In today's Internet era, search engine optimization (SEO) and web scraping have become essential tools in digital marketing and data analysis. Whether it is obtaining competitor data, monitoring search engine rankings, or optimizing advertising, crawling website data has become a common way for companies to obtain valuable business intelligence. However, with the increase in crawling demand, how to ensure that the crawling process is efficient, stable, and not blocked or restricted has become one of the main challenges for technical and operational personnel. Proxy technology is an important means to solve these problems.

1. What are static proxies and rotating proxies?

Before we discuss in depth when to use static proxies and rotating proxies, let's first understand the basic concepts and differences between the two.

Static Proxy

Static proxy, also called "fixed proxy" or "dedicated proxy", refers to using the same IP address for network requests each time. In other words, a static proxy is a long-term proxy whose IP address does not change during use. This type of proxy is suitable for scenarios that require stable connections and long-term sessions.

Features of static proxies:

• Fixed IP address: The same IP address is used for each request, which is suitable for tasks that require long-term sessions.

• Authentication: Authentication is usually required to ensure that the request comes from an authorized user.

• Stability: Since the IP address is fixed, static proxies are more stable in some specific scenarios and are not easily blocked or blocked.

  
  

Rotating proxies

Rotating proxies, also called "dynamic proxies" or "IP rotating proxies", refer to using different IP addresses for each request. Rotating proxies can dynamically allocate IP addresses through a proxy pool to ensure that each request has a new proxy IP. Rotating proxies are usually used in scenarios that require high-frequency, large-scale crawling to avoid being blocked or restricted by the target website.

Features of rotating proxies:

• Dynamic IP address: A different IP address is used for each request, effectively preventing the IP from being blocked.

• Anonymity: By rotating different IPs, anonymity during crawling can be improved.

• Widely applicable: Suitable for tasks that require a large number of requests in a high frequency and a short period of time, such as search engine crawling, big data crawling, etc.

2. When to use static proxies?

Static proxies are usually suitable for the following scenarios, mainly when stable and long-term sessions are required. Although static proxies can avoid frequent IP changes, their stability and longevity are their greatest advantages.

1. Need to maintain session state

When you perform SEO operations or crawling, some tasks may require consistent session states across multiple requests. For example, login status, shopping cart status, user behavior tracking, etc. all rely on continuous and stable sessions. If the IP address changes for each request, it may cause session loss or data inconsistency. Therefore, using a static proxy can ensure that the session state remains unchanged and provide a better crawling experience.

2. High requirements for IP reputation

Some websites judge the credibility of visitors based on their IP addresses, especially when advertising or search engine ranking monitoring. If the proxy IP you use changes frequently, the website may suspect its behavior and mark it as suspicious or spam traffic. Using a static proxy can ensure the stability and reputation of the IP, thereby avoiding being considered malicious crawling by the website.

3. Limiting scenarios with low request frequency

When the crawling frequency is not high, the advantages of static proxy are more obvious. For example, when performing regular SEO data crawling, static proxy can provide better stability and reduce the risk of being blocked. If you crawl a small number of pages every day, static proxy is an ideal choice because you don't need to change IP frequently.

3. When to use rotating proxy?

Unlike static proxy, rotating proxy is mainly suitable for tasks that require high-frequency and large-scale crawling. Rotating proxy effectively avoids blocking by constantly changing IP addresses, improving the efficiency and reliability of crawling.

1. High-frequency crawling and large-scale data crawling

When you need to crawl a large amount of data frequently, rotating proxy is particularly important. For example, when performing tasks such as SEO ranking monitoring, competitor analysis, and news crawling, you may need to send a large number of requests frequently and quickly. In this case, if you use a static proxy, the IP is easily blocked by the target website, resulting in interruption of the crawling task. Using a rotating proxy can avoid this problem because a new IP address is used for each request.

2. Breaking through anti-crawler mechanisms

Many websites use anti-crawler technologies such as IP restrictions, request frequency detection, and CAPTCHA verification. Rotating proxies can bypass these restrictions by constantly changing IPs. For example, Google and other search engines will limit frequent requests from the same IP, and using rotating proxies can effectively reduce the probability of being blocked. Rotating proxies help you perform distributed crawling to avoid monitoring and blocking of a single IP.

3. Anonymity and privacy protection

When crawling the web, it is crucial to maintain anonymity, especially when you are crawling sensitive content such as competitor data and price information. If the real IP is exposed during the crawling process, you may face legal or business risks. Rotating proxies can increase anonymity during the crawling process by constantly switching IP addresses, thereby protecting the privacy of the crawler.

4. Large-scale SEO data monitoring

When crawling SEO data on a global scale, using rotating proxies can effectively simulate visits from different geographical locations and help you obtain search engine rankings in various regions. This is critical for the implementation of a global SEO strategy, especially when you need to analyze Google search results from different countries and regions. Rotating proxies can provide a variety of IP addresses to ensure wide crawling coverage.

4. Choice between static and rotating proxies

The choice of static or rotating proxies depends mainly on your crawling needs and goals. Here are some selection guidelines:

When using static proxies:

• Need to maintain session state and identity authentication.

• The frequency of data crawling is low, and the number of crawled pages is not large.

• Want to maintain IP reputation to avoid being considered malicious traffic.

• High requirements for the stability and durability of crawling tasks.

When using rotating proxies:

• Need to perform high-frequency and large-scale crawling.

• Need to bypass anti-crawler technology and IP restrictions.

• Need anonymity and privacy protection.

• Need to conduct global SEO ranking monitoring and competitor analysis.

Conclusion

In SEO and web crawling, the choice of proxy technology is crucial. Static proxies and rotating proxies each have their own unique advantages and applicable scenarios. Static proxies are suitable for tasks that require stable connections, maintain sessions, and maintain IP reputation, while rotating proxies are suitable for high-frequency, large-scale crawling, and scenarios that break through anti-crawler mechanisms. Understanding the difference between these two types of proxies and choosing the right proxy technology based on your actual needs will greatly improve crawling efficiency and ensure a smooth crawling process.

Whether you are crawling SEO data or conducting competitor analysis, the reasonable use of static proxies or rotating proxies will help you get the best data crawling experience in a complex network environment.