How to set up automated data extraction workflows in Crawlbase for lead generation

If you’re sick of manually collecting leads or wrangling endless spreadsheets, this is for you. Automating web data extraction isn’t magic, but it will save you hours of grunt work. This guide walks you through setting up a real, working workflow in Crawlbase to pull fresh leads—plus what to watch out for. No code PhD required, but you’ll need to be comfortable with basic web tools and the occasional error message.

1. Decide What Data You Actually Need

Before you even touch Crawlbase, get specific about what you want. “All the leads” isn’t a plan. Do you need emails, company names, LinkedIn URLs, phone numbers? What sites will you scrape? The more targeted you are, the less mess you’ll have later.

Pro tips: - Pick data you can’t just buy or get from an API. Scraping for its own sake is a waste. - Focus on one or two sources to start. Get those right, then expand. - Be aware of legal and ethical guidelines—don’t scrape personal data you shouldn’t have.

2. Sign Up for Crawlbase and Get the Basics Set Up

Crawlbase isn’t free, but the entry-level plan is enough for most folks starting out. Here’s what to do:

  1. Sign up and verify your email. Don’t use a throwaway address if you want support.
  2. Log in and go to your dashboard.
  3. Find your API key. You’ll need this for all your requests. Treat it like a password.

Honest take: Crawlbase’s interface is pretty straightforward, but it’s not always obvious where things are. If you get stuck, their docs are decent but not deep—Google is sometimes faster.

3. Pick Your Workflow Tool: Crawling API vs. Crawlers vs. Smart Proxy

Crawlbase offers a few different tools. Most people use these:

A. Crawling API

  • Best for: Grabbing specific pages quickly (think: company profiles, product listings).
  • You send a URL, get back the HTML or extracted data.
  • Pro: Fast and simple.
  • Con: You have to handle parsing yourself using code or a tool like BeautifulSoup.

B. Crawlers (Automated Crawling)

  • Best for: Going through lists of pages (like directory listings, paginated search results).
  • You define a “crawler” job; it pulls a batch of pages for you.
  • Pro: Built-in scheduling and management.
  • Con: More setup; still need to parse results.

C. Smart Proxy

  • Best for: When you keep getting blocked. Rotates IPs for you.
  • Pro: Less hassle with bans.
  • Con: You still need to build all the logic.

What to ignore: Crawlbase’s pre-built “Lead Generation” templates sound tempting, but unless they fit your exact need, you’ll spend more time hacking them than just building your own.

Bottom line: If you’re scraping a small number of pages, start with the Crawling API. If you need regular, large jobs, use Crawlers.

4. Build Your First Workflow: Step-by-Step

Let’s say you want to pull company names and emails from a business directory. Here’s how to get a basic workflow up and running.

Step 1: Find the URLs You Want to Scrape

  • Manually grab a few sample URLs from the site.
  • Check if the data you want is visible in the HTML (not hidden behind logins or heavy JavaScript).
  • If the site has paginated search results, figure out the pattern (e.g., example.com/page=2).

Step 2: Set Up a Crawlbase Crawler

  1. Go to “Crawlers” in your dashboard.
  2. Click “Create New Crawler.”
  3. Name your crawler (e.g., “Biz Directory Leads”).
  4. Upload your list of URLs or point to a sitemap if available.
  5. Set crawl frequency (e.g., every day, every week).
  6. Configure parsing/extraction:
  7. You can provide CSS selectors or XPath to tell Crawlbase what to grab.
  8. If you’re not technical, use their “point and click” selector tool (it’s basic, but works for simple pages).

Pro tip: Start with a small batch of URLs to test. Don’t dump in thousands at once—you’ll just create a mess if your selectors are wrong.

Step 3: Handle Anti-Bot Measures

  • Turn on “Smart Proxy” in your crawler config to avoid quick bans.
  • If the site uses aggressive bot detection (CAPTCHAs, logins):
  • You might need to back off and pick an easier target.
  • Sometimes, setting a realistic crawl delay (10–30 seconds between requests) helps.
  • Don’t try to scrape logged-in content unless you know what you’re doing—this gets technical fast.

Step 4: Parse and Download Your Data

  • Once your crawl is done, go to your crawler’s results.
  • Download the data as CSV or JSON.
  • Double-check a few rows. Is the data clean? Are emails and names in the right columns?
  • If not, tweak your selectors and try again.

Step 5: Automate the Workflow

To make this hands-off:

  • Schedule your crawler to run on a regular basis (weekly works for most people).
  • Set up notifications (email or webhook) so you know when a crawl finishes or errors out.
  • Connect to your CRM or spreadsheet:
  • Use Zapier, Make, or direct API connections to push data where you actually use it.
  • Don’t just let CSVs pile up—automate the next step.

5. Workarounds, Gotchas, and When to Quit

Let’s be real—web scraping is messy. Here’s what to expect:

  • Sites change their layout: Your extraction rules will break. Build time to adjust selectors regularly.
  • Data quality is never perfect: Expect duplicates, missing fields, and weird formatting. Clean it up before importing to your CRM.
  • Legal/ethical gray zones: Just because you can scrape a site doesn’t mean you should. Check terms of service and local laws.

What doesn’t work well: - Scraping sites behind heavy JavaScript or logins (unless you want to get into headless browsers and session management—whole different ballgame). - Extracting emails from LinkedIn or Facebook. Don’t bother; it won’t last and could get your domains blacklisted. - “Set it and forget it” scraping. Sorry, you’ll need to check in and tweak things.

6. Tips for Scaling Up (Without Losing Your Mind)

  • Start small and iterate. Don’t try to scrape 100,000 pages on day one.
  • Document your selectors and workflows. You’ll thank yourself when things break.
  • Monitor errors and bans. If your success rate drops, investigate before your next run.
  • Don’t overspend. Crawlbase bills per request—watch your usage, especially when testing.

Keep It Simple and Iterate

Automating lead extraction with Crawlbase is powerful—if you keep it focused. Don’t get lost chasing data you don’t need or overcomplicating the setup. Start with one workflow, make sure it works, then expand. When things break (and they will), fix them fast and move on. The best workflows are the ones you actually use, not the ones that look fancy in a diagram.