Why and how do you scrap email addresses?

Scraping is an increasingly popular marketing technique. It is now very popular with companies. While some use it on social networks, others use it on public sites. However, the aim is the same: to collect email addresses. It is a practice that is not always authorised. Would you like to find out more about scraping email addresses? Focus.

What do I know about email address scraping?

Email address scraping is a technique for collecting email addresses on the Internet. For those in the know, companies hire the services of a scraper. The scraper uses robots, a script or a computer programme to gather email and other addresses of influential companies and potential partners.

The aim is also to identify their directories, contact details and professional social networks. This can be used for email campaigns, newsletter advertising and much more. Scrapers don't just collect email addresses. They also identify the qualifying elements and all the information likely to make up the database.

These include postal addresses, telephone numbers, customer contacts, etc. As you will have gathered, email address scraping is a solution for collecting addresses that involves using a script or computer programme to automatically retrieve a large number of addresses from the web. Qualifying elements can be scraped at the same time as the addresses.

Depending on its form and conditions of use, email address scraping can raise ethical and legal issues, as can the use of these addresses. This practice is often part of growth hacking. You can use it for cold emailing.

What scraping tools are used by companies?

There are several types of scraping tool. They are essential because you can't do it manually when you're dealing with a large number of sites. You can use WebScraper or email extractor, for example.

Email Extractor is one of the most reliable solutions. It is a chrome extension that retrieves emails from visited sites. It works simply. You open the tool's window when you visit a web page. This will display the email addresses on the page. The next step is to copy and paste the addresses into the database. You can also export them in CSV or TXT format.

With this tool, you can retrieve emails from websites, Google Docs, Google Sheets and Google search results. Its autosave function automatically saves all site addresses in the cloud. The automation function is a real advantage. It's a simple, effective tool.

You can use an extension on the sites you visit, a search bar or search engine, or a registration form. It can also be a special programme for web mail, bots for social networks, and much more.

Finding email addresses on social networks

On social networks such as Facebook, Instagram and LinkedinThere is a lot of data, especially e-mail addresses. Various tricks can be used to collect these addresses. On Linkedin, for example, you can use bots. If you use Facebook, competitions can be very useful.

As you can see, there are several possibilities. Social networks update their checks for spammers, pirates and hackers. So you need to be able to hijack them without breaking the law or being detected.

It's not difficult to scrape data from social networks. Some people set up quick forms for easy access to information. Others opt to create fake accounts to attract people. Some use videos or photos to divert traffic. In this case, as soon as the real names of the targets are known, you have the e-mail addresses.

How to search for data on the web?

Scraping requires selection tools. This allows you to refine your search. This makes the task much easier and saves you time. What's more, you're sure to find what you're looking for. You can use extensions to limit the extraction of e-mail addresses to the pages you visit. You have to open dozens of sites to find contacts and company details.

There are tools that allow you to find all e-mails by prospect name or domain name. If you wish, you can use tools that provide access to more detailed information using a specific engine. So, before scraping data off the web, you need to be a good computer scientist or developer. Don't hesitate to take a training course.

What are the risks of scraping?

Web scraping is not complicated. However, you can make mistakes if you're not careful. Difficulties can arise at any time. It is advisable to learn a few coding basics. You need to have a good grasp of HTML codes and web algorithms. For those who know, you will be required to use specific applications and programmes. To do this, it is important to know how to decipher them.

There are risks not to be ignored. For example, you could be labelled a scammer. Indeed, some people do not hesitate to describe scraping as a scam. What's more, you may fall foul of the law. In this case, certain legal penalties will apply.

Is email address scraping legal?

In general, scraping is always illegal because you are removing information to which you do not have access. However, it is accepted or tolerated in certain cases. In France, to determine whether the act is legal or not, you need to pay attention to the form and conditions of use of scraping methods. Some methods are considered totally legal.

It is not illegal to search for generic addresses such as contact@ or info@. If the scraping of professional addresses complies with certain ethical guidelines, it is also tolerated. Note that when you are looking for a large list of non-business e-mail addresses, this may be illegal. To do this, you need certain authorisations. In addition, it is forbidden to use the addresses collected for large-scale advertising.