Choosing the most effective proxy type for your project can be a headache. Unlike other privacy measures, proxies have many types with distinct benefits and drawbacks. One of the best strategies for efficiently spending money is to look into your use case and select an appropriate proxy type. That’s what this article is all about.
Popular Proxy Type Use Cases
What are proxies?
In case you don’t know, proxies are intermediary devices between you and the Internet. Instead of connecting directly to a web server, you can employ a proxy to act on your behalf, shielding your original IP address and geolocation.
All proxy types, except transparent proxies, perform these two basic tasks, but the speed of your connection, integration possibilities, and IP address legitimacy differ. Such variations arise from the multiple ways providers are setting up proxies.
Proxies can differ in how they source their IP addresses, so we have types like datacenter, residential, and mobile proxies. IP addresses can be rotating or static, and the network connection can be shared between multiple users or provided exclusively to one.
Many guides cover the theory of different proxy types and when to choose them. However, it’s all much easier when it comes to practice. Below, we will discuss the most common proxy use cases and recommend a specific proxy type for you.
Anonymity and Bypassing Geo-restrictions
The most simple use case of proxies is to ensure anonymity and change geolocation by hiding your IP address. Every proxy type can achieve this at some level, but since it most frequently involves integration with a web browser, operating system, or an anti-detect browser, you’ll want something static and highly legitimate.
Recommended proxy type: static residential proxies. These proxies excel in privacy while ensuring you a stable connection for a period of your choice. This is perfect for casual browsing when you don’t want to log in to your accounts each time.
Bulk Purchasing
Buying multiple in-demand goods online is a huge hassle. Not only do the prices differ by region, but the stocks are often low, and you must compete with others to check them out first. Many shoppers use automated software for larger purchases, which require running proxies.
Recommended proxy type: A pool of residential proxies. One good proxy won’t be enough, as you’ll have to switch between multiple accounts that all must have highly legitimate IP addresses.
Web scraping
A much more advanced use case of proxies is web scraping. It uses automated bots (called scraper bots) to index websites and extract the needed data from them. Many web scraping projects require Phyton coding skills, but pre-build tools can make the process simpler.
No matter which path you choose, you’ll need proxies to guard your IP address from bans and the possibility of bypassing geo-restrictions. The choice of proxies highly depends on your target website and the amount of data you need, but we can make a general recommendation.
Recommended proxy type: rotating residential or data center proxies. If the target website uses advanced anti-scraping measures, you’ll need more legitimacy – choose residential proxies. If you need more transfer speed and IP bans are nothing to worry about, go with datacenter proxies. In any case, using rotating proxies is crucial as it will maximize IP address legitimacy and increase accessibility to the needed data.
Email Protection
Proxies can also be used in reverse, that is, to protect the server from intrusions. The most popular of such use cases is email protection. Companies use specialized software to filter incoming emails from spam and malware attacks. The proxy server is crucial for acting as a barrier and filtering incoming connections.
Recommended proxy type: Static datacenter proxies. Since you don’t need much anonymity when filtering incoming emails, but a good performance is mandatory, datacenter proxies are perfect for such use cases. They are hosted on professional servers, and IPs are created virtually to balance performance and efficiency.
Ad verification
Purchasing ads online involves a risk that your brand or product will not be promoted as intended. To make ads effective, you must ensure they are displayed to the right audience and context. That’s exactly what ad verification achieves. Proxies are needed to ensure anonymity and bypass geo-restrictions.
Recommended proxy type: shared residential proxies. Ad verification requires accurate location targeting and a large pool of IPs, while the performance of proxies isn’t that important. Sharing residential proxy connections is a near-perfect option, as you can achieve your goals cost-effectively. Datacenter proxies might work too, but you risk getting inaccurate data.
SEO Monitoring
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is improving your website to ensure traffic from search engines, especially Google. It’s impossible without SEO metrics about where you already rank and where you could improve. Special software collects data about the website and its rankings before implementing improvements.
Recommended proxy type: rotating datacenter proxies. Most SEO specialists find data center proxies legitimate enough for collecting data about websites and their rankings. Collecting data from Google might require residential proxies, but in most cases, rotating data center proxies are sufficient.
Social media management
Agencies or individuals managing multiple social media accounts constantly need legitimate IP addresses from relevant locations. Moreover, they need these connections to integrate into special software that makes their work more efficient.
Recommended proxy type: A pool of residential proxies. Each account must connect from a specific location with as much legitimacy as possible, so there’s no better option than having a residential proxy for each account that you manage.
Also Read: 99+ Exciting Raspberry Pi Project Ideas for Beginners: Creativity Unleashed
Conclusion
The recommendations made here might change with advances in proxy technology or if your needs for a particular application are uncommon. Take them as a starting point, which will most likely give you optimal performance. If they don’t work, you’ll have something to compare in your testing.