How to Pick the Best US Proxies

The web is not worldwide. You must have received an error message at least once during a browsing session, denying you access to a website due to your location. This is known as geo-blocking. There are numerous reasons why website owners block users from specific geographic areas. 

1. E-commerce sites may block users from countries where they do not ship their goods
2. Government sanctions may ban website visitors from certain countries 
3. Companies may block users from specific countries to comply with the laws of that country
4. A website may receive numerous hacking attempts from visitors in certain countries. They can then opt to ban all users from that country to maintain network security

Geo-blocking limits your business from reaching global markets. 

Although China is threatening to take over as the world’s largest retail market, the US still holds first place. Geoblocking should not keep you from penetrating this market or scraping valuable data from US websites for market insights. 

A proxy gives you access to geo-blocked sites by masking the IP address and location details of your device. 

What is a Proxy?

A proxy is a server that acts as an intermediary, standing between your device and the website you are visiting. It comes with an IP address attached to a specific location. These are the details that a web server will see instead of your device’s real IP and location. 

There are two types of proxies – residential and data center proxies. Internet service providers issue residential proxies while cloud server providers issue data center proxies. These proxies can either be privately used or shared among many users. 

By using a US proxy, you can access US websites that are blocked in your location. It will also improve the quality of your market research or web scraping project by narrowing your search results to US-based content.  

How to Choose the Best US Proxy

Here are five factors to consider when buying proxies to access US websites.

1) The Sensitivity of the Project

Some projects require high levels of anonymity, such as price scraping. If you are extracting price-related data from US-based e-commerce sites, you need a proxy that will provide the highest level of anonymity. In this case, residential US proxies are the best choice.

Data center proxies are more detectable, but they are available in large numbers. It makes them suitable for carrying out market research using rotating IP addresses. They are also great for accessing US websites where your IP address is blacklisted. 

2) Stay Away from Free Proxies

When it comes to choosing a proxy that will benefit your business without adding more risk, you must be ready to invest money. Free proxies that offer a lifetime service for an insignificant cost require that you share with other users. 

Shared proxies are slow and may come with a security risk. Hackers could easily access sensitive customer and company information. Get a private proxy that is affordable but provides high value.

3)  Consider the Speed

You need a fast proxy with 99.9% uptime. It will enable the fast completion of projects and improve your employees’ productivity. Data center proxies provide a connection with a higher speed than residential proxies.

A vendor who charges per gigabyte is more likely to provide a faster proxy than one who offers unlimited traffic at a single cost.

4) A Large IP Pool

For projects such as web scraping and price scraping, you will need to rotate your IP addresses. It reduces your chances of getting detected. Managing your social media accounts also requires a different IP address for each account.

A large pool of IP addresses attached to different US states will make it possible to get location-specific data during web scraping. 

5) Watch out for Illegitimate Vendors

Some illegitimate vendors will supply proxies that are blocked from various sites. Others could compromise on your network’s security by demanding that you use the less secure HTTP instead of HTTPS. This exposes your traffic to hackers, and they could steal your login details.

Find unbiased customers’ comments from review websites. You can also check for any negative reviews on the company’s social media pages. 

Winding Up

Proxies do not just provide online anonymity; they make it possible to visit geo-blocked sites. US proxies will give you access to US websites that you normally would not access from your location. They make it possible to widen the scope of your market research, access a broader market, and grow your business into a global brand.

There are a few things you should consider when choosing a US proxy:

1. Nature of the project at hand
2. Speed of the proxy
3. Access to a wide pool of IPs

Choose a reputable vendor and avoid free proxies to avoid compromising the security of your network.