To scrap Leboncoin as a developer, you can use the piloterr.com API at Leboncoin Search API.
More and more people are using scraping to obtain data from different users on different sites. Their goal is to fill their database. It is a technique that allows other platforms to harvest data and reuse it in context. It is obviously possible to do this on the leboncoin.fr site. However, how do you go about it? What to know about scraping? For precise information, do not hesitate to read this article.
What are the basics of scraping?
The scraping also known as web scraping, is a technique often used to retrieve unstructured information from websites. It is obviously effective. Indeed, it allows to recover all the data available on web pages with ease.
However, it requires a lot of work to analyse the web page. This work must be done for each site. It is important to differentiate between scraping and crawling. The latter allows you to suck up all the text available on a site. To achieve this, it is necessary to dive into all the links discovered. The crawler is responsible for retrieving not only the text of each page but also all the links.
What do I know about scraping and what is the point of it?
Scraping is the automated extraction of information from a data source. If you want to save and classify a competitor's e-commerce catalogue, the only way to access it is through a browser. If you want to track the price of certain products over time, you need to access the product page regularly and put the price somewhere in order to track its evolution. Thanks to scraping, you can extract this price in an automated way.
What do you know about data scraping?
Data scraping or harvesting is a widespread technique used by individuals and professionals to extract information from websites. The objective is to gather as much information as possible. This information is intended to be used in another context.
The use of a API is one of the best methods for doing this. However, most websites do not use it. This technique is sometimes considered illegal. The targets of those who use it are usually online sales or classifieds websites. These sites register various customers from all over the world in order to place orders.
Following data scraping, the extracted files will then be saved. This can be done on an Excel or Word sheet. After that, they will be in a format and type of information that you have to choose beforehand. You may be wondering how to scrap on a site like LeBoncoin. Read on to find out.
How to web scrap on Leboncoin?
LeBoncoin is one of the best sites in France. Most French people post classified ads there. When you do data scraping on the leboncoin.fr site, you have a lot of information at your disposal, depending on your selection criteria. To do this, you can use several techniques. For example, it is possible to make an easy email recovery.
You can do this by placing an advertisement for a highly sought-after product. This could be the latest generation of smartphones. It would be wise to publish it with a price that defies all competition. For example, you can choose a price that is under 30 or 40% of the real value.
You then need to connect your ad to your Gmail box. Don't forget to program an automatic message. People who are interested will contact you. However, they will receive a reply. This will tell them that the product is no longer available. In addition, they will be informed that the advertisement will be withdrawn.
This is a very easy method to get hundreds of email addresses in a short time. They belong to people who are ready to buy a specific property. You can therefore register them in your database. Afterwards, you can contact them in order to propose a better offer outside the leboncoin.fr site. It is possible to do this on one of your sites or blogs for example.
Why scraping on leboncoin?
For those who know, leboncoin is a reference in France. Millions of people access it to search for a specific product. Scrapping on LeBoncoin therefore allows you to obtain a list of different customers in record time, each with specific requests.
People who want to develop their market and who have several services to offer have the possibility to benefit from customers or prospects. This is one of the most used methods to benefit from various information and customer lists. It is then up to you to make a request through a software or a script.
On leboncoin, you will find thousands of pieces of data that can be used in different contexts. It all depends on your needs. Whatever you offer, you won't be disappointed on the site.
What are the use cases of scraping?
There are many uses for web scraping. It can be used to keep an eye on a competitor or to automate processes.
Keeping an eye on the competition
Web scraping is generally used for monitoring e-business platforms. It allows the collection of commercial data on competitors' items. The aim is to improve your understanding and insight into the market. For example, through private providers you can monitor the price development of your competitors via their online catalogues.
You can even see how other people's offers rank on various well-known platforms such asAmazon. This will enable you to assess their commercial success. There are many other options for monitoring the competition. For example, you can collect your competitors' adverts to measure their growth.
Scraping for database extraction
One of the common uses of scraping is database mining. For example, you can use scraping tools to collect data from leboncoin. It is one of the largest databases of professional profiles in the world. There are many real estate ads, for example.
A tool that extracts information to contact real estate professionals is a real asset. This is not the only case of data extraction. A scraper offers you the possibility to extract the list of participants to an event. What better way to create a prospecting database?
In this configuration, it is possible to list other uses. For example, you can extract the product catalogues of various competitors to compare them with your catalogue. The idea is to identify products that are different. It is also possible to extract the database of specialised directories in order to find prospects and competitors.
Do you often wonder how sites offering the possibility to book appointments with doctors manage to start with a database of several hundred professionals? They can't get information by contacting each specialist one by one. However, they have the possibility to scrape the content of the yellow pages. In this way, they can retrieve the necessary data to have content to offer to visitors from the start.
Scraping to automate processes
If you want to automate processes, scraping can be of great help. This technique is often used in digital transformation operations. For example, a large company can automate its accounting. You can use a scraper tool to fetch invoices from the suppliers' customer areas.
About the best scraping tools
For those of you who know, Google has removed sites that offer web scraping from its search pages. Given the various cyber threats, websites that use or perform these services are automatically blocked by the major web companies.
In order to cope with this, it is possible to use a proxy to hide and change your IP address. Proxies allow you to browse anonymously through any site. They prevent sites from tracking you or blocking your access to their services. This is an effective solution for people who use scraping.
To surf anonymously, you can use the Luminati proxy. This server allows you to be protected from geographical restrictions that prohibit certain accesses. Its use allows free access to all the steps you want to take while scraping.
In short, scraping not only automates but also extracts data. It is a tool whose importance is no longer in question. It offers a great competitive advantage. You just have to know how to use it, and it's done. Scrapping on leboncoin allows you to keep an eye on your competitors. It also saves a lot of time. It is a solution that allows you to be much more competitive in the market.