Gathering data is one of the most significant steps towards the success of any business. Collecting information ensures that you effectively launch the best strategies for your company. By using a web proxy with the right scraper, you can manage the data scraping process within a short amount of time.
If you have ever scraped data, then you understand the importance of a web proxy and management. Web proxies provide much needed online anonymity when gathering information for business purposes.
With a variety of proxies, it is crucial to know which proxy type is ideal for your business.
Web Proxies: What Is a Proxy?
A proxy is a medium between the internet and your device. In simple terms, a proxy server will send requests and receive a response from the internet on behalf of your device. Make sure to get the services from a reliable provider such as StormProxies.com. Every computer accessing the web has an Internet Protocol address. An IP address is what a device is using when communicating with resources on the internet. Usually, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) provide these addresses.
A website can track your physical location, thanks to your IP address. Thus, to ensure that you remain anonymous every time you are online, you can use proxies. Every time you are browsing the web, information is being sent from your device through the proxy server, which then changes your IP address before sending the request to the target website. In the same way, the proxy server will receive the response from the destination site before sending it to your device or computer. By doing so, the proxy server ensures that your real IP address is not exposed and thus conceals your online identity.
Proxy Types
Proxies come in different types depending on how they are built and how they operate. The most common types include:
Residential Proxies
A residential proxy is an IP that an actual ISP has provided to a real homeowner. When the buyer connects to the internet, their connection will appear to be originating from the location of the real IP address. This type of proxies will imitate actual and organic user behavior. By using residential proxies, you can achieve high anonymity levels.
Data Center Proxies
Unlike residential proxies, these servers are not affiliated with an internet connection or an ISP. Data center proxies will only mimic a real connection. Third-party corporations are creating this type of proxy.
Why Should You Use a Web Proxy for Data Scraping?
Without proxies, data scraping would be almost impossible. Here’s why you need to use a proxy every time you crawl and scrape data:
- Proxies simplify the data collection process – your spider will crawl the target sites more securely, with little to no possibility of getting blocked.
- When scraping data using a proxy from a particular location, you will be able to collect specific information that can only be accessed by users browsing from that region. This is usually the use case for e-commerce sites.
- A proxy pool will grant you the privilege to send multiple requests without being flagged – you will be able to collect vast amounts of data within a short time.
- A proxy will assist you to avoid IP bans.
What Options Do You Have?
As mentioned earlier, there are different proxies available in the market today. So, which proxy is ideal for your business? We will help you break down some of the common proxies:
- Data center proxies are the most used type of proxies. They are the cheapest to acquire, so great for buying in bulk.
- Residential proxies ensure that you connect via a real residential connection. These proxies are hard to obtain and, consequently, more expensive. They are hard to ban or flag since they are actual IP addresses associated with precise location and ISP.
- Free (public) proxies are dangerous and of a very low quality. They are easily blacklisted, and some even contain malware.
- Dedicated proxies are ideal in cases where your primary concern is performance. They will, however, require a more significant budget.
- Shared proxies could come into play if you have a relatively smaller budget and are only starting at your web scraping related activities.
Despite the proxy type you have chosen, always ensure that you source your proxies from a trustworthy provider to succeed in your project.
