Keboola Web Robot

In today's data-driven world, extracting valuable information from websites is essential for businesses looking to gain a competitive edge. However, many websites don't provide convenient APIs, making data scraping a complex and tedious task. Keboola Web Robot, a powerful Selenium-based web extractor, simplifies this process by automating browser actions and fetching valuable data directly into Keboola Storage.

What is Keboola Web Robot?

Keboola Web Robot, also known as the KBC Selenium Web Robot, is an advanced extractor designed to automate web content scraping through browser interactions. Powered by Selenium, this component simulates user actions like clicking buttons, scrolling pages, and navigating to different sections. This makes it highly effective for scraping data from websites that require user interaction, such as login forms, pagination, or dynamic content loading.

Benefits of Using Keboola Web Robot

There are several key advantages to integrating Keboola Web Robot into your data workflow:

• Powerful Automation: Automate complex interactions on websites that don't offer APIs.
• Highly Flexible: Customize scraping tasks precisely to your requirements.
• Consistent Data Collection: Schedule automated runs to ensure continuous data scraping without manual intervention.

How Keboola Web Robot Works

At its core, Keboola Web Robot leverages Selenium to control a web browser and interact with websites through predefined steps. These steps can include:

1. Logging in using credentials.
2. Navigating to specific pages or sections.
3. Performing clicks, scrolls, and other interactions.
4. Extracting and storing data into Keboola Storage.

This suite of automated actions allows the extractor to handle even the most sophisticated web pages, significantly reducing the manual workload.

Advanced Setup and Configuration

Keboola Web Robot requires a detailed setup to define the exact sequence of browser actions. Advanced users can easily customize these actions based on their needs. Necessary experience includes:

• Browser Action Configuration: Specifying precise actions like clicks, scrolls, and page navigation.
• Dynamic Content Handling: Managing JavaScript-driven content that loads after user interactions.
• Session and Cookie Management: Maintaining browser sessions to successfully scrape protected or personalized content.

Keboola provides comprehensive documentation and detailed examples to guide users through this process, ensuring a smooth setup even for complex tasks.

Example Use Case

Let's explore a practical example of how Keboola Web Robot can be utilized. Suppose you need to scrape product information from an e-commerce website which requires multiple steps:

1. Logging in with username and password.
2. Navigating to a specific product category page.
3. Clicking pagination buttons to browse multiple pages.
4. Extracting product details from each page.

With Keboola Web Robot, you can automate this entire workflow by defining Selenium commands that simulate each step. Once configured, the extractor will autonomously repeat the process as scheduled, delivering comprehensive and structured data directly to your Keboola Storage.

Why Choose Keboola Web Robot?

Several compelling reasons make Keboola Web Robot the ideal choice for your data scraping needs:

• Ideal for Complex Websites: Specifically designed for scraping websites that don't provide APIs and require user interactions.
• Complete Control: Precisely define how the extractor interacts with web pages, providing complete extraction flexibility.
• Automated and Reliable: Schedule regular automated runs to ensure uninterrupted web scraping and consistent data collection.

Private Component: Secure and Exclusive

It's important to note that Keboola Web Robot is a private component. This means it isn't publicly listed in the Keboola platform. Accessing it requires a specific component ID. However, Keboola's Support team is readily available to assist with the setup and provide the necessary guidance to get you started quickly.

Step-by-Step Setup Instructions

To make the most of Keboola Web Robot, follow these simplified steps:

1. Obtain Component ID: Contact Keboola Support to receive the Web Robot component ID.
2. Define Configuration: Set up your browser actions in Selenium, specifying exact interactions like clicks, scrolls, and form submissions.
3. Testing and Debugging: Run test scenarios to ensure accurate and complete data extraction.
4. Scheduling Automation: Configure automated schedules to run your scraping tasks regularly.
5. Data Integration: Seamlessly integrate extracted content into your Keboola workflows and analytics pipelines.

Enhancing Your Data Strategy with Keboola Web Robot

Harnessing Keboola Web Robot empowers your business to tap into valuable web data otherwise locked behind complex browser interactions. By automating data scraping, your teams can focus their time on analyzing insights rather than manual extraction tasks.

Whether you're looking to gather competitive intelligence, monitor market prices, or aggregate dynamic web content, Keboola Web Robot is your go-to solution for streamlining complex web scraping tasks effectively and efficiently.

Ready to start automating your web scraping processes? Reach out to Keboola's expert support team and unlock the full potential of your data strategy today.