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Effective web scraping tips and tricks for efficient business activities in 2020

Effective web scraping tips and tricks for efficient business activities in 2020

web scraping tips and tricks

‘’Web scraping is the best way to collect data for growing your business today.’’

Today the one thing that can help a business to successfully grow its business or to cater to prospects needs in 2020 is data.

Data is the life source that can help a business to determine what will work for their prospects and what will not. It also provides solutions to improvise and manage the current solution being sold by brands in a better way. In simpler terms, data is what will develop your business to reach past your peers and spark a successful wave in the market.

“When we have all data online it will be great for humanity. It is a prerequisite to solving many problems that humankind faces.” – Robert Cailliau, Belgian informatics engineer and computer scientist who, together with Tim Berners-Lee, developed the World Wide Web.’’

Understanding that data is quite essential for a brand, did you know that this isn’t easily available? Many brands share data online, but that data wouldn’t be effective and neither will you be able to download it. The age-old method of copy-pasting will consume half of your time to identify and find the ideal solution which can help to improvise the solutions you are currently offering.

‘’Data collection used to involve manual data collection such as talking with customers face-to-face or taking surveys via phone, mail, or in-person. Whatever the method, most data had to be collected manually for businesses to understand their customers and market better. Because of the financial cost, time, difficulty of execution, and more associated with data collection, many companies operated with limited data.’’

Hence to put all such time-consuming errors and data retrieval panics to rest, web scraping is considered to be one of the finest solutions for data retrieval activity. Prompt cloud stated in its article about web scraping, ‘’get valuable insights, and information about your latest competition, no matter what you deal in – products or services.’’

Web scraping is growing more popular and it’s not just taken the business world by storm, it is trusted by many individuals to provide data which could enhance and grow the business in a more efficient and structured manner, ‘’It is also becoming increasingly clear that those who will make creative and advanced use of web scraping tools will race ahead of others and gain a competitive advantage.’’

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WHAT IS WEB SCRAPING?

Web scraping is the process of extracting data from a website or any other source of information in the form you would like such as CSV, XML and much more. For instance, say you want to improvise in the way you want to launch your new product. Having data which gives you all the guidelines can be really helpful.

So with web scraping, all the information with reference to product launches can be scraped. Even your competitor's website can be really helpful. The reviews they have received from their product launches can help you to eliminate any errors as well as apply on the strong factors to enhance the new product.

When the information collected has been applied, you are offering your prospects the ideal solution. What happens later? The sales chart and conversion rates spark higher growth.

Web scraping can scrape through any form of content, it takes only a shorter time process to complete it. For instance, all you need to do is choose which source or website you want to scrape, conduct the process and find all that information saved in your system so that you can easily monitor and manage your strategies.

Web scraping has helped many business sectors and departments to flourish better in their workflows. If you are curious about how web scraping can help you, the next category will be able to give you clarity.

EFFECTIVE WEB SCRAPING TIPS AND TRICKS FOR EFFICIENT BUSINESS ACTIVITIES IN 2020

web scraping tips and tricks

1. WEB SCRAPING FOR DATA SCIENTISTS

Data scientists depend highly on data. With valuable data, they are able to identify the solutions which can help to solve the problems being addressed. For many businesses, having data scientists to help create predictable solutions that could enhance their brand for the future is very important. Hence data is what will help a business to identify how exactly can they create, monitor and apply successful strategies.

TIPS & TRICKS:

There is a lot of information available online. With the web, scraping data scientists can scrape through all the relevant information required and closely monitor the data for the creation of effective solutions. Instead of downloading all the information available, web scraping lets you scrape the information which you require.

2. WEB SCRAPING FOR CONTENT MARKETING

‘’72% of marketers say content marketing increases engagement.’’ Many brands today depend highly on content marketing. From creating insightful blogs to the creation of engaging video content, content is one of the greatest ways to grab the prospect's attention and draw them towards a brand more quicker and easier.

TIPS & TRICKS:

With web scraping, you can easily conduct efficient content marketing. There are multiple blogs, use cases, infographics, videos being posted and created each day, how can you identify which topics work and which will drive more engagement and attention? With web scraping this is easy. What happens is you can easily scrape which topics prospects are interested to read about, what type of videos are they expecting to see how long they want the blog to be, what interests them in content and much more, Gathering all this information helps to plan your content marketing strategies with more clarity.

3. WEB SCRAPING IN A REAL ESTATE BUSINESS

The real estate market has witnessed a tremendous change for the past few years. The rise of technology has made it easier for agents and brokers to showcase a property without having to be physically present. Even when it comes to sales, cold calls and emails are not the only way to capture leads, even content is playing a vital role in educating and pulling the attention of warm leads. Selling a house is not easy, but with the right information such as stats and understanding your prospect's needs, it becomes one step easy.

TIPS & TRICKS:

Web scraping is a great solution to help agents and brokers to sell better to potential prospects. With web scraping one can easily scrape through lead information via any source such as social media also web scraping can even help to provide valuable data with reference to what prospects think when they want to purchase a property, what the exact needs are and how are they looking at agents or brokers to assist them. Having such a piece of valuable information helps to sell better as well as waste no time in identifying what prospects actually need.

4. WEB SCRAPING FOR PRICING COMPARISONS

Pricing is one of the key ingredients for any business. Pricing is important because it is the one thing that prospects consider when comparing two separate brands. For instance, if you sell your solution for $45 and your competitors are selling for $48, prospects definitely will choose one which adds more value and is budget-friendly. Hence creating an effective pricing strategy matters and is important to develop a better competitive edge. You can check this pricing intelligence for it.

TIPS & TRICKS:

Web scraping can help brands to scrape through competitor's websites so that one is well aware of how their pricing strategies function. Having an idea of several competitors' pricing strategies can help a brand to understand what the difference is and how they can place an effective strategy that will grab the attention of prospects. Scraping all that information and closely monitoring it will reap a brand the benefits of properly analyzing and effective pricing curation.

5. WEB SCRAPING TO CONDUCT EFFICIENT LEAD GENERATION ACTIVITIES

Capturing leads and then converting them as a qualified lead isn’t a simple task. Many brands commit the mistake of capturing the wrong leads and nurturing them without even understanding completely whether these leads will add value to their business. To top that even when the leads have been recognized, nurturing them and understanding their needs are not conducted timely which again enforces a band to incur the loss of potential leads.

TIPS & TRICKS:

With web scraping, such mishaps can be avoided. Web scraping scrapes through relevant lead information so that you are contacting only the potential prospects. Also scraping through valuable data will also help a brand to understand how to nurture a lead and when the next action would be. Web scraping doesn’t just provide valuable data in hand, it also helps to align an effective strategy which will help you to conduct efficient lead generation activities without any hassles.

6. WEB SCRAPING FOR THE AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY

The automobile industry is functioning well in the market. With the growth of technology, the creation of automobiles is more refined and better than what it was in the past. Hence the growing trends are what helped automobile companies today to create such elegant beauties just the way their customers would prefer. It could be the colour, or the features or even the style of the automobile, ensuring that a customer's vision is brought to life. It is exactly how the automobile industry is growing higher. 

TIPS & TRICKS:

Web scraping can be beneficial here as well. Web scraping provides you with the opportunity to conduct regular automobile scraping of market information, customer reviews, feedbacks so that whenever you plan to launch a new design or emerging in the journey of creating a masterpiece, you will have all the advice needed from your customers and the market to create a beauty which will not only grab many eyeballs but also be a successful hit in the automobile market.

7. WEB SCRAPING FOR THE MODERN HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY

Healthcare has seen its shares of data breaching and the new trend in technologies in the medical field. The healthcare industry is accustomed to managing many confidential data of patients as well as the medications. Even a small error can cause a minute yet impactful data breaching to take place. While technology has evolved, such practices are being applied today to cure the impossible. Since healthcare is managing to carve a better future for the industry, the risks are still attached along every new path.

TIPS & TRICKS:

Web scraping can benefit the healthcare industry in many ways. By scraping relevant information with regards to the new technologies, the healthcare industry can easily cater to the new ways patients can be treated which can help to enhance their responsibilities with more accuracy. Web scraping can also scrape through information about the different types of safety measures that can be applied to eliminate any data breaching activities. 

8. WEB SCRAPING FOR SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVITIES

Social media is one of the best industries when it comes to enhancing a brand’s image in the market as well as to engage better with potential prospects. From engaging with prospects to build connections to pulling the attention of potential leads, the media surrounds social media who plays a huge role in effective lead generation in 2020. From posting the right ads to sell clients businesses better in offering impactful solutions required, the media is well aware of how social media can tear or pull a brand towards achieving the goals.

TIPS & TRICKS:

Web scraping can enhance such a significant platform. With web scraping, any media firm can easily scrape through information which can answer all their relevant queries such as what do their prospects like to see, what attracts them, what is trending in the market, how to create ads which act as a magnet puller for prospects and much more. Scraping such relevant information signifies the growth of media brands in the years to come.

9. WEB SCRAPING TO INTACT A BRAND’S ONLINE REPUTATION

For every brand, the scariest thing is when they read bad reviews and feedbacks about their brand. It is scary because your potential prospects can actually turn their path away from you and go to your competitors just because of one bad review. But with the competition rising, there are many users who post bad comments in order to degrade a brand which happens on a more regular basis.

TIPS & TRICKS:

Web scraping can prevent this from happening. Scraping information such as reviews and feedbacks alerts brands to take quick measures before it is even viewed by prospects. A brand can easily eliminate such comments and maintain their brand reputation online. Conducting frequent web scraping activities helps to eliminate such mishaps from happening and ensures that your brand is giving the perception of you offering a reliable service. Now you can also conduct automated web scraping so that you can also focus on other important factors, isn’t that great?

10. WEB SCRAPING FOR EFFICIENT SEO ACTIVITIES

SEO is another factor that helps in attracting leads and capturing them in the form of search engine rankings, keywords, and backlinks. For instance, if you place the right keywords or apply a backlink from a reliable source when your prospects search for relevant topics, your article will appear first to them. SEO plays a key ingredient in attracting prospects via this method.

TIPS & TRICKS:

Web scraping can help to conduct efficient online SEO activities. It can help to scrape the relevant SEO blog topics which are garnering more prospect attention, find keywords even from your competitor's SEO actions so that sufficient keywords are applied in the content and are ranked the highest when your prospect searches for it. It also ensures that the right backlinks are being used so that ranking the content becomes hassle-free.

11. WEB SCRAPING TO CONDUCT IMPACTFUL SALES ACTIVITIES

Sales is a process where capturing and converting potential leads into qualified takes place. But not all the sales calls being made are able to convert prospects into leads. The reason could be numerous such as lack of empathy or poor understanding of needs, not much knowledge about when to contact and manage your leads and much more. But when sales are done right, it provides the opportunity to grasp valuable leads who can be an asset for the business.

TIPS & TRICKS:

Web scraping can lessen the burden amongst sales reps for this process. With web scraping, you can easily scrape through information such as when is the best time to call prospects? Or what exactly a lead is looking for in a product or what are the current requirements for the industry you work in, how you should cater to prospects, how can your solution benefit prospect's needs and much more. Having such valuable information enhances a sales rep's path towards better lead capture and conversion.

12. WEB SCRAPING FOR MARKETING

Marketing is another key element just like sales who has the ability to create a strategy that will help sales and the other teams in the department to achieve better prospect attention. Marketing consists of many things, from forming impactful strategies to creating effective campaigns, a good marketing plan can benefit many teams in the business to walk on the right path towards achieving the brand goals. 

TIPS & TRICKS:

For marketing to be successful the right data needs to be in hand. The right data includes the likes and dislikes of prospects, the market conditions, the reviews of prospects, the preferences and trends and much more. To ensure that such valuable information was present, web scraping can help marketers to scrape such significant data so that analyzing a quality solution is being practiced and applied at the earliest. When the marketing plan is confident when selling to prospects, the business, in turn, achieves better results.

13. WEB SCRAPING FOR MEANINGFUL RESEARCH PROCESSES

Many brands today are investing in the research and development sector because they know that good research can create predictive outcomes that can possibly benefit a brand from achieving success in different ways. As mentioned in the first pointer, data scientists are one of them. Conducting research requires a large sum of data but with the online world restricting the access to even view a few information, how can effective research activities be conducted with less than sufficient data in hand?

TIPS & TRICKS:

By conducting regular web scraping, research teams can easily scrape through any data they wish to acquire to strengthen the theories they create. The process of web scraping is so simple that research teams don't have to wait for long hours to retrieve all the quality information. When the research teams have sufficient information in hand, chances are exceptional solutions are created with better clarity and evidence.

14. WEB SCRAPING FOR FINANCE +INSURANCE

Finance rotates around giving the right investment and money-saving advice while insurance guides users to take precautions before any downfall. The beauty of these two areas is that they are focused more on helping users to benefit better which is exactly why millions of users depend on their suggestions and advice. But with the fluctuating market and trends, how can these two sectors keep their heads straight on time and be adaptive to the new changes?

TIPS & TRICKS:

Here is when web scraping can help. For finance, web scraping can scrape through all the financial information such as regular market updates, investment opportunities and much more. For insurance, it can speak again more about the market and which insurance is better and much more. Being in a customer-centric area requires such sectors to always be present with the solutions of the changing trends and markets and assist customers as and when their query arises. With regular web scraping, this action has become much easier.

15. WEB SCRAPING FOR E-COMMERCE

‘’In 2021 in the US alone, e-commerce represents almost 10% of retail sales and that number is expected to grow by nearly 15% each year!’’ E-commerce uses the online platform to engage better with prospects. Common examples are Amazon, eBay and much more. Such platforms provide a wide diversity in order to cater to customers' needs. There are many emerging e-commerce businesses that are rising up and the competition is becoming tougher hence the one thing that can distinguish a new band from the old is uniqueness, but how can a new e-commerce brand achieve that? Data could be the right preference.

TIPS & TRICKS:

Web scraping can help the emerging brands by scraping data with reference to how they exhibit their brands different from their competitors, how they can sell better, what new techniques they can apply and much more. For existing brands, web scraping can scrape information such as how they can retain the growth of their enterprise, what are the market changes and how they can improvise what they are selling and much more. The e-commerce industry needs to retain its growth by understanding what its online customers require and with web scraping this process has become more efficient.

HOW PROXY SERVERS CAN SECURE WEB SCRAPING ACTIVITIES?

As you have witnessed above, web scraping is a continuous process and for such an activity to be conducted on a regular basis, chances are at times you can be blocked. In order to avoid such a mishap from happening, using a proxy server can secure such activities.

A proxy server allows users to view any information online without having to reveal their identity. It also ensures that any information being viewed is from a reliable website. For instance, say you want to scrape information from your competitor's website, so to secure this action you use a proxy server so that the IP address is shown will not reveal your identity. On the other hand, the proxy will also act as a protective shield to confirm that the information being scraped or even viewed from a good source.

FAQ's

THE BOTTOM LINE…

‘’Today, running your business with the help of data is the new standard. If you’re not using data to guide your business into the future, you will become a business of the past. ‘’

Web scraping curbs a business to make the right decisions when catering to their potential prospects. The market will keep fluctuating and technology will continue to rise what needs to remain constant is you having such information in hand. For a trend to become old doesn’t take much time to fade away, hence when a new trend emerges and you are late to tap it into an opportunity, chances are you could miss out on many potential prospects. 

Always ensure that you are using the right web scraping tools and are depending on a reliable paid proxy server to assist such essential actions. The online world has become stricter due to the rise in online crimes and hence it is crucial for you to understand that any action being conducted online relies on a secure platform to safeguard it which is exactly what a web scraping and proxy server aim to deliver.

Which industry are you working in? With the pointers mentioned above, were you amazed at the way web scraping could benefit you? When are you planning to incorporate the above solutions? We would like to hear from you.

About the author

Rachael Chapman

A Complete Gamer and a Tech Geek. Brings out all her thoughts and Love in Writing Techie Blogs.

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