Common web scraping mistakes beginners make ⤵️

A proxy is an indispensable tool for anyone planning to conduct a targeting, do web scraping, or simply find the information they need on online sites. However, the majority of users make annoying mistakes that prevent them from getting the maximum profit.

In this article, you will receive a list of common mistakes when using a proxy for scraping, as well as working tips to avoid any problems.

What are Proxies and how to use it for scraping Web Data?

When you use the Internet normally, your device connects directly to the application and site servers. As a result, they recognize your IP address, location and other data — that is, you lose your anonymity on the Web. In addition, the owners of applications and sites or the provider can block your access to the materials of interest.

Fortunately, instead of a direct connection, you can use a proxy — an intermediary server that allows communication between the device and Internet resource servers. It masks your data from the owners of the applications and sites you visit, which prevents them from blocking you by IP. In addition, proxy connectivity allows you to bypass the restrictions imposed by the provider itself.

Why Do You Need a Proxy for Web Scraping?

The field of SEO promotion is developing rapidly, more and more software is being created that makes it possible to facilitate the difficult work of SEO-optimizers. Often, when parsing through programs, search engines give out captcha, banned or blacklisted. Since blocking is done by IP address, it is avoided by using a proxy server.

Using proxies for web scraping, you can:

• automate parsing;
• speed up the processing of statistical data;
• work without the need for regular captcha input;
• exclude the possibility of a ban;
• bypass regional restrictions and blockages;
• provide yourself with anonymous web surfing.

How to choose a Proxy for Web Data Mining

Following simple rules allows you to choose the right Proxy Server for Scraping. Below we have listed the most common errors that lead to proxy problems.

Do not use insecure Proxy Servers

Any serious work on the Internet, and even more so the collection of important information, requires the selection of a reliable "intermediary". We recommend that you immediately buy a good quality proxy, and not act at random, risking wasting time.

Free proxies cannot provide the required level of reliability. In addition, they’re characterized by a short service life and low operating speed.

The disadvantages of unreliable free proxies include:

• slow work with regular failures;
• you can rarely find free proxies for long-term use, usually after some time they become paid or disabled;
• many free proxies do not provide real anonymity and are only intended to cache information that comes from the Internet;
• there’re unsafe free proxies that try to connect to your system, hack it and create another "server" out of it;
• it's hard to find not even that reliable, but at least just a stably working free proxy on the Internet (most of those IPs that are in the public domain have long been non-working).

Make sure you pick the right framework

A web framework is the foundation for writing web applications. It defines the structure, sets the rules, and provides the necessary set of development tools.

Types of web frameworks

1. Backend frameworks.
2. Front-end frameworks.
3. Full stack frameworks.
4. Frameworks and microframeworks.

A wide range of frameworks leads to the fact that the developer is lost and cannot choose a specific tool. The following criteria help narrow the circle:

• preferred language;
• framework capabilities.

It is also helpful to explore comparing multiple frameworks.

Always rate limit your web crawlers

Last but not least, don't be greedy. Yes, etiquette is important here too. The fact is that by using a proxy for scraping and performing large volumes of requests, you can spam the server. No one will get any better from this. Therefore, don’t forget to limit the number of requests. This will not prevent you from obtaining the necessary data using a proxy for scraping, and will save the site for your new requests, and bots for new tasks.

The ideal option is to set limits on the number of requests. This will give you the information you need while saving your bots.

Avoid overlooking IP Blocks

Data collection is generally permitted on the Internet as long as the security of the website server and its users is not compromised. Given the sharing-centered nature of the public online community, many websites probably see it as mutually beneficial as it gives them more traffic, more visits, and even possibly more attention.

Websites do set limits on the number of downloads from their site from a single IP address, however, to protect themselves, but also to prevent people from taking too much too quickly.

In theory, this could cause the website to crash, but it's highly unlikely that a single spider will do it, so it's more of a matter of moderation and precedent-setting. Web scrapers and proxies can bypass these moderations without compromising the security of the server, but in doing so they end up in territory that can lead to banning IP addresses without due care.

Not Being Aware of the Concurrency Rate

If you need a server for crawling, it is best to buy a proxy pool. By reducing the number of requests per unit of time, you can distribute them to the available number of proxies.

But remember: it's not enough to create your own pool — you need to manage it. To maintain performance, we recommend that you periodically change the settings of your bots. You need to make every effort to adjust the bot to the behavior of a real user. Otherwise, it will be quickly declassified.

Proxy tips:

• in case of failures, repeat requests;
• monitor bots blocking to quickly fix problems;
• distribute proxies to different regions when targeting;
• switch between user agents.

Do not forget to check Failure Points

A message that appears on the computer screen stating that the proxy server for scraping refuses to accept connections means permanent or temporary interruption of access to the Internet through the browser.

The causes of the problem can be different, however, regardless of them, the issue should be resolved as quickly as possible.

In most cases, the browser will automatically access the Internet using a wired or wireless connection. The user does not need to make any effort to do this — just set up the connection and use the network once.

However, if the proxy server settings are out of order, instant access to the network becomes impossible. Be sure to check why the proxy point of failure occurred.

Conclusion

As you may have noticed, there are many problems with managing proxies for large scale parsing projects. However, this isn’t a problem at all if you have all the necessary resources and expertise to implement a reliable infrastructure.

Choose smart and professional solutions for creating a proxy server from trusted companies.

Litport.net offers high-quality pure mobile proxy servers worldwide. The use of modern equipment allows us to provide lightning-fast 4G LTE requests up to 50 Mbps.

The use of the company's offers is 100% legal and ethical. The company's services are based on formal agreements with mobile operators around the world. The client receives his proxy server a few minutes after payment.

The servers are located in different countries in order to provide the client with the opportunity to enjoy the maximum speed of 4G / LTE. Litport.net offers solutions for private devices, shared devices and shared pools.

Using such offers from companies will save time and avoid various mistakes when using a proxy server.