Unlock the Power of Link Scraping: Introducing Our Advanced Link Crawler
Why You Need a Robust Link Crawler in Your Toolkit
Traditional tools often fall short when it comes to deep crawl site exploration. Our link crawler goes beyond surface-level scraping by intelligently navigating site structures. Imagine inputting a starting URL from a Facebook group or LinkedIn profile—our tool will crawl links depth-first or breadth-first, discovering hidden connections while deduplicating results to avoid redundancy.
Key benefits include:
• Scalable Scope Control: Limit to same-origin, subdomains, or custom patterns. No more irrelevant data flooding your exports.
• Broken Link Detection: Seamlessly crawl site for broken links by flagging 4xx/5xx errors during the process, saving hours of manual checks.
• Rate Limiting & Concurrency: Configurable requests per minute (default 60) and parallel tabs (up to 4) ensure ethical site crawl without overwhelming servers.
This isn't just another link scraper; it's designed for pros who demand precision in every site crawl session.
Core Features of Our Link Crawler
-
Recursive Crawling with Smart Limits
Start with one or multiple URLs, set a max depth (e.g., 2 levels), and watch as the crawler recursively follows valid href anchors. It skips non-HTML resources like PDFs or images but lists them as endpoints. A global caps of 10,000 links per session prevents runaway crawls, ideal for large sites.
For Facebook link scraper needs, configure include patterns like */posts/* to focus on content links, excluding trackers with ?utm_* filters. Similarly, a LinkedIn scraper setup can target profile URLs while ignoring ads. -
Advanced Filtering & Deduplication
• Include/Exclude Patterns: Use regex or globs to refine what gets queued—mirroring your existing Link Grabber logic for seamless integration.
• Deduplication: Strips fragments (#anchors) and normalizes URLs, ensuring clean, unique outputs. No loops from cyclic links!
• Scope Modes: Choose "same-domain" for intra-site navigation or "custom" for cross-platform crawl links. -
Progress Tracking & Error Handling
Monitor live stats: queued, fetching, fetched, skipped (by pattern, scope, or errors). Pause, resume, or cancel jobs anytime. Exports in CSV, JSON, or plain text include fields like URL, depth, source, and status—perfect for analyzing crawl site for broken links results.
A Closer Look: Understanding the Link Crawler Interface
Crawl pages and collect links on the fly!
1. Start Your Crawl: Defining Your Seeds
At the top, you'll find the "Start URLs (one per line)" text area. This is where your journey begins. Simply paste the URLs you want the crawler to start from. Each URL you enter acts as a "seed" (depth 0), initiating the crawl from that specific point. This is perfect for targeted link scraper operations.
2. Controlling the Depth and Speed
- Max Depth: This crucial setting determines how many levels deep the crawler will go from your seed URLs. A depth of `1` means it will only discover direct children links from your starting pages. Increase this for a deeper site crawl.
- Parallel Tabs: This controls the number of pages the crawler processes concurrently. Adjusting this can balance crawl speed with your browser's performance.
3. Setting Boundaries: Advanced Limits
Under the "Advanced Limits (optional)" section, you can set safeguards to prevent runaway crawls:
- Max Pages (optional): Stop the crawl after a specified number of pages have been processed.
- Links Cap: A hard limit on the total number of links discovered. This is vital for managing resources during a large site crawl.
- Time Limit (minutes, optional): Automatically halt the crawl after a set duration.
4. Precision Crawling: Nav-Link Filters
The "Nav-Link Filter" section is where you define the scope of your link crawler. These options control which discovered links will be followed:
- All Links: No restrictions; the crawler will follow any link it finds.
- Same Origin: Restricts crawling to links with the exact same scheme, host, and port as the current page.
- Same Domain: Matches the exact hostname, ignoring protocol and port.
- Subdomain of Seed: Allows links from any subdomain of your initial seed domain.
- Subpath: Restricts crawling to URLs that fall under the exact path of your seed URL.
- Custom Rules: This powerful 💪 option allows you to define your own include/exclude patterns using glob syntax. This is incredibly flexible for specific Facebook link scraper or LinkedIn scraper tasks.
5. Fine-Tuning Your Discovery: Include/Exclude Patterns
When "Custom Rules" are selected, the "Include Patterns (one per line)" text area becomes active. Here, you can specify patterns using wildcards (`*` and `?`) to precisely include or exclude links. This level of control is invaluable when you need to crawl links with specific characteristics, such as identifying internal links or filtering for particular content types.
By mastering these settings, you can transform our Link Crawler into a highly efficient and tailored tool for any link scraper or crawl site for broken links project.
Performance Optimizations & Technical Excellence
Performance Optimizations
With shallow-first queuing (breadth-first), retries on timeouts (up to 2 with backoff), and a 15-second request timeout, this link crawler handles massive site crawl operations responsively. Test it on a sprawling e-commerce site: fetch 5,000+ links in under 10 minutes without crashing your browser.
Real-World Use Cases: From Social Scraping to Site Audits
• Social Media Extraction: Use as a Facebook link scraper to harvest event or group links recursively, building comprehensive databases.
• Professional Networking: Transform into a LinkedIn scraper by seeding company pages and crawling employee profiles within subdomain limits.
• SEO & Maintenance: Crawl site for broken links across your Tilda-built sites, identifying 404s before they hurt rankings.
• Content Discovery: Crawl links from blogs or forums to curate resources, with exports feeding your CMS.
How the Link Crawler Integrates with Link Grabber
Built on Chrome's robust APIs, this feature slots into the existing UI via a "Link Crawler". Input start URLs, tweak depth/nav filters, and launch.
No persistent background scripts mean lightweight performance—ideal for daily use.
Key Integration Benefits:
• Seamless Workflow: No need to switch between tools—everything in one Chrome extension
• Data Persistence: Jobs saved automatically, resume anytime
• Lightweight Performance: Event-based architecture, no memory leaks
• Export Compatibility: Works with existing Link Grabber export formats
• Cross-Platform: Works on any website, not just Tilda sites
The tool isn't just about scraping—it's about empowering you to crawl links smarter, with professional-grade features accessible to everyone.
