Proxies are no longer limited to data security or IP spoofing.
From SERP tracking to market research, 26% of internet users rely on proxy servers for diverse uses.
Here’s how a proxy operates in different use cases.
What Are Proxies?
A proxy is a server that stands between you and the internet. It intercepts your requests for data and sends them via its server. So, the proxy server is the request’s source.
In some cases, it doesn’t hide your real IP. The primary purpose of proxies is to provide a secure connection and encrypt your data while browsing. But they have many diverse uses today.
Understanding Market Research, SERP Tracking, SEO Analysis, & Price Comparisons
Before we delve into how proxy servers facilitate different use cases, let’s discuss these processes.
Market Research
Nearly 80% of businesses use market research to learn more about their customers and competition. It’s collecting information about their target market: who they are, what they want, etc.
SERP Tracking
SERP stands for search engine result placements. SEO specialists use SERP tracking to see how keywords rank on Google pages. It’s a crucial part of an all-encompassing SEO and marketing strategy.
SEO Analysis
SEO analysis is a website audit to see how one can improve its ranking on SERPs. It doesn’t just improve SERP rankings but also boosts organic referral traffic. It also involves collecting tons of raw data.
Price Comparisons
Companies perform price comparison audits to see how their pricing structures compare to competitors and industry standards. They use price comparison tools and bots to scrape raw data from competitor websites and resellers.
Use Cases of Proxies in Market Research, SERP Tracking, SEO Analysis, & Price Comparisons
Proxies can be utilized in almost all industries – here are just a few.
Real-Time SERP Data Collection
SERPs depend on various dynamic factors: user intent, customer behavior, etc. The rankings reflect these changes with high precision.
By using the proper proxies for rank tracking, you’ll be able to see the ever-changing flow of SERP data in real time. This will allow you to enjoy better visibility in front of potential buyers and a more defined brand.
Localized Organic Search Results
Using a private proxy for rank tracking can help you understand how the local market works. It answers questions like:
- What keywords are locals searching for?
- What companies are ranking high in this country or city?
Proxies place you in different locations worldwide so you can view and monitor localized content.
Competitive Price Insights
Proxy servers can help you collect raw pricing data from competitors’ websites, marketplaces, and eCommerce platforms. You’ll get insights into promotional offers, trends, and pricing strategies. This information can be invaluable when adjusting your pricing structure.
Behavioral Pricing Strategies
Marketers can use proxies to get data-driven insights and change pricing structures based on customer behavior. For the best businesses, customer behavior dictates the right time to raise or drop prices.
Monitor Pricing Compliance
Proxies can also help companies ensure pricing compliance across all platforms and locations. You can check prices on the websites of different retailers, dealers, resellers, and distributors. This ensures that your services/products aren’t being sold at non-compliant prices and affecting brand identity.
SEO Competitive Analysis
SEO competitive analysis ensures people see your website first when they search for a relevant keyword. You can see how your SERPs perform with a specific keyword in different locations with the correct proxy.
You’ll also monitor what keywords your competitors are using while staying anonymous.
Position Monitoring
Tracking your keyword positions is crucial to compare your visibility to your competitors. Depending on your SEO efforts, you can monitor your target keywords daily, weekly, or monthly.
Proxy servers allow access to any region’s most accurate keyword data.
SEO Audit
Suitable SEO proxies can scrape any website to pinpoint technical issues affecting its rankings. These issues may include dead links, link quality, metadata, outside references, etc.
By using an SEO proxy for a complete audit, teams can recognize weaknesses in their strategy and improve their rankings.
Keyword Research
Successful keywords include all relevant terms, questions, and answers your ideal customer seeks. Finding new keywords can feel tricky once you’ve exhausted all related topics in your domain.
Luckily, SEO proxies can crawl vendors’ research pages to find new, high-volume keywords to add to your content.
Consumer Behavior Analysis
Proxies can tell businesses how customers react to price changes or feature adoptions. These indications include things like:
- Their age
- Their online habits
- Their retail habits
- What they talk about on social media
This research can help businesses make data-driven decisions and improve customer experiences.
Ad Verification
The global cost of ad-related fraud will reach $172 billion by 2028. Proxy servers can facilitate ad verification by making you look like a genuine user so the fraudster won’t block you. You can also verify local ads by changing your location.
Social Media Monitoring
Companies can use proxy servers to collect product data from social media. That includes what customers are saying about your business without tagging you. This way, they can avoid getting IP-blocked on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Benefits of Proxies
Proxies offer security and reliability from all angles, regardless of your use cases. Here are some benefits you can expect when working with a proxy server.
Diverse IP Pool to Get Local Results & Geo Target
High-quality proxies have large IP pools, so you’ll never get recognized by anti-scraping bots. You’ll also be able to adjust your geolocation to view global pricing data in different regions. This way, businesses can tailor their pricing to accommodate broader trends.
Bypass IP Bans
Proxies with automatic IP rotation help you bypass IP bans by staying undetectable. You’ll be able to scrape tons of raw data without getting caught by anti-scraping measures. This is especially true if you use a SERP scraper API to overcome Google’s scraping limits.
Collect Unbiased Data
When monitoring SERPs without a proxy, personalized search results will hinder your research, resulting in skewed, inaccurate data. Proxies provide access to raw, unbiased data from your location of choice.
Beyond getting impartial results, proxies can also increase profits by 300% by acquiring high-quality data quickly.
Keep Sensitive Information Intact
You need a proxy to protect your sensitive data if you don’t want your competitors to know your research efforts. When you scrape their website, the proxy will replace your IP with its server. Plus, you’ll be able to research sensitive topics and industries without impacting brand identity.
Analyze Backlinks
Link-building is a crucial part of an SEO strategy. Proxies can allow you to analyze the backlink profiles of your competitors. You’ll learn the backlinks’ value, sources, and chances for link-building without exposing your IP.
Residential Proxies vs Mobile Proxies for Market Research
It’s time to decide which proxies are best for market research and the above-mentioned use cases.
Residential
With a residential proxy, your IP is associated with an actual location. It also displays your device and ISP details so you can scrape your competitors’ websites as a genuine user.
Depending on your chosen geolocation, you can view localized searches without detection. However, you’ll need IP rotation to avoid getting blocked by anti-scraping bots.
Mobile
Businesses can use mobile proxies to conduct market research on a more personal level. These proxies run your requests through 4G/5G mobile networks, hiding your identity and increasing speed.
With the help of endless mobile IPs from different locations, you can track brand mentions on social media. You’ll also be able to analyze sentiment trends and consumer conversations on various channels.
Our Verdict
Mobile proxies will always be a better option for market analysis. They offer dynamic IPs and mimic genuine users more effectively since each IP is associated with a real mobile device. The 4G/5G connection also ensures lower latency, which is crucial for web scraping.
Proxies vs. VPN for Market Analysis
Proxies and VPNs are both incredible tools for online privacy and connection. Contrary to popular belief, they serve different uses.
While both tools can be used for market analysis, proxies do a much better job. They’re more flexible, providing access to thousands of IPs worldwide. They’re also easy to scale to accommodate more scrapable data.
More importantly, paid proxies are significantly cheaper than VPNs. You’ll have more fine-grained control over IPs and mimic real users at a much lower price.
Wrapping Up
Proxies have come a long way since their origin. They were created for better online privacy, but now, they have opened doors for a more seamless and unrestricted web experience. Keep our tips in mind when buying a proxy for one of its diverse use cases.
