Rotating IPs and Web Scraping

Web scraping has quickly gained popularity in the business world. As more people embrace entrepreneurship and businesses build their online presence, the e-commerce industry is expanding and becoming more competitive. 

The only way to stand above the crowd is by:

1. Understanding your competitors
2. Knowing what your customers’ needs are
3. Improving your SEO
4. Conducting quality lead generation
5. Setting competitive prices 

Web scraping makes it possible to achieve this, and the web scraping IP rotation service makes the process smoother.

What is Web Scraping?

Web scraping is the automated process of collecting data from the web using a tool known as a scraper. The scraper extracts data from the site, changes it into a readable format, and stores it in a database or spreadsheet for further analysis.

Scrapers make numerous web requests at a go. They extract data from sites fast, compromising on the speed of the website. Scrapers also visit sites like regular users. It causes web analytics to give misleading data regarding the traffic of the site, click-throughs, and abandoned carts.

For this reason, websites are set up with security systems that detect and block scrapers or any other bots visiting the site.

But this should not be a hindrance to web scraping. You can make use of proxies.

What is a Proxy?

A proxy is a third party server that you can use to route your web requests. They also receive the web response on your behalf, preventing any direct communication between your device and web servers. Proxies have an IP address attached to a specific location.

By using proxy servers, you can visit and scrape these sites without exposing your real IP address. In case the website security system detects your scraper, it can only block the proxy IP. And you can use a different IP to continue your project.

You can also use a proxy attached to a different location and scrape data from sites that are geo-blocked in your state. These are websites that block users from a certain location, such as areas where they do not offer their service or where internet regulation is prevalent.  

The location services of proxy servers also make it easy to narrow down your search results. You can see the specific content that the web displays to a given location. 

There are two main types of proxies:

1. Residential proxies
2. Datacenter proxies

Residential proxies are legitimate proxies channeled through real existing devices. They are issued by internet service providers to homeowners. They provide high reliability and are not easily detectable.

Datacenter proxies are artificial proxies created with virtual machines. They are issued by cloud service providers and do not rely on an internet service provider or internet connection. Datacenter proxies are fast compared to other proxies.

Proxies can come with rotating or static IP addresses. As the name suggests, static IPs involve using one IP address for as long as you need. Meanwhile, rotating proxies change frequently. They can change with each web request, each new session, or as required.

Rotating IPs are the preferred option in web scraping. 

Also read, Scraping Day Care Data in the Naked City

Why the Web Scraping IP Rotation Service is Necessary 

Although using one IP for your web scraping project is workable, it will limit your project. And the chances are high that your IP will get blocked before completing your project.

There are various ways you can get a rotating IP service:

• Ask your proxy service provider
• Use rotating proxy software
• Use rotate proxy browser extensions
• Use reverse backconnect proxies

It’s best to get a proxy provider who can provide an IP rotation service. Here are the benefits that access to a pool of IPs will have.

1) A Higher Volume of Requests 

You can make a large number of requests to your target website without getting banned. This means using a different IP with each request to avoid slowing down the site. 

You can also have concurrent sessions across various websites. It enables you to scrape more data at a go, quickening your project.

2) Accessing Blocked Websites

Besides accessing geo-blocked websites, having a proxy pool to rotate your IPs makes it possible to get around blanket IP bans. 

For instance, some websites will block requests from specific servers that have a proven track record of overloading the site.  

Also read, Things You’re Unaware of Highster Mobile | A Complete Review as per 2020

Winding Up

Is IP blocking always interrupting your web scraping project? A web scraping IP rotation service can resolve this issue. Use it to make numerous requests to the same website from different IPs without slowing down the site or raising suspicion. 

You can also scrape different websites concurrently without affecting the performance of your scraper. 

Having access to a wide variety of IP addresses spread over several locations means you can easily access geo-blocked websites and blanket IP bans.

All in all, rotating IPs improve the quality of your project.