The Best Use Cases of Shared Proxies

Shared proxies are cheaper alternatives to dedicated proxy servers, although they provide similar benefits and features. With shared proxies, you can easily bypass geo-restricted content and web scrape with the same accuracy and speed. However, the stability and uptimes of proxies shared among several people aren’t first-rate. The shared proxies will mess you up big time if you don’t configure them properly.

In Which Situations Are Shared Proxies the Ideal Choice?

Shared proxy servers don’t have dedicated IP addresses for every user. Providers have hundreds (or thousands) of location-specific IPs shared concurrently among the service subscribers. Some providers may allocate an IP address to a group of users, while others permit everyone on the network to access all the IPs. Therefore, the speed and uptimes of a shared proxy network depend on the number of active users and the size of the IP address pool. Listed here are the best use cases for shared proxies.

Experimental Web Scraping

Buy shared proxies to support your experimental web scraping activities, sidestep website restrictions, and supplement your marketing strategies. The cost benefits of these proxy servers come into play when developing a new web scraper and testing the waters. You can do as many web scraping tests as you want and uncover the intricacies of the game without leaking your identity.

However, when it comes to serious web scraping, shared IP addresses are a disaster in waiting. Because other users have access to them, websites might have already blocked these IPs or flagged them as suspicious.

Working With a Low Budget

When your proxy server budget does not match the pricing of dedicated IP addresses, a multi-user proxy server will be the alternative choice. The performance of shared proxies may not always hit the bar, but they’re better than free proxy servers. They won’t be perfect for social media automation and sneaker scalping, but they’re still a valuable resource.

Multi-user proxy servers aren’t a wrong choice when you’re scraping unpopular websites with minimal traffic and lower search engine rankings. Websites owners reinforce the security of their sites to prevent scraping activities as they get famous and rank higher. Websites at the bottom of search engine ranks may lack such security levels, and scraping them with shared proxies won’t pose much risk.

Backlink Creation

Backlinks are crucial for brands to boost their standing on search engine ranks. Inbound links to high-quality and top-tier websites will ultimately make your website become an industry authority. However, finding relevant, high-quality links to add to your content is difficult. Google’s intelligence algorithm detects and blocks backlinking activities from similar IP addresses.

With multi-user proxy servers, you get multiple IP addresses for different locations to create unique backlinks. Some proxy networks alternate the IP addresses such that every backlink creation request uses a separate IP. That’s like a shield protecting you against blocks by Google and websites.

When Speed and Overcoming Security Measures Aren’t Priorities

Many proxy use cases demand good speeds and high uptimes. Extracting helpful insights into businesses through web scraping, SEO optimization, social media management, and others requires extra layers of anonymity and security. However, you might not need exceptional speed levels and privacy for lighter data scraping, SEO optimization, and backlink harvesting.

Shared proxy servers are apt when the project you are handling won’t be affected by shared bandwidth. Bandwidth sharing causes overloads and low connection speeds. Also, if banned IP addresses due to misconduct won’t affect your activities, shared proxies are favorable options. You might find them a money-saving option if there are minimal security mechanisms to bypass. Such instances are when the websites you visit have no CAPTCHAs or anti-scraping bots.

Conclusion

Every type of proxy server fits a specific user. Dedicated residential proxies are great for heavy web scraping, SEO optimization, and social media marketing specialists in large and medium-sized corporations. The package value of these proxies exceeds the higher price point. Although the speeds and uptimes of dedicated proxy servers are pleasing, they aren’t appropriate for low-budget users. 

Users doing light web scraping, backlink harvesting, social media marketing, and SEO optimization will find dedicated proxies out of their budget. These are instances when using shared proxy servers is the ultimate option.