Why Should Companies Start Using Proxies?

A proxy is an internet-enabled device such as a mobile device or computer through which your web requests are routed before being directed to a web server. The proxy server hides your original IP address and subsequently assigns your computer a new IP address.

Depending on the type of proxy service you pay for, the provider can assign you a new IP address after every few minutes (rotating proxy) or you may have to stick with a single IP address throughout (static proxy). Notably, you can use the former type in specific applications in which the latter will flop miserably and vice versa. This underscores the fact that there are many types of proxies, each of which is suitable for a particular purpose. Read on to find out more.

Types of Proxies

Datacenter proxies

In datacenter proxies, the proxy service provider routes your web requests through virtual proxies. But why virtual proxies? Well, datacenter proxies rely on datacenter servers which are fast and powerful and can accommodate many users per server. These datacenter servers generate multiple virtual IP addresses, which they subsequently manage in a bid to maximize the number of people who can use the datacenter proxies.

Datacenter proxies are perfect for:

• Web scraping small websites (since they don’t have sophisticated security measures in place).
• Web crawling
• Email monitoring
• Accessing geo-restricted content
• Managing multiple social media accounts
• Ad verification

Residential proxies

Unlike datacenter proxies, residential proxies are based on real, existing internet-connected devices. Residential proxy service providers give their customers residential IP addresses. Now, residential IP addresses are registered by and belong to internet service providers (ISPs). The ISPs assign their customers’ devices these residential IP addresses.

Thus, by using residential proxies, your web requests are, in essence, being channeled through devices connected to the provider’s preferred ISP in a given country. This fact makes residential proxies very reliable and practically undetectable. For this reason, they are quite costly.

Residential proxies are ideal for:

• Social media management
• Ad verification
• Web scraping for price monitoring and cost aggregation
• Affiliate testing
• Shopping bots

Rotating proxies

A rotating proxy is any proxy wherein the proxy service provider changes your IP address regularly.

Rotating proxies are perfect for large-scale web scraping since they make it impossible for websites to block the IP addresses, even those responsible for large traffic since they’ll keep changing.

Static proxies

A static proxy is one in which the IP address remains the same throughout the period you’re using the internet. A static proxy service provider only assigns a new IP address once the old one is blocked.

Static proxies are ideal for situations where changing the IP address could cause the website to block your account. Such instances include: when creating a new social media account or when purchasing an item online.

HTTP Proxies

HTTP proxies are different from other types of proxies because you don’t require a proxy service provider to use them. All you need is to follow some instructions which guide you on how to configure your computer to make it an HTTP proxy.

An HTTP proxy mostly acts as a filter that determines the files your server can store or those that computers in a LAN can download. You can also use it to restrict access to certain content.

Transparent Proxies

A transparent proxy is one which acts as an intermediary between your computer and the internet without modifying your web requests. In a corporate setup, for example, employees don’t get to know that the intermediary exists. This way, the admin or manager can monitor employees’ online behavior and even restrict the websites they can access.

Transparent proxies are used in public libraries and companies looking to restrict access to enhance productivity.

Other types of proxies include:

• Shared proxies
• Private proxies
• Anonymous proxies
• High anonymity proxies
• Mobile proxies

Uses of Proxies in Businesses

The uses of proxies in a business setup are endless.

Price monitoring

Thanks to proxies, you can monitor your competitors’ prices, thereby enabling you to create an effective pricing strategy.

Ad verification

You can also verify how ad publishers display your advertisements in other countries to ensure that they don’t violate any agreements or fake engagements.

Market research

Proxies make web scraping a breeze. With the information gathered through web scraping, you can make informed decisions on the marketing approach to take, consumer trends and preferences, entry of new competitors, and much more.

News and social media monitoring

Any damage to your brand’s reputation could spell doom if not addressed early enough. With proxy servers, you can crawl news websites and social media platforms to determine what people are saying about your business.

Conclusion

These uses contribute to revenue growth and an increase in market share, either directly or indirectly. However, to enjoy them, it’s important to find a reputable proxy service provider since not every provider is worth spending money on.