How Proxies Are Important for Web Scraping? All You Need to Know
The world is becoming more data-driven at an exponential rate. With big data and computing power advances, data-driven business growth methods have emerged. Here, web scraping via proxy servers comes into play.
Proxy-based web scraping is widespread but seldom leveraged by enterprises. You may believe that hackers only use proxies to steal sensitive data through web scraping. But there are really many methods to use this approach for your company.
Do You Know What “Web Scraping” Is?
Web scraping will collect data from websites to get business insights. It helps them implement marketing strategies.
The method will also develop SEO or will try to research the market's rivals.
What Is a Proxy?
A proxy server forms a bridge between your device and the internet. Requests from internet-connected devices are directed via proxy servers owned by third parties.
Proxies come in many shapes and sizes based on the demands of the user and the policies of the enterprise. Proxy servers route all internet traffic to the IP that you requested if you are using one.
Get Familiar With Proxy Server: How To Get Free Proxy and Why Do You Do It?
A proxy server acts as an intermediary between your browser and the website you are trying to access. It will try to create an anonymous layer for the site that is receiving your requests.
Your valid IP address will be hidden from the target website. It will happen as the site believes the requests are coming from the proxy server's IP address.
Before you go for the premium servers, first try the free ones from the list of free proxy servers. You will know the basics about using the proxies, which will benefit your website's future.
There are three primary kinds of proxies:
1. Datacenter
Using datacenter proxies is a means for you to hide your identity online. It will work especially when you find yourself in a scenario where you require anonymity.
These servers are shared, which means that other users will be using the same proxy at the same time as you.
2. Residential
A residential proxy acts as an intermediary, utilizing an IP address issued by an Internet Service Provider instead of a data center. For instance, UK residential proxies provide users with IP addresses assigned by ISPs in the United Kingdom, offering a more authentic online presence and enabling access to region-specific content or services that may be restricted to users within the UK.
Residential proxies offer a high degree of anonymity and a low block rate. They allow you to browse the web as if you were a real person in a specific location (country, city, or ISP).
3. Mobile
Mobile proxies are proxies that use only mobile IP addresses provided by service providers.
Using these IP addresses, you will always be able to stay connected to the internet on the go. When you surf on your phone, you typically do so using an ISP-provided mobile IP address.
When It Comes to Web Scraping, What Exactly Is a Proxy?
Your ISP and geographic location are both known by your IP address. A few over content providers use this to their advantage. It prevents you from accessing particular materials because of your geographic location.
When your IP address is hidden through a proxy, you can explore the data without fear of being censored. A proxy server disguises your actual IP address as one of the proxies. It will ultimately allow you to scrape websites with more confidence.
Again, those who are unfamiliar with this method can utilize proxy for free. There are sources from which one can get free proxy servers.
What Are the Advantages of Scraping Information From the Web?
Using web scraping, you will bypass the difficulties of traditional data extraction. It can happen as it allows you to collect and aggregate any kind of data. You can store it in a format of your choosing, retrieve it, and do analyses on it as you see fit.
Scrapers automate the online data extraction process, allowing you to enjoy many factors. They are:
- Creating leads
- A study of the market
- Protection of the brand
- Machine learning
- Comparison of prices
- Ad verification
A-List of Reasons Why Proxies Are Essential for Web Scraping
1. The Use of Proxies Accelerates Web Scraping
Using several IP addresses to connect to different sites speeds up internet access. Your servers may access the internet at a considerably higher pace than average.
Accessing international websites will be just as quick as if they were local. All thanks go to the distributed nature of the proxies. The free proxy servers can also do a good job here.
2. Mask Your (IP) Address by Exploring the List of Free Proxy Servers
The most common purpose for using a web scraping proxy is to disguise the IP address of the source computer. Premium and free proxies prevent websites from blacklisting your unique IP address to visit a website.
The web scraper's source computer will be unaffected if the target website bans an IP. A web scraper using a proxy server may utilize many IP addresses. It will reduce the risk of getting blocked.
3. Avoid Being Subject to IP Prohibitions
A non-human activity like using the same IP address in many requests may result in a site's detection of you as a bot.
A blacklist or even a permanent IP address ban can be created by blocking any future requests. You can always count on proxies since even if one is blocked, you can always use another.
4. A Request From a Specific Place
A premium proxy enables you to send queries from a different location when web scraping. This feature facilitates scraping web pages with varied content for several areas.
Similarly, some websites utilize geo-blocking to prevent access from particular regions or countries. Along with premium, the free proxies can also provide a few compelling features. It would help if you went through a free proxy list before taking the next step.
Scrapers use proxy servers with overseas IP addresses to get around these restrictions. It will let the scraper access regional variants of the same webpage.
E-commerce sites achieve this by optimizing their website for customer data browsing. Proxies are used when web scrapers cannot alter a website's location manually.
5. The Cost of Web Scraping Is Low
6. Overriding the Rate Restrictions
Websites that don't mind web scrapers often restrict the number of requests they make in a given time. An IP address may be blocked if the target website discovers that a limit has been violated.
When you are trying to target a website with hundreds or even thousands of pages, this might be a challenge. If your scraper runs at a high enough pace, your IP address might be blacklisted.
Proxies can avoid this by using many IP addresses while staying within each IP's request speed limit. Requests are routed across several IP addresses by proxy servers. A credible proxy list is going to be your solution.
7. Using Selenium to Scrape Particular Material
There may be a specific piece of material that you are looking to extract from a website. But you cannot do it as you don't have the programming expertise to do so.
As a general rule, online scrapers are not fluent in both JavaScript and flash. Web scraping through proxies is possible if your chosen proxy server has a good JavaScript engine. And then they will scrape it.
Sometimes you can find good proxies from the free proxies list. But you need to do your research before picking the best free proxies.
8. Auto-Completion of Documents
This is crucial if you have a large website with many details to work out. Automation is a boon to businesses since it reduces costs and increases profits.
As a bonus, Google Sheets allows you to save and retrieve form data. So, with the use of proxies, web scraping can efficiently finish data completion.
You don't have to worry about how to get a free proxy, as there are available lists for them. Depending on your region, you will use those free proxies before using the premium ones.
9. Scrapers Resembling Actual People
It's hard for a website owner to know you're using bots without leaving a trail. Your proxies may hide this trail by delivering HTTP headers similar to a browser.
Using proxies to scrape data is legal, but if you are discovered, you might lose money. There is a far lower risk of detection if your program seems to be human.
How Many Proxies Do You Require?
The process of constructing a web scraping proxy pool has numerous considerations. By taking all of the below into account, you can accurately estimate the size of your proxy pool.
1. Demands
Over time, the total number of queries you will make to the target website server must be calculated.
2. A Website’s Size
The size of the web page you want to scrape is vital to keep in mind. With plenty of pages and anti-scraping measures, you need more proxies.
3. Accuracy of IP Addresses
Since a low-quality IP can be recognized and prohibited, the quality of IPs is essential. The effectiveness varies based on the type of Internet Protocol (IP) you are using.
Of course, residential IPs are the best in terms of performance. Dedicated IPs, on the other hand, are much superior to shared or public IPs.
Conclusion
It is essential to think carefully about the sort of proxies you employ and how often you utilize them. You may choose from various proxies, depending on the kind of website you are attempting to scrape.
