Web scraping is the act of collecting data from websites to understand what information the web pages contain. The extracted data is used in multiple applications such as competitor research, public relations, trading, etc.
Using RPA web scraping bots, users can automate the web scraping process of unprotected websites via drag-and-drop features to eliminate manual data entry and reduce human errors. However, to scrape websites that heavily protect their data and content, users need dedicated web scraping applications in combination with proxy server solutions.
Here, we explore how RPA is used for web scraping:
What is Robotic process automation (RPA)?
Robotic process automation (RPA) is software that automates repetitive tasks by mimicking user interactions with GUI elements. The interest in RPA is rising as the technology matures and vendors provide low/no-code interfaces to build RPA bots.
The global RPA market is expected to reach $11B by 2027. RPA is one of the top candidates to automate any repetitive task, and a typical rules-based process can be 70%-80% automated.
When done manually, web crawling can be a tedious task with many clicks, scrolls, and copy-and-paste repetitions to extract the designated data. That is why it is compelling to use RPA to automate web scraping.
How RPA and web scraping work together
Web scraping and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) often work hand in hand. Web scraping collects the data, and RPA puts that data to use.
1. Data gathering
A web scraping bot visits a website and extracts structured data. For example, it can pull product prices, company details, or contact information.
2. Data transfer
The scraped data is passed to an RPA bot. This step ensures the information is ready for further use without manual effort.
3. Data processing
The RPA system uses the extracted data to perform tasks. Examples include:
- Data entry: Filling in spreadsheets or databases.
- Report generation: Building competitor pricing reports or market trend summaries.
- Workflow automation: Updating records, sending alerts, or supporting customer service.
How it works in practice
Normally, a person would open a website, find the right URL, check the page structure, copy the data, and paste it into a file. With automation, these steps are combined:
- The web scraping bot collects and structures the data.
- The RPA bot logs into systems, scrolls through pages, extracts details, and formats them.
- Finally, the RPA bot can send the data by email, update spreadsheet fields, or enter it into another application.
By combining both tools, businesses reduce manual work. Data flows automatically from websites into systems, reports, and workflows.
What are the benefits of RPA in web scraping?
Web scraping technology provides the following benefits:
- Eliminate manual data entry errors
- Extract images and videos
- Reduce the time of data extraction and entry
- Automatically monitor websites and portals regularly for data changes
Web scraping tools or RPA software allow users to build scraping bots without writing code or scripts for data extraction.
RPA can be the right tool for web scraping especially if more data processing needs to be done on scraped data. Different technologies can be easily integrated into the RPA bots used in scraping. For example, a machine learning API integrated to the scraping bot, could identify companies’ websites from their extracted logos.
What are the challenges facing RPA in web scraping?
Since RPA bots rely on GUI elements to recognize the wanted data, it is difficult to automate web scraping when pages do not display content in a consistent manner. The top challenges facing RPA in web scraping are:
UI Elements
Some user interface elements make scraping harder, but they are challenges that RPA bots can deal with
“Load more” button
Typically, the bot will scroll down a page, extract the data and export it to the output file. Some web pages, especially product pages, load data in parts and allow users to explore more products via “load more” button. When this is the case, the bot will stop extracting the data by the end of the page instead of exploring more products.
The solution is to create an if-loop within the bot program to click the “load more” GUI element if it exists until no more buttons appear on the web page.
In practice, the “Load More” button can be tricky to handle because the bot must detect and click it repeatedly to access all content. Tools like Octoparse allow users to configure loops or infinite scroll settings so that all items are loaded automatically, even without coding skills.1
Go to the next page
Same as in the “show more” button, some content may be loaded on the following page. The solution would also be to create a loop to click on the “next page” GUI element to open the following URL.
Some data scraping tools, like UiPath Studio, provide a Data Scraping Wizard that can automatically detect repeating patterns, handle “Next” buttons, and extract tables or multi-page data without requiring programming knowledge.2
Pop up ads
Pop-up elements or ads can hide GUI elements from the bot’s vision and disable it from extracting the underlying data. The solution would be to use an AdBlocker extension for the browser used for web scraping.
Scrape protection systems
Websites like LinkedIn use sophisticated tech to protect their website from being scraped. In such cases, users have a few options:
- Work with a company that provides the website data in a data-as-a-service manner. In such a model, the supplier handles all the programming and manual verification and provides clean data via an API or CSV download
- Build your own data pipeline. You can rely on web scraping software or RPA in combination with proxy servers to build bots that act in a manner that is not distinguishable from humans
To learn how to bypass web scraping challenges, read Top 7 Web Scraping Best Practices“.
Further reading
To learn more about web scraping, feel free to read our in-depth articles about:
- The Ultimate Guide to Proxy Server Types
- Top 5 Web Scraping Case Studies & Success Stories
- Top 10 Proxy Service Providers for Web Scraping
And if you are interested in using a web scraper for your business, don’t forget to check out our data-driven list of web crawlers.
FAQ
Reference Links
Cem's work has been cited by leading global publications including Business Insider, Forbes, Washington Post, global firms like Deloitte, HPE and NGOs like World Economic Forum and supranational organizations like European Commission. You can see more reputable companies and resources that referenced AIMultiple.
Throughout his career, Cem served as a tech consultant, tech buyer and tech entrepreneur. He advised enterprises on their technology decisions at McKinsey & Company and Altman Solon for more than a decade. He also published a McKinsey report on digitalization.
He led technology strategy and procurement of a telco while reporting to the CEO. He has also led commercial growth of deep tech company Hypatos that reached a 7 digit annual recurring revenue and a 9 digit valuation from 0 within 2 years. Cem's work in Hypatos was covered by leading technology publications like TechCrunch and Business Insider.
Cem regularly speaks at international technology conferences. He graduated from Bogazici University as a computer engineer and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School.
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