LinkedIn hosts an immense amount of information about your prospects and organizations in various sectors. Have you thought about how to access this treasure trove of data?
Buying a lead database from agencies can be quite expensive, ranging from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars monthly, depending on the breadth and market within the B2B sector. For example, agencies with retainer pricing models might charge between $3K and $20K each month.
Imagine if you could obtain a CSV file with thousands of client details in just a few hours without manual effort or costly agencies.
For free scraping from LinkedIn, you’ll need to download the trial version of Linked Helper.
But let’s go through it step by step.
What is LinkedIn data scraping?
A LinkedIn lead scraper tool is a service that, like a robot, visits selected LinkedIn profiles, copies their data, and allows you to download this database, usually in CSV format.
LinkedIn requires a separate tool for this because its default options do not support data scraping outside your network. Users typically have to manually collect and organize data, which is time-consuming.
Comparison: LinkedIn’s default export options vs. Linked Helper’s file
| Linked Helper – from any LinkedIn page | LinkedIn – only connections | |
| CSV output | First name Last name Country City Email address Phone number LinkedIn profile URL Job title LinkedIn Premium status Education Industry (with Sales Navigator scraper) If organizations extractor is enabled: Company name Company website Number of company employees Number of company followers Extra data: ID (hash ID, sales navigator ID, etc.) Member distance (1st, 2nd or 3rd degree) Avatar (ID and link to the media) Headline Summary Location name Badges (influencer, job seeker, open link) Organization description Languages Skills Mutual connections (count, names, etc.) | First name Last name LinkedIn profile URL Email address (only those who allow) Address Company name Position Connected on |
| Export CSV via Webhook | Yes | No |
| Export message history | Yes (Pro)*Separate action / with people scraping | No |
| Organization collection | Yes. Separate action or included into organization profile scraping. | No |
LinkedIn’s default export options are limited. You can only download a file with your contacts. You’ll receive a link to download the archive. In the CSV file, you’ll find names, URLs, positions, and connection dates.
What data can you scrape from LinkedIn?
Yes, you can get a better dataset faster with Linked Helper. It’s a tool for automating LinkedIn drip campaigns and parsing profiles of individuals and companies.
People profiles:
You can extract the profile link, first name, last name, work experience, company names, current workplace, email (if available publicly), educational background, summary description, skills, ID, and “open link” status (when collected from Sales Navigator search).
Company data:
For businesses, you can gather data such as title, profile link, location, page description, size, and number of employees. Essentially, all the information registered on a company’s LinkedIn page can be exported into a file.
Learn more about LinkedIn company scraper.
New – Scrape employees:
This is a new exclusive feature available in Linked Helper. It allows you to collect profiles of employees from organizations. You upload a list of company URLs (which can also be gathered beforehand using a scraper). After launching the campaign, you receive a list of employees. This is particularly useful for account-based marketing (ABM). Read more about it.
Message history in LinkedIn:
You can export all your message history into a file that you can keep. This is crucial business data because if you cancel your Sales Navigator subscription, you lose access to this data. With a backup file, you retain it.
Emails outside your network:
Few tools can gather emails not publicly listed in profiles. However, Linked Helper can collect this email database even outside your network of contacts. Using its built-in Email Finder, for example, you can obtain an email database from Linked Helper’s internal network.
But… Is it legal to scrape data from LinkedIn?
You can ask that question before getting the data. Yes, there’s nothing inherently illegal about it, my friend. However, we do recommend following good LinkedIn web scraping practices.
For starters, it’s important to scrape data that’s publicly available and doesn’t violate personal privacy or rights. Also, it’s good practice to limit how often you request data from the website to avoid overloading their servers.
Responsible handling and storage of the data you scrape are crucial too. And of course, using the data ethically, like for market research or data-driven decisions.
As long as you are careful and respectful, it’s all good.
How the LinkedIn data scraper works in Linked Helper
#1 Download Linked Helper to your computer
To be able to scrape, you need software. Linked Helper is software that you can install for free on a computer with any OS. This is a standalone tool that works like a browser, so it will provide security when you web scrape on LinkedIn. Unlike scraping through an extension or through a cloud service, Linked Helper behaves like a real user when visiting pages.
#2 Start a Visit and Extract Campaign
This action can be the first action in your campaign or the only one if you just need to scrape profiles. In order for the software to start visiting the accounts of people or organizations, you need to select a target page for parsing.
Alternatively, you can use the “Export profile information” template. It allows you to gather profile data, find their emails, and send this comprehensive database through a webhook to an external CRM. You can also opt for direct integration to send it directly to your CRM.
#3 Add profiles to the action from different sources
The profiles that you want to download must be transferred to the Queue. To do this, simply click on the Add button.
You can use any of LinkedIn’s search solutions, group pages, or events as a source. Also, you can simply insert a link to the desired page and the software will transfer the profiles indicated on it.
#4 Get into data download
After adding profiles to the Queue and scraping them, accounts will be displayed in the Lists section. From here, you can click on the profile to see all the data Linked Helper has collected from the lead’s page.
You will also see the Download menu item. You can select the entire list of leads or mark a few people to download the data in a spreadsheet.
#5 Use your CSV like a pro
You can unpack the file following these instructions:
How to Import CSV files into MS Excel
Or you can send the data to your CRM. As the final step, you can send the lead data. Linked Helper provides webhooks that allow you to connect with almost any CRM. Alternatively, you can choose the “Send person to external CRM” action to directly send this list of people.
Check out our guide on CRM integration with Linked Helper to explore integration possibilities with your CRM.
What is the best LinkedIn scraping tool 2024?
Different tools vary in price and the completeness of data they can gather. For example, a tool like Linked Helper collects all available data from a person’s or company’s profile.
In contrast, Octopus is an extension that gathers only basic data such as names, profile links, and positions, which is not significantly different from the data available from LinkedIn’s own downloadable contracts.
Let’s take a closer look!
Explore technology security
When choosing a LinkedIn web scraper, consider the technology behind it, as it affects the security of scraping and your profile. Here are some types of tools you might find on the market.
LinkedIn Scraper API
- Detectability: LinkedIn’s security systems can detect unusual API signals and patterns, potentially flagging accounts or blocking access.
- Risk of Blocks: Because it relies on API calls, it is more likely to be recognized as automated activity, leading to higher chances of being blocked by LinkedIn.
- Maintenance Issues: Constant updates are required to stay ahead of LinkedIn’s detection mechanisms, which can be resource-intensive.
Examples: Bright Data LinkedIn Scraper, Nimbleway.
Proxy-Based Scrapers
Proxy-based scrapers use proxies to mask IP addresses and prevent detection while scraping data from websites
Proxies act as intermediaries, distributing requests across multiple IP addresses.
- Flexibility: Proxies allow scraping large volumes of data by simulating different locations and reducing the risk of being flagged.
- Complexity: Requires managing a pool of proxies, which can be more complex and technical compared to using other scrapers.
Examples: Smartproxy, ZenRows
Downloadable Browser-Based Software with scraping feature
- Undetectability: Linked Helper mimics human browsing behavior, making it less likely to be detected by LinkedIn’s automated systems.
- Local Execution: The software runs locally on your machine without sending API signals to LinkedIn, reducing the risk of detection.
- Consistency: It offers consistent performance without frequent updates to avoid detection, providing a more stable solution for scraping and automation tasks.
Examples: Linked Helper
Browser extensions
- Code Injection: Many browser extensions inject their code into the LinkedIn page, which is easily detectable by LinkedIn’s security systems. This can lead to account warnings or bans
- Unnatural Activity Detection: LinkedIn can detect automated actions performed by browser extensions if they occur at unnatural speeds or follow predictable patterns, leading to account suspensions
Read our article about LinkedIn browser extensions.
5 Tools examples
#1 Phantombuster
Phantombuster uses mini-tools called “Phantoms” to perform specific tasks. Each Phantom is designed to do one thing really well, like extracting data from LinkedIn profiles or sending connection requests.
Slots are basically like the “spaces” you have to run these Phantoms. Each Phantom takes up a certain number of slots. For example:
- Some Phantoms only need 1 slot.
- More complex tasks, like finding emails from LinkedIn group members, might need 2 slots.
- You can think of slots as the capacity you have for running tasks.
Here are some examples of what you can do with Phantombuster:
- LinkedIn Profile Scraper: Get all the available data from someone’s LinkedIn profile, like their job title, company, and even email address.
- LinkedIn Company Scraper: Collect data from LinkedIn company pages, like company size, industry, and employee list.
- LinkedIn Search Export: Extract all the profiles that appear in a LinkedIn search.
- LinkedIn Group Members Export: Get data from members of a LinkedIn group.
- Email Extraction: Find email addresses from LinkedIn profiles, connections, or group members.
Phantombuster has different pricing plans based on how much you use it:
- Starter Plan: $56 per month if you pay annually, or $69 if you pay monthly.
- You get 20 hours of usage per month.
- You get 10 slots.
So, if you just need it for a few tasks each month, the Starter Plan might be perfect. But if you need more time or slots, you can upgrade to a higher plan.
Why It Might Be Inconvenient?
Phantombuster can be a bit inconvenient because each task requires a separate Phantom. For example, to fully automate a LinkedIn outreach campaign, you need to use multiple Phantoms, each occupying a slot. This means you have to manage several different scripts, which can be time-consuming and complex.
Unlike Phantombuster, LinkedIn Helper allows you to manage multiple tasks within a single campaign. This means you can perform searches, send connection requests, monitor accepted requests, and send follow-up messages all within one integrated flow.
#2 Captain Data
Captain Data offers comprehensive LinkedIn scraping, similar to Linked Helper, but with a subscription cost of nearly $1,000 per month.
This LinkedIn data extractor can scrape a wide range of data from company profiles, such as location, industry, size, and more. This tool is designed to streamline your workflow by automating tasks like data extraction and formatting, making it ideal for enriching your CRM with relevant information.
Captain Data emphasizes security with features like Smart Account Limits to keep your account safe. It’s also GDPR and SOC II compliant, ensuring that your data handling meets high security and privacy standards.
#3 Waalaxy
Waalaxy is another LinkedIn automation tool that focuses on individual user data. It allows you to send connection requests and scrape user information, but it doesn’t scrape company pages or message histories. This tool is more about managing and automating individual LinkedIn interactions.
Waalaxy operates as a Chrome extension, which might be less secure compared to standalone applications. There are concerns about the safety of using browser extensions for automation due to potential risks of account suspension.
Subscription: Starts at €112 ($118) per month for sending more than 80 invites. This is significantly more expensive compared to Linked Helper’s $15 Standard plan.
Explore our detailed comparison
#4 Dux-Soup
Some users may find Dux-Soup as a scraping tool. It is priced at $14.99 per month, but their Pro Dux plan doesn’t offer unlimited campaigns, which can be limiting for active users.
Similar to Linked Helper in automating LinkedIn tasks but requires setting specific browser settings to download profiles and lacks the ability to export company data or message histories.
Being a Chrome extension, it may pose slightly more security risks compared to standalone applications.
Plus, you can’t download profiles directly from a CRM or choose specific ones from your search results. It’s kind of limiting if you’re looking for more precise targeting.
If you need more features like detailed data exports or CRM integration, you might want to look at something else.
Explore our detailed comparison and make a right choice.
#5 Octopus
It’s a Chrome extension that automates tasks and lets you export data into CSV files. But there’s a catch – it only gathers profiles of individuals, not companies. So, if you’re looking for comprehensive data, it might not be enough.
Compared to other tools, Octopus doesn’t provide as much detail in the exported CSV. You won’t find descriptions of profiles, skills, or bios in the final spreadsheet.
It operates within LinkedIn by injecting code into the page while it’s running. It’s handy for basic automation tasks but falls short on detailed data extraction.
READ ALL AUTOMATION & SCRAPING TOOLS COMPARISON
All in all – how to scrape data from LinkedIn most effectively
#1 Use a scraper to search for emails
The Linked Helper LinkedIn contact scraper can collect emails other than those listed in your direct contacts’ profiles. The fact is that even when you add leads that are not in your network to the queue, you can get their emails thanks to smart parsing.
#2 Examine the client’s profile
You will receive a full-fledged database of leads, according to which you can draw up a portrait of your potential customers. In addition, Linked Helper can also add a history of your correspondence to the table if you conducted it through the service.
#3 Study Your Competitors
You can get all the data about not only potential customers but also competitor companies. The table will have links to their LinkedIn profile, website, contact details, and business page descriptions. Therefore, you can quickly prepare appropriate commercial offers or evaluate the market.
#4 Use links to accounts to work in a CRM
You can use a spreadsheet with scraped data to continue working in a third-party CRM. This can be much faster than manually collecting lead data and copying the information.
#5 Collect emails to improve outreach
The email database will help you maximize the impact of your outreach. For example, you can organize a list of leads on LinkedIn and at the same time use the list for separate outreach via email.
#6 Use the table to personalize messages
Data scraping and a ready-made table with leads will help you set up custom variables for your messages sent via Linked Helper. You can add an additional column where you insert a variable (cs_name) – for example, the name of an event, product, or industry.
#7 Send free InMails to anyone with an Open Link badge
Having collected data about people’s profiles, you can see in the table whether the profile is “open link.” According to the rules, you can send free InMails to such people. This means you can quickly reach even those who are not members of your network.
#8 Sort leads by audience size
Scraping will include data on the number of subscribers. Having received this table, you can exclude leads with a less than a certain number of followers. For example, for your campaign, you can leave only those who have more than 500 followers (active users).
#9 Continue Campaign in Linked Helper
After parsing the lead profiles, you can continue the campaign. Downloading a table with data may not be enough for lead generation on LinkedIn. Therefore, Linked Helper will become your reliable tool for continuing to search for clients on the social network.