Web Data Extraction (Web Scraping)
A web scraper is a piece of software that connects to a webpage, and keeps a copy of that page in a database. However, rather than storing the whole page, they intelligently store the data they find. For example, an advanced scraper could retrieve a product's price, stock availability, name, description, available sizes, colours, photograph, etc, and store what it finds in the correct fields in the scraper owner's database.
Why Use a Scraper Instead of Product Data Feeds?
Unfortunately, many data feeds supplied by merchants have errors in them. Why this happens so frequently is unclear, but the fact remains that some data feeds are much better than others. In an ideal world, data feeds would be updated several times daily, with a data delivery method that enables affiliates to download just the products that have been updated. Until such at time that this becomes the norm, screen scraping is pretty much a necessity in many situations.
Scraping! Isn't that a bit dodgy?
Due to misuse by some people, web scraping has become one of those taboo subjects, and quite a lot of nonsense has been said about it. However, in the right hands it is an extremely powerful technique that can be used to great effect on affiliate websites.
Scraping at a slow speed, at off-peak hours is the best way to keep everyone happy. If in doubt, ask permission from the merchant. However, I don't recall Google ever asking me if they mind me scraping my sites, and they are probably the biggest scraper on the planet :-)
How Much Does it Cost?
We can set up a custom feed and distribute it to you from as little as £8 per month per merchant. Please contact us for a quote.
Increase Productivity
Product Data Feeds & APIsKeep your site automatically updated. No incorrect prices. No discontinued products.
Web Data Extraction (Scraping)If you want really good data, sometimes the best method is to get it yourself :-)
Voucher Code ImplementationCut out the hassle of updating voucher codes manually. Switch to an automated system.
Keyword to Commission TrackingWhere do your sales really come from? What about your profits?
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