How and why use a proxy for web scraping?

Extracting content from one website to another is not easy. That's why we recommend using a proxy. It plays a major role in web scraping. You need to choose the proxies you need and want to use. They offer many advantages. You will find a selection of the best proxy providers on the web. It's up to you to make your choice according to your needs. Find out more in this article.

About the proxy

A proxy is an intermediary between you and the website you wish to visit. It is a solution that makes your Internet browsing experience more secure and private. For those who know, when you interact with a website, information about you is collected. This includes your location, IP addresses and information about your devices.

During the process of retrieving website content, your identity is masked. Without a proxy, your request to connect to the website will be sent directly to its server. However, with a proxy server, your request is first sent to this intermediary.

The different types of proxy servers

There are several types of proxy server that you can use as an individual or a company. There is the transfer proxy, which allows users to make requests to websites in accordance with the administration's Internet usage policies. As a result, some requests may be refused.

Transfer proxy servers use 3 main types of proxy IP. These are data centre IP addresses, residential IP addresses and mobile IP addresses. Data centre IP addresses are those of servers hosted in data centres.

Residential IP addresses are those of private residences in specific postcodes/regions. Finally, mobile IPs are those of mobile devices.

Since residential and mobile IP addresses are the most likely to be legitimate, they are the most coveted. However, they are not at all easy to obtain.

In addition, there is the reverse proxy, which is responsible for intercepting user requests to access web data. It accepts or denies access depending on the organisation's bandwidth load. In this way, websites are not overloaded with attacks.

As you can see, there are different types of proxies. Each has its own purpose and their use differs according to your needs. Some are more expensive than others, and that's not by chance. In fact, they are more effective and offer many advantages.

There are transparent proxies that guarantee no confidentiality to your requests. All your information will be transmitted, but under the proxy's IP address. This type of proxy is often used to keep an eye on users' movements on the Internet, in companies or schools.

Anonymous proxies hide your IP address and information. What better way to hide your location? You'll also be protected from targeted advertising. Using these proxies can be complex. If you come across websites that don't like being consulted by proxies, they are likely to block you.

Highly anonymous proxies can also be used. These are also known as elite proxies. They are one of the most secure solutions. They are able to hide your identity completely and websites will not be able to recognise them as proxies.

The use of highly anonymous proxies means that you won't be blocked by websites when using the scraping. This alternative is therefore highly recommended.

Public proxies are free. However, there is sometimes a price to pay. They can be set up by hackers with the intention of stealing your data. A large number of users can use them at any one time. They can be blocked by websites.

However, not all public proxies are bad. You just have to know how to look. You may come across a reputable provider who can meet your needs.

Data centre proxies are generated and stored in the cloud. They are therefore not able to locate a real location. There are several reasons why you might want to use these proxies. Their cloud service providers have very good Internet connections.

This means high-speed browsing. On the downside, it can be said that they share the same network. This means that a website can block all IP addresses on a specific subnet.

Finally, there is the residential proxy. IP addresses are the addresses of real devices that look like regular clients for the various servers. Using this type of proxy is an excellent solution for avoiding detection and banning.

What are the advantages of using proxies for web scraping?

Companies use web scraping to extract important industry data and market information. This enables them to make data-driven decisions and offer information-based services. Direct proxies allow organisations to efficiently extract data from a variety of Internet sources.

Proxy scraping offers a number of advantages, including security. Using a proxy server increases confidentiality. It hides the IP address of the user's machine. It is also a solution for avoiding IP bans.

For those who know, company websites set a limit on the amount of data that can be processed. This prevents users from making too many requests and slowing down the speed of the website.

The use of proxies for scraping allows the crawler to exceed throughput limits on the target website by sending access requests from different IP addresses. You also have the option of activating access to region-specific content.

Companies that scrap for marketing and sales purposes may want to monitor what competitors' websites offer for a given geographical region. The aim is to offer the right product prices.

The use of residential proxies with IP addresses in the targeted region enables access to all the content available in that region. In addition, requests originating from the same region are not as suspect. As a result, they are less likely to be banned.

Using proxies allows you to activate high-volume scraping. There is no way of knowing whether a website is being visited. However, the more active a scraper is, the easier it is to track its activity. For those in the know, scrapers can access the same website in a very short space of time or at certain times of the day. They can also access web pages that are not directly accessible. This exposes them to the risk of being blocked once they have been detected.

Proxies guarantee anonymity. You can therefore carry out as many simultaneous sessions on the same site as on different websites. This saves you a considerable amount of time.

About how a proxy server works

A proxy is nothing more than an intermediary server between the user and the target website. The proxy server has its own IP address. So when a user requests access to a website via a proxy, the site transmits and receives the data to the IP proxy server. The proxy server then sends the data to the user.

Website owners use proxies to improve security and balance Internet traffic. Scrapers use proxies to mask their identity and make their traffic look like that of a normal user.

Internet users use proxies to protect their personal data. They also use them to access sites blocked by their country's censorship mechanism.

How to set up your proxy management?

To set up your proxy management, you need to configure two elements. These are the software to send requests to various transfer proxies and direct proxies that handle requests from target websites.

A distinction should be made between in-house and outsourced proxies. Internal proxies offer data confidentiality and guarantee total control for the engineers involved. However, creating an internal proxy takes time.

What's more, it requires a highly experienced team of engineers to create and maintain the solution. As a result, the vast majority of companies prefer to use proxy solutions that are ready to be used for web scraping.

How many proxies should I use?

To take full advantage of these tools, you need to use a given number of them. To determine the number of proxy servers required, you can use a formula. Divide the number of access requests by the exploration rate.

The number of access requests depends on several parameters. These are the web page you want to explore and the frequency with which a scraper explores a site. Some sites can be scanned every minute or every hour of the day.

The exploration rate is limited by the number of requests per period or per user authorised by the target website. Most websites authorise a limited number of requests per minute. This allows them to differentiate between human and automated user requests.

Clearly, the number of proxy servers depends on the website and your intentions, i.e. the number of pages contained on the site or the number of pages to be retrieved. If you want to get an idea, you can limit requests to 50 per hour and per IP address. Generally speaking, this is the ceiling used by websites. However, you should reassure yourself by having a clear idea of the connection limits of the target site.

In addition, it is advisable to prefer dedicated servers to shared servers. A dedicated server is one that you alone can use. For web scraping, it would be wise to use several dedicated servers rather than several shared servers. This solution offers greater security for the data extracted.

Which proxy provider should I choose?

There are hundreds of proxies. It is therefore complicated to make a selection. Before choosing from the lists available, it is important to make a comparison of the offers, taking into account the advantages offered. You need to consider price and specifications.

ScrapingBot

You can opt for ScrapingBot, which is an effective web scraping tool. It's not just a proxy provider, but also a turnkey web scraping tool for developers. By combining it with a web scraper, theAPI will be of great use to you. It will allow you to retrieve HTML from any website without being blocked.

ScrapingBot takes the hassle out of managing proxies. The tool takes care of selecting IP addresses and rotating them through thousands of residential and mobile proxies in dozens of countries.

It has several specific APIs for campsites, real estate, retail and much more. It also offers a PrestaShop module.

SSL Private Proxy

SSL Private Proxy is also an excellent choice. This is a good provider of "proxies for web scraping" to extract data from websites. It provides a dedicated IP address. It guarantees anonymity and offers a VPN and a fast connection. If you want to use this provider for web scraping, you will need to purchase several subscriptions. This will allow you to obtain several IP addresses.

Smartproxy

In addition, Smartproxy provides you with an all-in-one data collection tool. It can be used on major search engines such as Google, Baidu, Bing, and many more.

Search engine proxies are very effective. You can take advantage of a proxy network of 40 million high-quality IP addresses worldwide. It also offers a data analyser.

This is a solution that can help you improve your SEO metrics. You can use it to collect paid data in real time.

If you want to compare prices and research your competitors, this proxy service provider is perfect for you. Smartproxy will take care of browsing the various proxies and choosing the best ones for your needs.

Bright Data

You can also opt for Bright Data, which used to be known as Luminati. It is one of the oldest proxy providers. It is also well known among web scrapers for its high-quality services.

Clearly, there are several providers of proxy services. It is up to you to make your choice based on your budget and their advantages.