Web scraping

Definition of web scraping

Web scraping involves extracting data from websites using automated tools or scripts, gathering information for various purposes such as analysis or aggregation.

More about web scraping

Web scraping can be used to collect product prices, news articles, or any other data available on websites. A business scraping competitor prices from e-commerce websites for market analysis. It is widely used in sectors such as finance, marketing, real estate, and travel to gather real-time data for insights and decision-making. Companies use scraping tools to monitor trends, track online reviews, and extract data from directories or job boards. While powerful, web scraping must be done ethically and in compliance with website terms of service and legal regulations to avoid issues related to data ownership or privacy. Advanced techniques may involve automated scripts, headless browsers, or APIs to handle dynamic content and bypass restrictions like CAPTCHA.

Strategies for web scraping

Adhere to website terms of service, respect robots.txt guidelines, and ensure ethical and legal data usage.

Related terms

• Data extraction
• Crawling
• Data mining