It’s a common misconception that proxy servers are used only by big corporations to collect data or manage social media accounts. While they are used for such purposes, they are also helpful for small businesses. Checking on competitors, monitoring prices, and performing market research are just a few examples of how ordinary businesses use proxies.
While the definition of private proxies might sound complicated at first, the process is quite simple when you know the basics. This article is a guide on how to set up a proxy server and finally put that growth mindset into practice.
What are proxies?
A proxy is a device or a system of interconnected devices, usually servers, PCs, or smartphones, that act as gateways to the internet. It’s a stopping point for all the data you send or receives from online sources so that you never connect or receive connections directly.
Proxy servers change your IP address. When your device connects to the internet, it tells everyone your IP address. Similarly to your street address when using physical mail, it tells where data must be sent and from where you connect. It’s essential for online communication but can also be a security and privacy hazard.
The unique characters of your IP address can be logged with each action you make online, enabling you to be tracked. Proxies enable you to use a different IP address, namely that of a proxy device, so the target server does not know your identity. Or, at least, it’s more difficult for them to figure it out.
Bad actors who want to infiltrate your network also need your IP address to start an attack. Using an intermediary proxy makes their malicious acts more difficult as they don’t receive requests directly from you. As such, proxies create a security filter, which is important for some advanced online tasks.
Proxy servers help bypass geo-restrictions. Websites and online services use IP address information to determine your approximate location. It isn’t difficult for them since IPs are tied to internet service providers (ISPs) servicing specific locations. In some cases, they can even signal your street or neighborhood.
Web servers can filter the data that is accessible to a visitor according to its IP location. For example, a competitor might show different pricing for users from your location. If you want to collect a full data range of his pricing, you need to use proxy servers from different locations.
Private vs shared access proxies
There’s a lot of talk about different types of proxies. Some are run virtually on powerful services with commercial internet (Datacenter proxies), others use household internet and physical devices (Residential proxies). The choice depends on whether you need speed or legitimacy.
Some use cases will work better with one type or the other. Still, no matter which proxy type you choose, it’s always better to have dedicated access to a proxy server. There are two main access types for a proxy server.
- Private proxies give exclusive access to one user at all times. Full bandwidth capabilities and decisions on where to use the IP address go to him.
- Shared proxies are used by multiple users concurrently. The bandwidth is divided between users, and none has a say on where others can connect.
As it should be evident, the main problem with IP address sharing is the lack of control. Without full access, you cannot be sure how much of the performance you actually get. It might be that during busy hours when a lot of people are connecting, the proxy will be much slower than when you are using it with a few others.
But performance is the least of your worries with shred proxies, as many providers have solved them with IP address rotation. A bigger problem is the IP bans. Shared proxies attract users that tend to violate the terms and conditions of popular websites.
It often leads to shared IP addresses getting banned, and other honest users cannot visit them either. Unless you plan to visit some niche websites, you will often face these hurdles with shared proxies.
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Setting up a proxy on your PC
Unlike VPNs, TOR browser, or other privacy measures, proxies give you complete freedom to use them as you want. Once you purchase a proxy, you get proxy credentials – an IP address, a port number, and a password.
Further settings might differ depending on the provider, but most of them will give you credentials and some dashboard to track your usage, select purchased country, protocol, rotation, and other parameters. After you find what you need, you can start using your proxy credentials by entering them into the software of your choice.
Modern operating systems allow users to route all of the device’s traffic through a proxy server. In both systems, you’ll need to enter your proxy credentials in a proxy settings tab that can be found using the settings search bar.
- On MAC, they can be found in the Apple menu > System Settings > Network > Proxies
- On Windows, press Start > Settings Network & internet > Proxy
Three proxy use cases for small businesses
Anonymous Browsing
The most straightforward use case of proxy is for staying anonymous online and bypassing geo-restrictions. It will shield you from data restrictions when researching customers or competitors. Proxies also reduce the risk of data leaks and act as a shield from bad actors.
Most popular web browsers, for example, Mozilla Firefox, have proxy separate proxy settings for routing your traffic when browsing. Others, such as Google Chrome, will simply ask you to use your computer’s proxy settings. In this case, I recommend using a proxy manager extension or an anti-detect browser for anonymous browsing.
Web scraping
Web scraping is a process of using automated software to collect large amounts of data online. Bots, called crawlers and scrapers, first visit a website and make a list of all the data that is available. Then, the user can select what information and in what format to download. So companies, when engaging in web scraping or API usage, can greatly benefit from the efficiency and scalability of automated data collection methods.
The whole process takes mere seconds, while hundreds of pages of information can be extracted in a suitable format. Most commonly, it’s JSON, XML, HTML, or other database formats, but it can also be a simple spreadsheet (CSV) file. A user then only needs to analyze the data and adjust their business decisions accordingly.
Collecting large amounts of data manually would be impractical, if at all possible. Online business environments are just too fast-paced for a human to handle the collection and analysis.
That’s why web scraping is used in most digital business models to make essential processes more efficient. Below are some popular use cases.
- Market research for understanding consumer behavior and trends
- Brand protection for ensuring brand integrity and loyalty
- Price monitoring for keeping up with the competition
- Equity analysis for safer investments
- Sentiment analysis for knowing what your customers think
Proxies are invaluable when web scraping because of two reasons. Firstly, most websites use geo-restrictions to adapt the data to their customer’s needs. Price, product descriptions, new announcements, and all other data points may be shown differently for visitors depending on their location. Using proxies allows one to bypass such restrictions and acquire full data.
The second reason is that websites aren’t eager to allow crawler and scraper bots. Unlike ordinary visitors, they can send hundreds of requests to the server, which can cause what’s called a 429 too many requests error and creating a risk of overloading it. Therefore, they use various anti-scraping measures, such as CAPTCHAS or blocks.
Discovering the power of essential tools for proxy scraping gives small businesses an edge, allowing them to bypass geo-restrictions and collect data successfully on low budgets. It’s no longer necessary to have a team of professionals and invest thousands of dollars just to collect information for data-based decisions. A decent web scraper with a good proxy server can do the trick.
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Lead generation
Constantly acquiring information on new potential customers is crucial for many businesses. Sales teams simply cannot function if they do not have enough contacts to turn into paying customers.
Lead generation is the process of gathering potential customers’ contact information. Nowadays, most leads are generated online, using such methods as referral programs, email marketing, or lead magnets. Proxy services come in as a supplementary tool for helping you access the full profile of your potential customers.
Paired with lead generation or web scraping software, they allow you to access information in regions otherwise restricted to you. Additionally, there’s less chance that your competitors will find out you are collecting information about their clients.
Final Thoughts on Utilizing Private Proxies for Online Business: A Practical Guide
It’s a common misconception that small private businesses are less competitive and efficient, so advanced tools like proxy servers are useless to them. But from the very definition of proxies to their setup and use cases, we can see that they can give every business a head start over their competitors.
If you’ve read till the end, chances are you now know more about proxies than your competitors. All that is left is to put this knowledge into practice and reap the benefits.
GrowthHackers offers top-rated growth hacking services helping businesses from all over the world grow. There is no fluff with Growth Hackers. We help entrepreneurs and business owners safeguard their digital operations with private proxies, increase their productivity, generate qualified leads, optimize their conversion rate, gather and analyze data analytics, acquire and retain users and increase sales. We go further than brand awareness and exposure. We make sure that the strategies we implement move the needle so your business grow, strive and succeed. If you too want your business to reach new heights, contact GrowthHackers today so we can discuss about your brand and create a custom growth plan for you. You’re just one click away to skyrocket your business.
