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The Need for Ready-Made Data Scrapers
The manual data extraction method is not only time-consuming and resource-intensive.
05:00 07 February 2022
There’s no doubt that the modern world is dependent on data. Every business or organization today, regardless of the size, has a huge amount of data that is generated with every process, from invoices, payrolls, call logs, surveys, and more. All these data provide valuable insights that can help simplify research processes or drive better outcomes for your enterprise.
Data extraction from different organizations, websites, or businesses can be achieved through different methods, but mainly:
- Manual extraction method
- The automated method/ ready-made data scraping
Manual Extraction and its Challenges
The manual data extraction method is not only time-consuming and resource-intensive but also has several downsides that can negatively affect business growth.
For example, Manual data scraping comes with a high risk of error compared to the automated or ready-made data scraper tools like Web automation.
Most times, the error rate is attributed to
- Inadequate training of manpower involved in data entry
- Human error
- Incomprehensible information
- Misinterpretation of data
All of these issues can affect several business processes, especially the ones that involve high volumes of data every day.
Another problem with using manual extraction processes is the effort and cost that is invested in verifying the data extracted from selected sources. This stage is very important in every data extraction process, as it helps to prevent issues that may arise due to inaccurate data sent for analysis.
Using the manual method, you may need to hire additional personnel or experts who spend house to ensure the accuracy of the entered day. These experts go over each file and check for errors or inconsistencies. This costs a lot of money and time.
Again, manual data extraction can distract employees from other value-adding tasks. So most times, they end up not achieving strategic objectives that need timely delivery of needed data.
What is Data Scraping?
Data scraping, otherwise called web scraping is the process of importing relevant information from a website into a local file or spreadsheet. This is one of the most efficient ways to collect data from the website. And most times, you can easily channel the imported data to another website.
You can easily use data scraping tools for:
- Conducting market research by crawling several data sources (e.g. Twitter and Yell)
- Research for web content
- Pricing for travel booker sites
- Sending product data from an e-commerce website to a different online vendor (e.g. Google, eBay, Amazon, Alibaba)
The Need for Ready-made Data Scrapers
Automating data collection using scraping tools is one of the best breakthroughs in the world of technology. Instead of using manual methods or spending more time waiting for third-party organizations to revert on data extraction results, you can simply use data scraping tools that provide rapid results in no time.
Think of it – How amazing would it be for you to simply extract relevant information from various documents, businesses, or websites?
Advanced data extraction software, such as “Web automation,” allows any user to extract data instantly from 400+ popular websites website without the need for coding.
With “Web Automation,” you get access to ready-made extractors like the Google search results scrapers, Airbnb price scrapers, Amazon search results scrapers, eBay price scrapers, and more. You can even get a concierge to build you an extractor. All you need to do is enter your target URL, select elements, and submit.
Data Scrapers for Diverse Business Sectors
The beauty of using web scraping is that it works for all sectors and business types. You can easily use these tools to understand your audience, generate leads, or compare pricing to be more competitive.
In the world of e-commerce, data scraping is important for competitive price monitoring, one of such is scraping for product details on Amazon. As a brand, you can easily check the pricing of your competitor’s products and services. This can help you fine-tune your price strategies to be ahead of the game.
Manufacturers can also use this tool to ensure retailers are working with the pricing guidelines for their products. Also, market research analysts or organizations depend on data extraction to measure consumer sentiments based on reviews and feedback.
In the Logistics industry, service providers deal with lots of incoming data, from purchase orders to invoices and customer information. This information needs to be processed promptly to avoid any delay or error that may cause serious issues for the service provider.
Using data scraping tools, however, helps to automate the process and create rule-based templates. You can easily identify important fields in different unstructured documents, such as text files, PDF files, etc.
The data scraping software collects the required information from the documents based on your template created. This way, employees can extract information easily from all incoming documents using the same layout. The user achieves this without any coding.
Also, the aerospace industry is another sector that can benefit from ready-made data scrapers. Businesses in this sector deal with extensive information from different sources – including stakeholders and internal sources. Common information in these businesses include
- visa processing
- booking information
- flight logs
- Cancellations, and more.
Failure to automate these data can lead to several operational issues that may cause the business a lot of money, not to mention poor customer experience.
Ready-made data scrapers are needed to increase cost-efficiency and boost productivity within the organization.
You can also get a competitive advantage by scraping data from travel websites to analyze pricing, review, and more.
Final Remark
It is not far-fetched that opting for ready-made data scrapers is one of the best ways to simplify your business research needs and stay ahead of competitors. It is, however, important to find the right scraping software that works well to meet your needs. One of the best scraping tools that can help you extract data instantly from any website in minutes is “Web Automation.” This ready-made data scraper does not need coding, and it can help you access any data you need, no matter where it is located and even if it is unstructured.
Remember, to help your business thrive well without wasting much time and resources, you don’t need to use manual methods that will wear your employees out. Instead, you can use a comprehensive scraping tool to bridge the gap between unstructured data and effective business measures and applications.