Just as you learn about data scrapers, web scrapers, scraping robots, and bots, a new term emerges on the horizon – universal scrapper.
“What is a universal scraper?”, you are probably wondering.
To help you completely understand what universal scraper is, we will provide you with a definition, brief explanation, and universal scraper use cases.
General tool for data scraping
If we had to use just one sentence to answer the question: “What is a universal scraper?”, then it would go like this – a universal scraper is a general tool for data scraping. And ZenRows is an excellent web scraping API that will give you an entirely different data extraction experience.
You probably already know that data scraping is a process of pulling data from the internet, recording, and storing it in one place for later use. But did you know that there are web scrapers that specialize in pulling only one type of data?
On the other hand, a universal scraper can be used to pull any data you need. It makes universal scapers versatile tools every business should have in their toolkit. Your business goals might change over time, and you will need to get your hands on different data.
If you have a universal scraper at your disposal, you can use it to pull the data you need without investing in a new and expensive scraper.
Possible uses for a universal data scraper
It’s now clear that a universal data scraper is a versatile tool. But, versatile to what extent? Below you will find the most common use cases of a universal data scraper. While these are the most common use cases, we are confident that there are plenty more of them, as universal data scrapers can pull any data that you want.
1. E-commerce data scraping
If you are in the e-commerce waters, you will be happy to find out that universal scraper is a go-to solution to many of your problems. E-commerce websites are gold mines of information, but they feature different types of data scattered all across a website.
Getting information from user reviews, product listings, and descriptions can be an impossible thing to do. Universal scraper bot comes to the rescue. Universal scraper can comb through an entire e-commerce website and get you all the data you requested. You can use this data to fuel your critical business decisions and stay ahead of the competition.
Universal scraper can also help you discover valuable affiliate opportunities on e-commerce sites and enable you to capitalize on a substantial profit margin.
2. E-commerce price scraping and monitoring
While we are talking about e-commerce sites, we have to take product prices into account as well. If anything is dynamic on these sites, then it is the pricing policy. Staying competitive in the e-commerce vertical requires you to enter the pricing game and attract more price-sensitive customers to your website.
How do you discover what the competition is doing in terms of pricing policy? Universal scraper can help you take a sneak peek behind the curtains. Since it can do it fast and repeatedly, you can use it to monitor prices on your competitions’ websites consistently.
With price scraping and monitoring made easy, you will be able to implement in your long-term pricing strategy.
3. Real-estate market applications
Last time we checked, the real-estate market has become highly competitive. Getting a competitive edge over other businesses has never been more important than today. A universal scraper can help you streamline these efforts in several ways.
First, you can pull the data from other websites to make your listings more informative. You can scrape the data on real estate listings, buyer and seller profiles, real estate agents, and details of buildings and plots. It will help your customers make informed decisions, ensure repeat business, and facilitate word of mouth marketing.
You can also use a universal scraper to get information based on various filters, including price, location, and size of a property, and amenities. You will be able to discover new opportunities and make your company more competitive.
4. Custom tasks
At last, we have custom tasks. There are no limits when you have a universal scraper in your toolbox. You can use it to scrape any data that you need. Whether you want to see what the competition is doing, discover trends in the market, or capture the consumer opinion, the universal scraper can deliver.
Conclusion
Now you know what is a universal scraper. As you can see, it’s a versatile tool that you can use to pull any information from the internet. The common use cases include researching eCommerce websites, scrapping prices, and making real-estate listings complete. But since it can be used to pull any data, a universal scraper is great for completing custom tasks.
