How to Choose the Right Proxy Service?

The digital world generates tons of information every day. It's a never-ending source of data for businesses in all kinds of industries. Even though there's tons of public information online, not all of it is relevant or useful for every business.

Simply put, it's essential to "filter out" this data to make the most of it. That's why more and more companies are using a proxy service to get relevant data. Luckily, there are tons of proxy service providers out there. Still, before choosing one, you should learn about how proxies work and what you can expect from them. Here's what you should know.

What is a proxy

Proxies are the safety need between internet users and the online world. They control the information that you send out or receive. They are independent servers that can handle requests on behalf of other internet users.

Proxies can be used for many different reasons and come in many different forms. Simply put, they have many functionalities in terms of the level of security, anonymity, and features that they provide. When someone uses a proxy, all the traffic they send out or receive goes through the proxy server. Proxies are also seen as internet firewalls, gateways, or safety nets for online users.

How proxies work

All online devices must have an IP address when they connect to the web. That's the main identification unit for each device. Simply put, it's the address your device has when you go online. When you make a request from some website or online service, they deliver what you asked for to your IP address.

Proxy servers are intermediaries with their own IP addresses that you can use for your needs. When you make a request as a proxy user, the request is sent by the proxy server and delivered to it before it's sent to your device.

Proxy service providers

A proxy service is a third-party server that works for you. Instead of setting up a proxy on your device, you can use another computer's proxy for your needs. These proxies are in no way related to your device or your internet presence.

At the same time, these dedicated proxy services have many functionalities that you can use to your advantage. They can filter out your internet traffic and protect you from various threats online while opening up new options.

Why companies use proxies

Both businesses and individuals use proxies, but companies stand to gain more from them. Here's how.

To get more online privacy

All companies need to protect their online assets. Data breaches can be costly and even destroy a whole company. Proxies protect organizations from all kinds of attacks. They also offer more privacy, preventing anyone from seeing what operations they are involved in.

To get unobstructed internet access

Companies carry out many different tasks online that present a variety of obstacles. For example, when organizations use scraping to gather keywords, do market research, or gather customer reviews, they are often blocked by websites that hold this information. Proxies give unobstructed access to this content by switching IP.

To create network balance

Companies regularly use the same services and visit the same websites. Proxies can improve network performance by caching pages and files or even compressing traffic, which helps improve bandwidth speed to give quick internet access.

Web scraping

Web scraping is an automated data collection process that helps various companies access public data for their needs. Price monitoring, review monitoring, competitor analysis, web scraping for brand protection are just a few of the many web scraping use cases. Proxies improve the web scraping process by unlocking geo-restricted content and reducing the risks of being blocked by data sources.

How they help

Overall, proxies are the safety net companies need between their IT infrastructure and the web. They protect all of the IP addresses and carry out tasks on your behalf. For lots of companies, it's important to perform tasks anonymously to get a strategic advantage.

The primary function of a proxy service is to act as a protective layer for your network. At the same time, there are various proxies, all giving unique features designed for specific business needs.

How to find a good proxy service

The first and most important things to look for when choosing a proxy service are reliability, residential IP pool size and locations, success rates and speed, integration and support. If the communication between you and the proxy service provider works poorly, you won't get all the benefits. In the end, make sure to find a proxy that doesn't hinder your internet speed. We suggest you check the Oxylabs.io website because it is one of the most popular and reliable proxy service providers.

Conclusion

Remember that not all proxies are created equal. There are many different types of proxies designed for a variety of tasks. See which type of proxy is best suited for your needs and search for a reliable proxy service provider.