Using a sticky IP address for business purposes can be tricky. Getting your IP address blacklisted by one or more online services or websites can potentially harm your business. You won’t be able to get valuable information from those resources anymore.
However, there is a way to prevent this. If you were looking to avoid using a sticky IP address, you probably ran into proxies. You say you don’t know what proxies are and why are some proxy types better than others for business use?
Well, you’ve come to the right place. Below you’ll find everything you need to know to understand proxies and learn which one is best for your business.
Defining proxies and two main types we use
Imagine the internet as one colossal city. Your IP address in this scenario is a physical address. To receive anything you’ve ordered, the delivery service needs to know your address. Once you contact a website, a server knows where to send the data, thanks to your IP. Can you get a data package even if you hide your true IP? That’s where proxies come in.
A proxy is a common term you’ll find online. It refers to a device that can be a mobile phone, server, or another computer that stands between you and the internet. It acts as a middleman for your internet connection. Instead of connecting directly to the world wide web, you connect to a proxy and access online content.
What does it mean? Your true IP address is masked. Because you access online content through a proxy, the internet will think that your real IP address is the one proxy assigned you.
Proxy is the most general term used. It encompasses different types of proxies. Both of the following proxy types are unique and have unique use cases business-wise:
- Static proxies
- Rotating proxies
Understanding static proxies
Static proxies are the most commonly used proxy types out there. They are often also called static residential proxies. These proxies have a pool of IP addresses. As a user, you get assigned one of the addresses from the data center’s pool. The static prefix is there to tell you that you will be assigned a static or sticky IP address. You’ll use this same IP address whenever you go online.
Static proxies provide anonymity since they mask your true IP address. Since they are often data center proxies, it means that your connection bandwidth will be high as well. They are simple to use and don’t raise any red flags when used.
Understanding rotating proxies
Rotating proxies really step up the anonymity game. These are carefully set up servers able to assign you a new IP address whenever you make a connection. If the rotating proxy has 5,000 IP addresses in its pool, you can set up a script and send 5,000 requests to the same or different websites.
Every request will come from a different and unique IP address. It’s a perfect solution if you don’t want to get your IP banned by targeted websites. Data scraping and site audit operations on a large scale are impossible without rotating proxies. Most of the websites have protections against bots, and using a sticky IP address would result in a ban.
Why rotating proxies are better for business use
Businesses use proxies to enable their data scraping, web crawling, and site audit processes. These operations are by default large. For instance, a company needs to scrap thousands of websites to get enough data to gain valuable insights, identify trends, and make business decisions.
Making thousands of requests from a sticky IP address will most definitely result in temporary IP suspension or blacklist by most targeted websites. That’s why static proxies are a far inferior option for businesses planning to launch a data scraping operation.
Rotating proxies are not better for business use, but the only possible way to circumvent website protections and get the data a company needs. They are affordable, require low to no maintenance, and are completely automatic. Besides avoiding getting banned, rotating proxies are convenient because you can use them to run any data scraping and crawling operation.
For instance, one day, you might need to scrap prices from the competitors’ websites. The other day you might be interested in consumer sentiment, and you’ll scrape reviews, comments, and forums. Whatever the operation is, a rotating proxy will make sure that you complete it without running into any obstacles. While there’re many service providers in the market, make sure to do your research and find a reliable one (e.g., Oxylabs).
Conclusion
Proxies offer a convenient solution to online anonymity. However, static proxies assign a sticky IP address, which will most definitely be banned if a company uses it to make thousands of requests in a short time frame. That’s why rotating proxies are a much better option for businesses. Every request is assigned a new IP address so that bots don’t raise any suspicion.
