Web Scraping vs. Web Crawling: What's the difference?

The Internet has become a vast library of knowledge and is used to find information on every topic imaginable. However, as the amount of available data increases, it can become difficult to find the information you are looking for. This is where web crawling and web scraping come into play. Web crawling and web scraping are two different methods of collecting data from websites. Both methods have their uses, but there are some important differences that you should know in order to get the most out of them.

What is web crawling?

Web crawling is when a search engine, such as Google, examines all the pages on a website and lists them for future searches. In this way, users can quickly find the information they need by searching for keywords or terms. The goal of web crawling is not to collect specific data from websites, but rather to create an overview of the available content on a website.

What is web scraping?

Web scraping, on the other hand, is a process used to extract certain data from websites, price comparison sites, and marketplaces. This is done by writing special code or using software that crawls websites and captures the desired information. This data can be stored for later use or used directly in applications. 

Both web crawling and web scraping can be useful methods for collecting data from the Internet. However, it is important to understand the differences between the two methods in order to make the best use of them.

The difference in purpose

Web crawling is a general process that indexes websites and provides an overview of their content, while web scraping collects data specified by the user according to previously selected criteria. 

The difference in the result

Web crawling provides an overview of the content of a website. In comparison, web scraping focuses on collecting selected information. 

Common use cases of web scraping

Organizations use web scraping to achieve their business goals. Get insight into common enterprise use cases:

• Pricing information: Web scraping can be used to compare the prices of products on different websites or marketplaces to ensure competitiveness.
  
  
• Market monitoring: companies can use web scraping to analyze customer reviews, competitor data, and industry trends to gain insights into their market.
  
  
• Lead generation: web scraping can be used to collect contact information from websites such as online stores and marketplaces to find potential customers.
  
  
• Content aggregation: Web scraping can be used to collect data from multiple sources and aggregate it into a single content source.

Data extraction has become an important part of modern business operations, enabling companies to gain valuable insights into their market and build competitive advantage. Both methods have their benefits, but it's important to understand which method is best suited for your needs. Interested in learning more about the methods oraya can use to help you collect data for your business needs? Contact us to learn more about oraya's SaaS solutions and the right product selection for your business.