YouTube Video Scraper

Step By Step Guide

The YouTube Video Scraper automation extracts detailed information from individual YouTube videos, such as titles, descriptions, view counts, upload dates, and more. This tool is ideal for marketers, researchers, and growth hackers looking to analyze video content trends or collect data for marketing campaigns. Data can be exported to Google Sheets or CSV for organized tracking and analysis. Follow this comprehensive guide to set up and execute the automation.

Step 1: Log in to the TexAu App and Locate the Automation

Log in to your TexAu account at v2-prod.texau.com. Navigate to the Automation Store and search for YouTube Video Scraper. Click on the automation to open its configuration screen.

Step 2: Select Your Input Source

TexAu provides options to extract video details directly from YouTube. This automation is useful for researchers, marketers, and content creators looking to gather video data for insights and analysis.

Specify the videos you want to analyze. TexAu offers the following input methods:

Single Input

Use this option to extract data from a single YouTube video.

• Video URL: Enter the URL of the YouTube video whose data you want to scrape.
• Extract Limit (Optional): Specify the maximum amount of data to extract. The default is unlimited.

Google Sheets

This option is ideal for scraping data from multiple YouTube videos listed in a Google Sheet.

1. Connect your Google account
   • Click Select Google Account to choose your connected account, or click Add New Google Sheet Account to link a new one.
2. Select your spreadsheet
   • Click Open Google Drive to locate the Google Sheet containing the video URLs.
   • Choose the spreadsheet and the specific sheet where your data is stored.
3. Adjust processing options
   • Number of Rows to Process (Optional): Define how many rows of the sheet should be processed.
   • Number of Rows to Skip (Optional): Specify rows to skip if necessary.
4. Provide input details
   • Video URL: Ensure the correct column contains the video URLs.
   • Extract Limit (Optional): Specify the extraction limit for each video.
5. Enable Loop Mode (Optional)
   • Turn on Loop Mode to reprocess the Google Sheet from the start once all rows are completed.

Process a CSV File

This option allows you to extract video details from a list of URLs stored in a static CSV file.

• Upload the file
  • Click Upload CSV File and select the file containing the video URLs.
  • TexAu will display the file name and preview its content for verification.
• Adjust processing settings
  • Number of Rows to Process (Optional): Define how many rows you want to scrape from the file.
  • Number of Rows to Skip (Optional): Specify rows to skip, if needed.
• Provide input details
  • Video URL: Ensure the correct column contains the video URLs.
  • Extract Limit (Optional): Specify the extraction limit for each video.

Tip: Use Google Sheets for dynamic or frequently updated lists, and CSV files for static data that doesn’t change often.

Step 3: Execute Automations on TexAu Desktop or Cloud

• Open the automation setup and select Desktop Mode.
• Click Choose a Desktop to Run this Automation.
• From the platform, select your connected desktop (status will show as "Connected") or choose a different desktop mode or account.
• Click “Use This” after selecting the desktop to run the automation on your local system.
• Alternatively, if you wish to run the automation on the cloud, click Run directly without selecting a desktop.

Step 4: Schedule the Automation (Optional)

To automate video scraping at specific times, configure the Schedule settings:

• None: Run the automation immediately.
• At Regular Intervals: Set the automation to repeat every few hours or daily.
• Once: Specify a one-time run at a particular date and time.
• Every Day: Automate scraping daily at a chosen time.
• On Specific Days of the Week: Choose specific days like Monday or Friday.
• On Specific Days of the Month: Select specific dates like the 1st or 15th.
• On Specific Dates: Define exact dates for the automation.

Tip: Scheduling ensures consistent and regular updates for ongoing data collection projects.

Step 5: Set an Iteration Delay (Optional)

Avoid detection and simulate human-like activity by setting an iteration delay. Choose minimum and maximum time intervals to add randomness between actions. This makes your activity look natural and reduces the chance of being flagged.

• Minimum Delay: Enter the shortest interval (e.g., 10 seconds).
• Maximum Delay: Enter the longest interval (e.g., 20 seconds).

Tip: Random delays keep your automation safe and reliable.

Screenshot Suggestion: Include a screenshot of the Iteration Delay settings, showing fields for Minimum Delay, Maximum Delay, and time units.

Step 6: Choose Your Output Mode (Optional)

Choose how to save and manage the extracted alumni data. TexAu provides the following options:

• Append (Default): Adds new results to the end of existing data, merging them into a single CSV file.

• Split: Saves new results as separate CSV files for each automation run.

• Overwrite: Replaces previous data with the latest results.

• Duplicate Management: Enable Deduplicate (Default) to remove duplicate rows.

  Tip: Google Sheets export makes it easy to collaborate with your team in real time, particularly useful for alumni network management and analysis.

  Screenshot Suggestion: Show the Output Mode settings with options for Google Sheets, CSV, Append, Split, and Deduplicate

Step 7: Access the Data from the Data Store

Once the automation completes, access your results in the Data Store:

1. Navigate to Data Store in TexAu.
2. Locate the YouTube Video Scraper automation.
3. Click See Data to view or download the scraped video details.

The YouTube Video Scraper automation simplifies the collection of detailed video data, empowering marketers, researchers, and content creators with actionable insights. With features like bulk input, scheduling, and export to Google Sheets or CSV, this tool streamlines trend analysis, audience research, and campaign planning.