Are you in the process of gathering large amounts of data online so that you can then remove it, save it, and store it in your own database to use for marketing purposes? Maybe you haven’t yet begun the project, but are about to embark on what seems like an absolutely massive job. If you were to do this job yourself, literally visiting site after site and manually extracting data, you can bet it would take an incredible amount of time. Known as web scraping or data scraping, there are tools that exist to make the project faster and more effective.
Once you start down the rabbit hole of data or web scraping tools, it’s pretty easy to start feeling overwhelmed at the options. This is exactly why we’ve gone ahead and put together this list of some of the best, most effective scraper tools on the market today. Keep in mind it’s all going to come down to personal preference and needs, so you’re wise to go into the process with a clear picture on what you need to be able to accomplish with one of these tools.
DataMiner Scraper
With this particular tool, you’ll be able to extract data from any HTML web page out there. This includes not just the text but also lists and tables. The data you extract can then be uploaded to Microsoft Excel or to Google Sheets. This one features 500 pages per month free, and then after that, you start paying for the additional pages starting at $19.99 for an additional 500 pages per month. There are a limited number of sites for scraping with this tool.
Mozenda
Mozenda is best for those who want a cloud-based self-serve web scraping platform. Mozenda has scraped more than seven billion web pages, making it pretty impressive. It offers on-site hosting, the platform is extremely scalable, and they offer a superior level of customer service to those who pay for the service.
ScrapeSimple
As its name suggests, this one is relatively easy to use. What makes it so unique is the fact it can be custom-built to suit your specific needs. If you’re busy trying to scrape data for marketing purposes, the ability to customize the scraper can make sense since you can ensure that it delivers exactly what you need.
The way it works is that you let them know what data you need from exactly which web site, and it will be done and sent straight to you. You will be able to set up the delivery schedule whether that be daily, weekly, or monthly. In other words, very little work or effort is done on your part.
Import.io
If you are dealing with scraping data that is only semi-structured and you need to be able to convert that content into fully structured data, Import.io may be a good option. This particular tool can come in especially handy for those who need data in order to make marketing decisions and strategies since it can be integrated with other well-known apps. You will be able to try this one for free thanks to the seven-day free trial, and after that, you can sign up for the plan that best suits your needs. There is a minimum plan requirement of 5,000 pages per month at a cost of $299. The tool is relatively easy to use and supports the extracted data formats of xlsx, xls, csv, and json.
Parsehub
ParseHub is one of those web scrapers that has a wide-reaching customer base. Just about anyone can find ParseHub useful, from novices to professionals looking for high-end web scraping. It is extremely powerful and there is no coding needed, which means it’s very easy to use. Data is exported to Excel or JSON format, and it’s able to scrape 200 pages in 40 minutes. This one can crawl both single and multiple websites and it features machine learning technology, which means even complicated documents are no match for it.
You’ll get the first 200 pages per site free, and after that, you will pay $149 for 10,000 pages per site, or you can pay $499 for unlimited pages per site.
Parsers.me
Parsers.me is another powerful option that works as an extension for mining the data. The way it works is that you choose the elements on the page using the xpath and value, and from there the program will analyze the site in order to find the same type of data. It sounds complex, but in reality, it’s relatively simple to use.
The first 1,000 pages per site are free, and then it’s $19.99 for 5,000 pages per site moving forward. It supports scraping pictures and extracts data in xlsx, xls, csv, JSON, and xml formats. There is an unlimited number of sites for scraping, so you can really go to town with this one.
Content Grabber
If it’s content you’re after, the Content Grabber can certainly help you achieve your goal. Where this one shines is the fact it is multi-functional. It’s ideal for those who possess programming skills since it is so powerful; users are permitted to write script and even debug the actual crawling process. Clearly, this one isn’t built for novices, but it’s still an important one to mention.
Scrapinghub
Then we have Scrapinghub, which is another well-known one in the industry. This one is meant to extract information that is very structured in nature. You can automate the tool thanks to the built-in Scrapy Cloud, Splash, Portia, and Crawlera.
An Extensive List of Options
As you can tell, there is an extremely extensive list of options when it comes to the top data scraping tools for online marketing. This is just a portion of the options out there, as there are even more available. Narrowing down your list can be done quickly and effectively by asking yourself what kind of data you need to be able to mine, how quickly, what your experience level is, and of course, taking a look at your budget.