/m and Corporate- $699/m.

RATINGS:

4.6/5

2. WEBHOSE.IO

Webhose.io conducts web scraping activities in more than 240 languages and also supports saving it in different formats such as JSON, RSS and more. It is a browser-based app where a data crawling technology has been used to crawl multiple channels with a single API.

FEATURES:

1 . Conducts Financial analysis

2. Conducts market research

3. Conducts Media and web monitoring and much more

PRICING:

API calls depend on the plans you choose for instance to receive 1000 API calls it will cost monthly $39, click here for more details.

RATINGS:

5/5

3. IMPORT.IO

Using the best technology, import.io conducts efficient web scraping activities. It conducts web scraping activities by allowing you to form your datasets by importing data from a web page being selected and exporting the data you have in any format you like such as CSV file. The greatest thing about import.io is that you don’t require any coding which makes the process much easier.

FEATURES:

1 . Easy capture of data

2. Deliver high-quality web data

3. Conducts web data integration and much more

PRICING:

Need to enquire with Import.io team

RATINGS: 

3.9/5

However conducting web scraping on a daily basis can add a risk of your IP getting blocked hence it is important that when conducting web scraping this activity is secured which is why our next solution can help you in this matter.

Proxy servers stand between a user and the website it wants to access. When a user sends a request to view a restricted website the proxy server will receive the request first and then send it to the website. The reason why a proxy server receives it first is that it changes the IP address.

Many times you get blocked when viewing restricted sources of information because your IP address speaks about the location you are in. What a proxy server does is it helps to eliminate that issue by hiding your actual identity and giving another one.

When it comes to web scraping for your business activities, proxy servers are beneficial. While you continue to scrape the multiple websites, proxy servers ensure that your identity is hidden and that the scraping activity conducts quicker.