Monday, March 31, 2014

Why You Need Custom Web Scraping Services

If you run a business, you want to be aware of what the competition is up to so that you are always ahead of the game. This necessitates you to carry out market research so that you get the relevant information which can help you to progress. However, the best and easiest way to go about this is through web scraping.

One of the most common methods businesses use to get data is employing people whose work is to manually browse the web looking for relevant information. While this process is reliable, it takes up a lot of time and it is costly. Nowadays, various data mining companies have developed effective data scraping methodologies which make this process cheaper and faster.

The way this works is that you tell the data scraping company what sort of information you need. Depending on your needs, you can get custom web scraping services so that the web crawlers can turn up information that will be relevant and useful to your business. Once the data is collected, it is converted into a form that you can analyze and thereafter act upon. You can decipher patterns and trends from this information and then formulate policies. You can also decide to store the information gathered for future use. Some of these formats include CSV files, databases and XML files among others.

There are various reasons why you might want to have web scraping services. You might want to keep an eye for any changes in regulations in your field of business and thus you may want to gather data from relevant government portals.

If for instance your business is in highly competitive industry, you might want to keep tabs on the changes that your competitors are implementing. Competitor price monitoring can help you ensure that you are not charging too high or too low for your services or products. This is especially important if you are running an eCommerce business as customers are very perceptive to any changes. This is because they will browse through various other similar sites and take a pick at the one they consider is best.

When it comes to gaining such market intelligence from your competitors, it is best that you are not noticed while doing so. This is why there are companies that can provide anonymous web scraping so that you do not leave any traces. This allows your business to gather intelligence from your competitors without them knowing.

Getting custom web scraping might turn out to be the best thing for your business. It is still a relatively new concept but one that is bound to have benefits for your company. There are many ways you can get data from anonymous web scraping and others but the most important thing is to have a plan on what to do with the data.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Identifying the Need for Competitor Price Monitoring

Competitor price monitoring can be hugely advantageous to most businesses. Understanding the competitor’s pricing, product range and special offers can give you a competitive edge. This basically means that you will have a certain advantage over your competition. If you have no idea of what others in business are doing then it can turn out to be costly and disastrous for your business.

One of the ways to get this vital information is through web scraping. Companies that offer these services basically use various software programs that can obtain accurate data very quickly. By monitoring competitor prices then you are able to avoid overpricing your products. You will identify a competitive price that will drive in more sales to your business.

Other than that, getting competitor prices will also help you to identify some of the products which you could be selling very cheaply. You can still be the cheapest amongst other similar businesses but you can increase your price range slightly to lower that margin. This will help you to keep the price low and improve your profits.

Web scraping services can also give you an idea of some of the product types that you should be selling. There could be brands or ranges that are very profitable and have a huge market but your company doesn't offer them. With these web scraping solutions, you are able to expand your product offerings and increase your profit margins.

Automating competitor price monitoring is more efficient than allocating your in-house staff to collect this critical data. There are hundreds, if not thousands of people venturing into the same industry every day. It is impossible to collect data regarding certain competitors on a daily basis since this number keeps on growing and the data is changing overtime. Automating the process ensures businesses have quick access to accurate data.

There are cases where businesses are spending a lot of money on supplies simply because they chose the wrong supplier. Monitoring competitor prices can help you to get the best deals from your suppliers. The information that you obtain can help you to negotiate and in some cases look for a more competitive supplier. If the product is supplied at a lower price range, it’s possible to reduce the cost of the product and offer your clients a more competitive price.

Every business needs web scraping services. How you handle your competition will determine whether your business will succeed in the industry. The only way you are going to possess an advantage over your competition is by knowing as much as you can about them. Know their strengths and weaknesses and use these to come up with effective strategies that will make you stand out from the pack.

Monday, March 17, 2014

Competitor Price Monitoring Can Help Hotel Websites to Beat OTAs

Competitive price monitoring is very important in the hotel and travel industry. This is because the hotel industry is a highly competitive one and proper pricing is of utmost importance. Online travel agencies and hotel websites are competing for the same market segment. They are both looking for people who want to book hotels and accommodations online. Surprisingly, people are choosing online travel agencies because they can be able to compare prices before making any bookings.

In countries like Germany, consumers will consider price more than anything when looking for any service online. That is why these online travel agencies are giving hotel websites a run for their money. So what can hotels do in order to boost their sales and make sure customers are making bookings via their sites?

One of the things that hotels have to consider is the sales messages that they place on their sites. People will not read lengthy descriptions about your services and products. Keep the sales messages and promotions short and simple.

It is also important to give previous guests an opportunity to review your business online. Reviews can help your business to increase sales and market your brand online. Your previous customers can give reviews on social media channels. These reviews will be read by your potential clients and give you better business online.

Reviews on third party sites like Trip Adviser are more trusted than the ones on your own website. Many potential customers will not believe reviews on your site because there is that assumption that companies are writing their own reviews. Allowing a trusted third party site to review your business is one of the ways to increase your brand’s authority and trust.

You must ensure that all your offerings are on online travel agencies. In fact hotels should not be competing with online travel agencies because they offer them business. What hotels need to do is to ensure that once they receive the client, they offer world class service in order to turn this client into a loyal customer. This is what helps you to get better business online.

However, online travel agencies are not for everyone. There are cases where the online travel agencies may not be suitable for your business. Have well defined goals and prioritize on the channels which you will use to advertise your brand. You can manage to do your own sales, without the use of travel agencies. However, you will need to track competitor prices in order to identify the most appealing pricing strategy for your business.

Custom scraping services can help you to evaluate the price offerings of different hotels online and then make wise decisions based on these findings. You can get custom web scraping services which are tailored to suit your unique needs. Your hotel business doesn't have to remain dormant online because of OTAs. A lot can be done to make sure you receive massive bookings through your website. Website scraping is one of the services which can help you to get proper pricing policies and make your hotel the most preferred one among thousands.

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Advantages of Using Data Scraping Solutions to Monitor Competitor Prices

With so many products being offered by businesses on the Internet, customers are spoilt for choice. This is what makes the online market a very competitive one. The prices of various products and services are changed every other day. Consumers are likely to go for the product with the right pricing. As a business owner, it’s up to you to do all it takes to find the right pricing for your products and services. Data scraping solutions can help you to do just that and gain a competitive edge.

Competitor price monitoring involves examining and capturing the pricing data obtained from different retailers and using this information to get a better knowledge of the market dynamics which would help a business to decide on suitable pricing. By monitoring competitor prices, businesses can better understand certain customer behaviors and the reasons for price movements. All this information is critical for any business with an aim of maintaining a competitive edge.

Through data scraping, businesses are able to monitor the prices of similar products being offered to consumers online and decide on their pricing policies based on these findings. This process is performed using specialized software to make it fast and accurate. Web scraping applications will extract the data within a very short time. Some of these applications can even update the data at regular intervals so that you are able to monitor and analyze the price changes as they occur.

For data scraping to be of any good use for your business, it must be done right. You need to invest in web scraping solutions that offer you accurate data. If the data is faulty then retailers cannot use it to make important pricing decisions. The best web scraping solution understands how each competitor’s website works and is designed to extract data that is accurate and easy to match. Finding this kind of application shouldn’t be a problem as there are many options being offered online.

Always ensure that the web scraping services will provide complete and accurate data that matches up with what you want. The only way you can get this is by using trained technicians who have experience in online mapping solutions. Make sure the accuracy of the data you will receive after web scraping is guaranteed before seeking the services.

The best way to get accurate and valuable pricing information is by using custom scraping services. These web scraping services are personalized to meet your unique needs. You can get data in your preferred formats through custom scraping services. All you need to do is to convey your requirements to the company and all the information is delivered in an accurate and timely manner.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Website Scraping: Competitor Price Monitoring Services

Website Scraping: Competitor Price Monitoring Services: Are you in the process of identifying the most suitable pricing strategy for your business? If so, you need to invest time and resources ...

Competitor Price Monitoring Services

Competitor Price Monitoring
Are you in the process of identifying the most suitable pricing strategy for your business? If so, you need to invest time and resources on competitor price monitoring. This involves understanding your competitor’s product prices and using this information to either increase or reduce your own selling price. This knowledge can help you to come up with a pricing strategy that gives you an edge in your market.

Why is competitor price tracking important? Without having an idea of what the actual market looks like, it is impossible to offer competitive products and services. If you own a serious business, then you must look into your competitor’s prices. You are only going to make a sale if you find the right price point. You may be losing out sales to your competitors mainly because of your pricing.

Competitor price monitoring is especially crucial for eCommerce businesses. Before you even set up a business strategy, it is important to carry out a pricing analysis. Every effective business strategy is based on price. You can’t go against your competitors without knowing what they are charging and why. In case you want to come up with a very distinct pricing model, you must be able to justify this to your customers. You cannot defend your unique pricing model unless you know what other similar businesses are charging.

If your products are overpriced or under priced, your profit margins will be significantly affected. The process is done using specialized tools which compare the prizes on different web portals. You can get the prices of different retailers or manufacturers in your industry before pricing your products.

Monitoringcompetitor prices also allows you to make strategic decisions in your company. In today’s competitive e-commerce market, you cannot afford even the slightest mistake on pricing. If your products are overpriced, your profit margins will suffer tremendously. You will not be able to get the desired ROI from your business.

Monitoring competitor prices also helps you to understand your customers better. The price reports are obtained anonymously across thousands of retailers on the web. The process is not only accurate but also almost instant. You can understand what your customers want and make the right decisions based on accurate results. You can make reliable business decisions based on this information.

Automated tools are used in tracking competitor prices and this saves your organization time and resources. You don’t need to waste a lot of time doing this manually. Manual comparisons will not only affect your productivity as a business but they are prone to errors. Automated tools offer accurate results within a short time period.

Remember that, when conducting competitor price tracking, the main idea is not to identify the lowest bidder and offer the lowest price. You can cut down on the price of a few items until you establish a loyal customer base if you are still a new business. There are so many other strategies that you can come up with to give you a chance to sell your products or services in this competitive business world.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

The Merits of Professional Web Scraping Services

If you are running a business, you will need to monitor how your competitor is doing. When you monitor competitor product prices, you will then be able to set prices that put you at an advantage. Web scraping, also called web data extraction, allows you to get this information. You could do the web scraping yourself, but hiring professional web scraping services has more benefits.

Different website admins employ different techniques to slow down and stop bots. These include blocking IP addresses, disabling web service APIs that the site’s system might expose, excess traffic monitoring and commercial anti-bot services. Others are using CSS sprites for the display of phone number, email address and other information, Web application firewalls, CAPCHA, using robot.txt and using honey pot and other method to identify automated crawler IP addresses. A professional will know how to go around these measures.

A professional understands the legal issues around monitoring competitor prices using web scraping. A professional will interpret the terms of use of the website you want to mine data from and this will allow you to make an informed decision. It is important that you be discrete when monitoring competitor prices and a professional will advice you on how to go about the process incognito.

Different techniques are used in web scraping and most are very complicated. Unless you have specialized skills and experience, you will need a trained and experienced professional to monitor competitor product prices. These techniques include text grepping & regular expression matching, HTTP programming where HTTP requests are posted on remote web servers using socket programming, HTML parsers, vertical aggregation platforms, semantic annotation recognizing and DOM parsing.

There are several web scraping software programs in the market. Hiring a professional for the task is important because he/she will know the best software. These software tools need customization to get exactly what you are looking for and only a trained and experienced professional will be able to do this. Custom scraping services will ensure you get the data you want whereas automatic web scraping might give you data you do not need.

A professional knows exactly what is available in different websites and where it is found. This visualization is important when using computer vision web-page analyzers for custom scraping services.


In some situations, human copy-and-paste is the most effective web scraping technique. Hiring web scraping services in such cases is important because this is a tiring and time consuming exercise that will interfere with your business. When you hire a professional, your whole team gets to concentrate on running the business. Most companies offering custom scraping services have an online presence, giving you cost benefits, anonymity and convenience. A professional will also give you tips on other methods that you could use to get the data you need.