Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Web Research Assistant

🎯 Role Definition

This role requires a meticulous Web Research Assistant who specializes in internet research, data collection, and source verification to support marketing, sales, product, and research teams. The ideal candidate uses advanced search techniques (Boolean operators, site:, filetype:), web scraping tools, public records, social media channels, and proprietary databases to gather high-quality, actionable information. This role demands attention to detail, strong written communication, and the ability to transform unstructured online data into structured, citation-backed deliverables (reports, spreadsheets, CRM entries) that drive strategic decision-making.

Core keywords: web research, internet researcher, online research specialist, data collection, competitive intelligence, lead generation, prospecting, source verification, web scraping, Boolean search.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Research Assistant / Junior Researcher (academic or market research)
Virtual Assistant / Administrative Assistant with online research responsibilities
Data Entry Specialist or Lead Generation Specialist

Advancement To:

Senior Web Researcher / Research Analyst
Competitive Intelligence Analyst or Market Research Analyst
Lead Gen Team Lead or Research Team Manager

Lateral Moves:

Content Strategist or SEO Researcher
Recruitment Sourcer / Talent Researcher
Data Analyst with a focus on data cleaning and enrichment

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Conduct deep, targeted online research using advanced search techniques (Boolean operators, site:, inurl:, filetype:) to identify relevant companies, contacts, studies, patents, or regulatory information and compile findings into organized, source-cited spreadsheets or reports.
Perform lead generation and prospecting by locating verified contact details (email, phone, LinkedIn) for B2B and B2C audiences, qualifying contacts against ideal customer profiles, and ensuring data readiness for CRM import.
Verify and cross-check information from multiple primary and secondary sources (government registries, corporate filings, social media, news archives) to validate accuracy and prevent misinformation, documenting source provenance and confidence level.
Extract, cleanse, and normalize unstructured web data into structured formats (CSV, Excel, Google Sheets) including consistent naming, deduplication, and standardized fields for seamless downstream use.
Monitor industry news, competitor websites, product launches, pricing changes, and regulatory updates daily or weekly, summarizing significant developments into concise intelligence briefings for stakeholders.
Use browser automation and basic web scraping tools (e.g., BeautifulSoup, Scrapy, Puppeteer, browser extensions) to collect high-volume public web data while adhering to legal and ethical scraping practices.
Conduct academic and literature research using scholarly databases (Google Scholar, PubMed, JSTOR) to gather peer-reviewed sources, summarize findings, and provide annotated bibliographies.
Build and maintain structured research databases, contact lists, and knowledge bases with tags, source links, timestamps, and update logs to ensure data integrity and retrievability.
Prepare detailed competitor and market analysis reports, including SWOT elements, key players, market sizing estimates, feature comparisons, pricing matrices, and screenshots with proper citations.
Support recruiting and talent sourcing efforts by identifying passive candidates, compiling profiles, and mapping talent pools across industries and geographies.
Perform regulatory and compliance research, locating industry standards, certifications, and jurisdictional requirements that impact product go-to-market strategies.
Audit and enrich CRM records with verified information, merge duplicates, and apply consistent segmentation fields to support marketing automation and sales workflows.
Execute targeted social media research and sentiment scans to identify brand mentions, influencers, topical trends, and potential outreach opportunities.
Design and run keyword research, SERP analysis, and content gap assessments to support SEO and content teams with topical authority, backlink prospects, and content ideation.
Collect and analyze publicly available financial and corporate data (annual reports, filings, investor decks) to support business development and M&A pre-screening.
Translate complex research findings into executive summaries, slide decks, annotated spreadsheets, and reproducible research notebooks for both technical and non-technical audiences.
Maintain privacy and data protection standards by redacting or securely handling sensitive information and complying with team policies and, where applicable, GDPR/CCPA guidelines.
Configure and manage alerts (Google Alerts, Talkwalker, RSS feeds) and automated data pulls so stakeholders receive timely updates on targeted topics, companies, or keywords.
Triangulate and synthesize multi-source evidence to produce actionable recommendations, risk assessments, or next-step research plans aligned to stakeholder objectives.
Prepare reproducible research methodologies and documentation (search strings, sources queried, inclusion/exclusion criteria) to ensure transparency and enable replication of searches.
Collaborate closely with internal teams (sales, marketing, product, legal) to translate business questions into research briefs and refine deliverables iteratively based on feedback.
Maintain continuous learning on new tools, open datasets, government portals, and advanced search techniques to improve efficiency and the quality of web research outputs.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc research requests, rapid-response fact checks, and exploratory data analysis for cross-functional initiatives and executive inquiries.
Contribute to the organization's data and research best practices by proposing process improvements, templates, and quality-control checklists.
Assist in the development and maintenance of training materials and onboarding guides for junior researchers and contract researchers.
Coordinate with IT and legal teams to ensure safe, compliant use of scraping tools, APIs, and third-party data services.
Participate in sprint planning, project scoping, and periodic retrospectives with project teams to align research priorities and timelines.
Perform light data visualization (charts, pivot tables) to present research trends and comparisons that enhance stakeholder understanding.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Advanced internet search skills including expert use of Boolean operators, site:, inurl:, filetype:, and cached content to surface hard-to-find information.
Proficiency with spreadsheet software (Excel, Google Sheets) including advanced formulas, pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, and data cleansing techniques.
Experience with web scraping and automation tools such as BeautifulSoup, Scrapy, Selenium, Puppeteer, Octoparse, or browser automation extensions.
Familiarity with CRM platforms (Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho) for exporting, cleaning, and importing prospect data; basic CRM hygiene best practices.
Competence using LinkedIn (Sales Navigator), People Search engines, and professional directories for candidate and contact discovery.
Basic scripting or data manipulation using Python (pandas), Google Apps Script, or R to automate repetitive data tasks and transform datasets.
Knowledge of SEO and SERP analysis tools (Ahrefs, SEMrush, Moz, Google Search Console) for content research and competitor backlink discovery.
Experience accessing and using public records, company registry systems, government data portals, and academic databases (Google Scholar, PubMed).
Familiarity with data privacy fundamentals and compliance frameworks (GDPR, CCPA) relevant to collecting and storing personally identifiable information (PII).
Ability to use collaboration and documentation tools (Google Drive, Notion, Confluence, Airtable) to store research artifacts and workflows.
Experience with social listening and monitoring tools (Hootsuite, Brandwatch, Meltwater) to track brand mentions and topical signals.
Competence creating reproducible research documentation: search strings, source lists, inclusion/exclusion criteria, and versioned deliverables.

Soft Skills

Exceptional attention to detail and a methodical approach to validating and documenting sources.
Strong written and verbal communication skills to produce clear summaries, citations, and actionable recommendations.
Curiosity and intellectual curiosity with the ability to think critically and synthesize disparate signals into coherent insights.
Time management and prioritization skills to handle multiple research requests under tight deadlines.
Problem-solving orientation and resourcefulness when confronting incomplete or conflicting information.
Collaborative mindset and responsiveness when working with cross-functional stakeholders.
Ethical judgment and discretion in handling sensitive or proprietary information.
Adaptability and eagerness to learn new tools, datasets, and research methodologies.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education: High school diploma or equivalent with demonstrable experience in internet research, lead generation, or data collection.

Preferred Education: Bachelor's degree in Library & Information Science, Journalism, Business, Marketing, Information Science, Data Science, Economics, or a related field.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Library & Information Science
Journalism / Communications
Business / Marketing
Information Systems / Computer Science
Economics / Social Sciences
Data Science / Statistics

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 1–4 years of direct web research, lead generation, competitive intelligence, or similar roles.

Preferred: 2–5 years of progressive experience in online research, market intelligence, recruiting sourcing, or data enrichment for Sales/Marketing/Research teams; demonstrated use of scraping/automation tools, CRMs, and advanced search methodologies.