In the field of automated data collection from the internet, the terms web crawling and web scraping are often confused. While both technologies share similarities, they serve different purposes. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at what web crawling and web scraping are, how they differ, and how proxy servers help avoid blocks during data collection.
What is Web Crawling?
Web Crawling is the process of automatically scanning web pages using special programs called crawlers. They follow links between pages, download content, and store it for further analysis or indexing.
For example, this is how search engines like Google work — they use crawlers to collect information that is then added to the search index.
How a web crawler works:
- Scanning usually starts from the homepage or a starting URL.
- It visits website pages, collects HTML code, and extracts all links.
- Found URLs are added to a queue for later crawling.
- Once scanning is complete, the collected data is indexed.
What is Web Scraping?
Web Scraping is the process of purposefully collecting specific data from web pages. Scrapers use web crawlers to load content, after which a special script or tool extracts only the necessary information — such as product prices, reviews, descriptions, or ratings.
Examples of use:
- Price monitoring of competitors.
- Collecting contacts for marketing campaigns.
- Gathering news or content from various sources.
- Analyzing social media posts.
Problem: many websites use bot protection, including CAPTCHA. To avoid blocking, scrapers often use multiple proxy servers, rotating them between requests at certain intervals. This approach reduces the load on a single IP address and helps the scraper appear like a “real user” to the security system.
Key Differences Between Web Crawling and Web Scraping
| Feature | Web Crawling | Web Scraping |
|---|---|---|
| Tool | Crawler (crawler, spider) | Scraper |
| Purpose | Full page storage | Extraction of specific data |
| Result | List of URLs | Data (texts, prices, ratings, etc.) |
| Manual alternative | Clicking every link | Copying data manually |
| Scale | Broad | From small to large-scale |
| Main usage | Search engines | Business, research, analytics |
| Need for proxies | Low | High (to bypass blocks and CAPTCHA) |
Where is Web Crawling Used?
- Search engines — for indexing millions of pages.
- Website audit — to check structure, broken links, loading speed.
- SEO specialists — for detecting issues on pages.
Where is Web Scraping Used?
- E-commerce — collecting competitor prices, assortment, and reviews.
- Marketing research — analyzing markets, trends, and customer feedback.
- Aggregators — combining content from multiple sources (news, articles, job listings).
- Lead generation — building contact databases for sales.
- Social media analytics — tracking trends, mentions, activity.
Tips for Effective Scraping
- Test request intervals for different resources
- Calculate the number of IPs required based on your request volume
- Use CAPTCHA solving services
- Optimize your scraper (rotate User-Agents; mimic human actions such as clicks, scrolls; store cookies; use random delays)
Understanding the difference between crawling and scraping will help you work with data more effectively. And using proxy servers ensures stability and speed in your data collection efforts.
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