Your IP address identifies you online. It’s like an identity card that tells people who you are. The IP address also indicates your location. It’s one of the aspects that websites check to limit access to some of their content.
In recent days, many talks have been going on about hiding IP addresses behind proxy servers. This is because a proxy server removes most of the limitations that come with operating with your computers’ IP address.
If, for instance, a company wants to extract heavy data from certain websites, a proxy will allow them to do it by hiding their IP address. Anonymity is important since it reduces the possibility of IP blocking. Proxies are also excellent at boosting internet speeds and securing sensitive data.
But as the use of proxies grows, there’s also the concern about using a single IP address. Just like your standard IP address, a single proxy address has greater chances of being detected and blocked.
And that’s where the need for rotating proxies comes in. Rotating proxies are convenient since they give you a variety of IP addresses to choose from. This then guarantees you better anonymity in the websites you visit.
What is Rotating Proxies?
A rotating proxy acts as an intermediary between you and the destination website. It receives requests and sends them to the target website on your behalf. It uses different IP addresses for most of its requests. That’s why it’s the most preferred proxy for web crawling.
Rotating proxies are also convenient since they distribute your traffic across different servers. They are also safe since they change the IP addresses periodically. Most of the timings are constant and will depend on your settings.
Several factors determine the number of proxies you should buy. A few of these factors include:
- The type of proxy – If you are using datacenter proxies, then you will need a larger pool of rotating proxies. This is because datacenter proxies have IP addresses that are more open and detectable than residential proxies.
- The level of your request – A website that sends more requests needs more proxies to avoid overloading servers.
- The amount of security required – If you are visiting websites with strong bot detectors, you’ll need a larger pool of proxies to avoid IP blocks.
The Benefits of Rotating Proxies to a Website
Here’s how a website can benefit from rotating proxies.
Hiding Your IP Address
Anonymity plays a huge role in how you interact online. It allows you to stream movies and purchase digital products without the fear of IP blocking. If, let’s say, you operate a website and want to purchase digital products restricted in your area, you can use proxies to mask your location.
With rotating proxies, you can send numerous requests on similar websites with different identities. By hiding your IP address, the rotating proxy offers opportunities to collect information that will improve your website’s performance.
Perform Competitor Research Through Web Scraping
Competitor research plays a significant role in online visibility. Research helps you discover what makes a competitor successful in their digital marketing strategies. If you are a business, competitor research will help you realize the strength and weaknesses of your online marketing strategies. It will also inform your web design and help you deliver top-ranking content.
But to get the most out of a competitors’ website, you’ll have to collect massive data. The data may also have to be collected for prolonged periods. If you are using a single IP address, you will likely be detected and flagged as spam. In most cases, the target websites will block your access to their websites.
That’s why your web scraping routines should involve a rotating proxy. A rotating proxy will give you the anonymity you need to scrape through websites with different IP addresses. Rotating proxies are essential for SEO since they enable you to get information relevant to your websites’ ranking.
Improved Load Speed and Better Performances
Proxies are excellent for web caching. They receive requests and save the response on their servers. For any client requesting similar information, the proxy will go through its files and fetch the response. This saves on speed since the proxy does not have to go through the internet each time.
For businesses, web caching also reduces bandwidth. This is because information passing through the proxy will mostly be stored on their servers. From a tech perspective, this means that your load speeds also improve since your system will be saving fewer data. This then translates to better performance and overall improvement of your website’s conversions.
Bypass Restrictions
In a digital world, you’d expect easy access to online information. But that’s not always the case. With the rise in cyberattacks, businesses are more cautious of who they’d allow access to their information. It’s common to find specific locations with zero or little access to certain websites.
But for genuine business, gaining access to most websites plays an important role in their globalization goals. It’s for this reason that proxies are used to bypass the geo-restrictions. With proxies, you can be sure that the website receiving your request cannot view your location.
But even with the convenience of proxy servers, you must keep in mind that not all proxies work the same. A good example is the semi-dedicated proxies that are shared among a group of users. With such proxies, detection and suspension are common.
Suppose you are looking for a secure and reliable proxy for browsing, consider the paid rotating proxies. We recommend choosing the paid proxies since they come with extra security features and excellent customer support. Paid rotating proxies also come with a large pool of IP addresses ready for your use. They also offer location choices giving you a better opportunity to bypass most geographical barriers.
No Rate Limits
Most websites avoid attacks by limiting the number of requests you can send. If you exceed a certain number of HTTPS requests, the target website suspends or blocks your IP address. But thanks to rotating proxies, it’s now possible to send unlimited requests.
You can distribute requests across various IP addresses on your rotating proxy, thus allowing you to crawl and get around most bans and rate limits. Rotating proxies also minimize delayed responses and reduce request retries.
The Final Words
Proxies provide anonymity for your IP address. They make it easy for you to collect information relevant to the ranking of your website. Rotating proxies deliver fast connections, better performance, and improved security for your website.
