We’ll learn today how to pull data from website into Google Sheets. The days of manually entering data into any document software or organizing data that was downloaded from a website are long gone. Recently, Google Sheets released kick-off features that allow you to import even large amounts of data from a website. Even so, the copy/paste feature is still useful. Today, we’ll go through in detail how to import data into Google Sheets from a website.
Advantages of Pulling Data from a Website into Google Sheets
Manually entering data from a website into Google Sheets can be difficult and take far too long. You might run into a mess when indexing the data you’ve just retrieved. However using Google Sheets to import data from a website may be highly successful, and you can do it quickly for even large amounts of data.
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How to Pull Data from a Website into Google Sheets
In this comprehensive guide, I’ll walk you through the particulars of a trio of methods for extracting data from websites and carefully putting it into Google Sheets to improve your data retrieval abilities.
- Pull data from a website into Google Sheets using copy/paste
- Pull data from a website into Google Sheets through IMPORTHTML
- Pull data from a website into Google Sheets through IMPORTXML
Method 1:
Pull data from a website into Google Sheets using copy/paste
The simplest way to import data into Google Sheets from a website is to just copy the data and paste it there.
Step 1>
Assume that we wish to import the table data from this website into Google Sheets. So, we’ll choose all the data we want to pull first.
Step 2>
When you right-click the mouse on the data after selecting it, a drop-down menu with the option “Copy” will appear. To copy the information, click on it.
Step 3>
Once you’ve copied the data, return to Google Sheets and right-click once more on the area where you wish to paste the data. To paste the copied data, select “Paste” from the drop-down menu.
Step 4>
As soon as you pick the “Paste” option, the web-based data you have chosen will be immediately imported into Google Sheets, as shown in the image below.
Step 5>
Due to the online format, the data would be arranged irregularly in Google Sheets when we copied it. However, you may format this data well, as I’ve shown in the example below.
Method 2:
Pull data from a website into Google Sheets through IMPORTHTML
A built-in feature called IMPORTHTML allows you to add data from a website to Google Sheets. In this method, we’ll go through Google Sheets’ features in general.
Step 1>
Then, as seen in the following image, run the “IMPORTHTML” formula in the cell with an equal sign after placing your cursor where you wish to extract data from the internet.
Step 2>
The URL of the website from which you are importing data is the first argument in the “IMPORTHTML” formula. Copy the URL from the URL bar on the web page by right-clicking the mouse and selecting “Copy” from the menu that appears.
Step 3>
After that, return to the Google Sheets tab in your browser and press Ctrl + V to paste the URL. This URL link needs to be enclosed in quotation marks, as I’ve done in the example below.
Step 4>
The “Query” that determines what type of data is provided as the second argument to the IMPORTHTML function. Visit the website to find out what kind of data you need to extract, as I have the following table in Google Sheets here.
Step 5>
We will put “Table” in the syntax since we need to extract the table from the mentioned web page.
Similar to this, you would enter “Content” in the syntax if you needed to extract any stuff from the web.
Please take note that these arguments must be included in quotation marks.
Step 6>
In the following example, the table is at number 1 in indexing, therefore here we will write “1“, as can be seen below. “Index“, the third and final parameter of the IMPORTHTML function, sets the quantity of indexing data on the web page.
Step 7>
The IMPORTHTML syntax has been finished. Simply press the Enter key to get the result, which is displayed in the following image as data that was fetched from the internet.
Method 3:
Pull data from a website into Google Sheets through IMPORTXML
One of the most helpful features in Google Sheets for importing or pulling data from a website to Google Sheets is IMPORTXML. Let’s analyze its operation.
Step 1>
Similarly, place your cursor where you want to pull data from a website into Google Sheets. then run the “IMPORTXML” formula with an equal sign where you want to download data from a website into Google Sheets.
Step 2>
An IMPORTXML formula takes only two arguments, the first of which is a URL. As in the manner described previously, we will first copy the URL of the website from the URL bar. After choosing the URL with the mouse’s right-click, select “Copy” from the drop-down menu.
To copy the URL, you can also just hit Ctrl+C on your keyboard.
Step 3>
Once you have copied the URL from the website, go back to Google Sheets and use the keyboard shortcut CTRL + V to paste the “URL” in the syntax enclosed in quotation marks as seen below.
Step 4>
The text’s x-path is the second input to the IMPORTXML function. When you right-click on the data you wish to pull, you will notice a “Inspect” option in the drop-down menu. Click this to find the x-path.
Step 5>
When you select the “Inspect” option, a dialogue box at the bottom of the browser’s right side will open, displaying a reference code for the data you have chosen, as seen in the following image.
Step 6>
If you use the right mouse button to click on it, you will see a “Copy” option in the drop-down menu. If you select this option, another drop-down menu with the “Copy full Xpath” option will open, allowing you to copy the data’s Xpath.
Step 7>
Return to Google Sheets after copying the Xpath from the webpage, and paste the copied Xpath into the syntax as shown in the following image.
Remember that both arguments for the IMPORTXML function must be enclosed in quotation marks when constructing the syntax.
Step 8>
You only need to click one more to achieve the result shown in the screenshot below, which shows that the data we picked was imported into Google Sheets.
Additional Section:
How to filter data while pulling data from a website into Google Sheets?
Let’s say you need to grab specific columns or rows from a web page that has a table with several columns and rows. Use the following method to pull filter data.
Step 1>
As you can see in the example that follows, we imported some sample data into Google Sheets from a website. However, we just want to filter it for the top three columns.
Step 2>
Here, we’ll use Google Sheets’ “Query” feature as an additional function to filter the data.
Step 3>
In the example below, I have put “Select col1, col2, col3” to filter data exclusively for columns 1, 2, and 3. After activating the query function, supply the criteria that you want to filter at the end.
Step 4>
You can see the result below as I press the Enter key; the data has now been filtered to display the first three columns as necessary.
Frequently Asked Question
Can I import data into Google Sheets from any website?
Many websites offer data that can be accessed via APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), especially those that offer structured data. However, certain websites could have limits, and not all of them allow for simple data extraction.
What standard techniques are used to import data from websites into Google Sheets?
The use of browser add-ons or site scraping programs, the use of Google Sheets’ IMPORTXML and IMPORTHTML functionalities, and the creation of custom scripts with Google Apps Script are common techniques.
Are there any legal issues related to data scraping from websites?
Yes, depending on the website’s terms of service and the reason for the data extraction, web scraping may provide legal and ethical challenges. Review and abide by the website’s policies, and where required, think about requesting permission.
What if the layout of the website changes? Will my data extraction method continue to function?
Websites can change over time, which might have an impact on how you extract data. In the event that the website’s structure or content changes, it’s important to periodically evaluate and adjust your data extraction techniques.
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Conclusion
Whether you’re a newbie or an expert in data, you now have the knowledge to extract website data into Google Sheets. Start applying these methods to your data-driven projects to improve them. Many scraps!, For more keep learning with OfficeChaser.
