Because data is an invaluable asset in an increasingly digitized world, companies are trying to get a competitive edge by acquiring data sets that can provide crucial insights. While big players utilize machine learning and Big Data, these technologies might be off-limits or too expensive for some companies.

One of the most affordable alternatives to traditional Big Data research is web scraping, a technique of extracting data from websites through software. It is estimated that the web scraping industry has already surpassed $4 billion and is projected to reach $16 billion by 2035.

Who uses web scraping, and for what

The E-commerce industry is among the most competitive, and because the market is heavily saturated, having the correct data can mean the difference between a successful online shop and a flop. Retail businesses that rely on online sales use web scraping to monitor pricing policies with competition.

You can also find out which products are now popular or in focus. Another thing you can benefit from web scraping for your fashion brand is the users' sentiment.

If you want to attack a new region or niche in the industry, data from scraping can help you with thorough market research.

Other users can also benefit from web scraping besides e-commerce companies. You can get quality cold leads and use them for lead generation. Web scraping and data mining have dozens of other use cases, but how does it work?

Web scraping challenges

Web scraping uses specialized software that sends thousands of requests to host servers to crawl through the entire website and extract all data. One of the main challenges for scrapers is analyzing the data, which is an entirely different topic.

A more apparent problem with scrapers comes from the high volume of requests sent to the server, which can alarm the anti-scraping protection or other protective systems. Your IP address can be banned, ruining your efforts to get valuable data.

To mitigate this problem, most scrapers work with quality proxy server providers. Proxies act as middlemen, providing anonymity and privacy for the user and presenting different IP addresses to the destination website.

Types of proxy servers and why you should consider rotating proxies for scraping

You will want to hide your IP address for multiple reasons. The first and most obvious is to finish the web scraping task. The other is to protect the reputation on the market. While scraping is not illegal, it is a big no for some influential industry names.

Choosing between different proxy types depends on your needs. Datacenter, residential, and mobile proxies are common types. Speed and affordability attract users to datacenter proxy servers. If you want to use it for web scraping, ensure the destination website doesn't have strong protection from scrapers. Datacenter IP addresses are not connected to Internet Service Providers, and host servers can detect unusual behavior more easily.

Residential and mobile proxies are more expensive and not as fast as datacenter, but they have the crucial advantage of authentic IP addresses.

However, even the genuine IP address assigned by the ISP can't guarantee web scraping going seamlessly. Because you will send countless requests to the destination server quickly, a website can block IP given to you by a proxy server provider.

You should consider getting a rotating proxy server if you need high-volume web scraping. This is a service where proxies alternate IP addresses automatically, making it hard for destination websites to detect unwanted behavior. Best rotating proxies can avoid rate limiting, IP blocks, and CAPTCHA systems. While you can get rotating proxies from residential, datacenter, and mobile proxy servers, the most popular option is residential proxies. You can check some of the top rotating proxy providers in the comprehensive Proxyway roundup.

What else can you do with proxy servers?

Another common user of rotating proxies is social media managers. Whether you promote a couple of brands from the same company or need multiple social media accounts, you could have a problem with Instagram, TikTok, X, and Facebook policies and rules. More than five accounts from the same IP address could get you suspended, banned, or even terminated your account. It would be troublesome if it happened while running a social media campaign. Proxy servers hide your IP address and enable social media managers to run multiple accounts.

Rotating proxies is beneficial for marketers who must check how their social media or advertising campaign performs in a foreign market. The trick is to see it as a local user, and you will need a new and reliable local IP address, which the proxy server can provide. You can also avoid geo-restricted content or simply use proxy servers to increase your level of privacy and online security.

Conclusion

Having data-driven insights and subsequent decisions is essential in competitive industries like e-commerce, but you can apply it across all fields as the world becomes more digitized. Web scraping is one of the most accessible and affordable ways to extract valuable information from competitors.

The technique itself has some challenges, and because scrapers send vast requests to the targeted website's server, you can earn an IP ban. That is why most web scraping users combine scraping software with proxy servers acting as intermediaries and hiding your IP address.

 Rotating proxies are the best choice for web scraping because they automatically alternate IP addresses, and you can avoid rate limiting and IP blocks more quickly.