IP Rotator: What is it and How it helps with Web scraping

Anda Miuțescu on Nov 15 2022

As a software developer, you may have heard of IP bans and the importance of IP rotation in web scraping and automation.

But what exactly is IP rotation and how can you set it up?

In this beginner-friendly guide, we will explain the concept of IP address rotation, its benefits and how to implement it in your projects. Whether you're new to web scraping or an experienced developer, this guide will provide a comprehensive understanding of the topic.

Let's dive in and learn about the power of rotating IP addresses.

What is IP rotation and how does it work?

What is an IP address?

An IP address is a unique numerical label assigned to a device connected to the internet. There are two types of IP addresses: IPv4 and IPv6. IP rotation is the process of regularly changing or assigning new IP addresses to a device.

For example, when connecting to the internet through an Internet Service Provider (ISP), an IP address is automatically assigned from a pool of IPs. The ISP then distributes the IP address upon disconnection or reconnection.

ISPs use IP rotation for dynamic IP addresses as they often have more users than available IP addresses. When a user disconnects, the ISP will return the IP address to the pool for reassignment.

Methods for rotating an IP address

Using a VPN

Using a VPN is a common method for rotating your IP address, but it may not be the most effective for automated tasks. While VPNs can hide your IP and allow access to geo-restricted content, they may not provide enough IPs for web scraping multiple pages on the same website without getting blocked.

Some VPN providers offer scheduled IP rotation, but this can slow down the scraping process as you are limited to one IP at a time. Additionally, VPNs do not completely conceal the fact that you are using one, which can make your activities more easily traceable.

Using a Proxy Server

An alternative solution to rotating your IP address is utilizing a proxy server. Proxies are incredibly efficient for web scraping as they enable you to establish multiple connections at once, all with distinct IPs.

You can also select IP addresses from multiple regions globally to bypass geographical limitations. However, it is advisable to avoid proxies from free online sources as they may not be trustworthy, insert unwanted ads, or endanger your data.

Rotating proxies is a technique of constantly switching the proxy IP address used for requests sent to a target. This allows for a more dynamic and less detectable approach when accessing the target website.

A rotating proxy is a tool that automatically changes the IP address it uses, providing a level of anonymity and evading IP bans.

Why proxy rotation is important in web scraping

Web scraping is a method of collecting data from websites, but it also poses a challenge of avoiding blocks from those websites. One effective solution to this problem is proxy rotation.

Proxy rotation is a technique that allows web scrapers to imitate the behavior of multiple users by rotating the IP address used for requests sent to the target website. This makes it more difficult for the website to detect and block the scraping activity.

Use Cases:

• Data triangulation companies validate the accuracy of their data.
• Retailers eliminate regional pricing discrepancies
• SEO companies check keyword rankings from various locations around the world
• Bypass requests limits and geo-limits
• Intelligence companies gather data from websites for analysis and performance evaluation

The Best Free Proxy Lists for IP Rotation and Web Scraping

Using a proxy for data extraction is truly essential especially in web scraping. You will definitely not require a backconnect proxy with thousands of residential IPs and datacenters. However, certain basic proxies are immensely crucial.

But the main issue with beginner scrapers is that most of the residential proxies are costly. Luckily, there are some free available IPs and you can choose from quite a few options. Here, we have listed those proxies that are completely free, such as:

• WebScrapingAPI

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The only thing that makes WebScrapingAPI stand out from other API providers is that it uses premium proxies. It includes both residential proxies and datacenter IPs and prevents dangling public endpoints and geolocation options. The available IP includes 40 for residential, 7 for datacenter, and 200+ for custom plans.

As the APIGateway resources have paid plans, it typically ranges from $49 to $299. Every new user can generate pseudo infinite IPS and get access to free trial for a maximum of two weeks. And during this time the users can seamlessly use the remarkable features of API. Once the APIgateway resources have been finished, you can use the shutdown method for preventing excess charges.

While the API automatically handles proxy rotation, the first million requests go through different IPs. Further, you can send up to 10 concurrent requests through the client's true IP address. This means you can seamlessly use the proxy pool while extracting data at breakneck speed. And for this, no excess charges will be incurred.

• Proxy-List

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Proxy-List prioritizes quantity over quality as they have more than 17,000 proxies where majority are SOCKS 4. You should note that this website keeps on updating its list every two hours only to prevent and eliminate unresponsive IPs.

• ProxyScan

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Here, all the useful tools are completely rolled into a single website. Even though there are more than 12,000 proxies in total, the total number is a little lower. It’s mainly because the number might vary as free proxies are continuously appearing and disappearing.

Choose WebScrapingAPI: The Best API for IP Rotation and Web Scraping

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In this blog, you have learned the techniques of IP rotation and when to consider it for web scraping. IP rotation also enables your web scraper to use different IPs each time you make import requests from every website. And even if your IPs are being blocked by any website, WebScarpingAPI can automatically rotate to new IPs. Further, it provides aid in avoiding all the prevailing IP blocks.

When you have WebScrapingAPI at your disposal, you can experience the following features:

• API
• Data Export
• Data Visualization
• Data Mining
• Organization Management
• Database
• Social Media Monitoring
• Web Mapping
• Resource Management
• Workflow Management
• Software Integration, etc.

WebScrapingAPI offers more than 100M rotating proxies right at your fingertips. Besides, it enables you to perform mass web crawling along with global geotargeting. This REST API consists of a speed obsessive architecture and also offers Javascript rendering. This website supports several languages including English, German, Spanish, French, and Italian.

The company seamlessly handles everything starting from browsers, rotating proxies to anti-bot detection and automatic scaling. In a nutshell, WebScarpingAPI manages everything that is related to proxies. So, starting from accessing millions of datacenter proxy networks to bypassing rate limiting websites, they do it all.

While WebScrapingAPI provides ready-to-use APIs, you can seamlessly focus on your objectives. Meanwhile, the website focuses on delivering the most appropriate tools for web scraping during IP blocks.

In fact, the Amazon Product Scraper allows you to get Amazon product data with amazon trace ID. Thus, you can easily scrape product information, description, prices, new releases, deals, etc.

Check out WebScrapingAPI’s pricing to get valuable insights into the various plans of Scraper API, Amazon Scraper API, and Google Search Results API.

Click here to get started with WebScrapingAPI and create an account for free!

Try WebScrapingAPI today for comparing prices, generating leads, acquiring financial data, and lots more.