Since the pandemic struck the world, business got into a digital revolution. Entrepreneurs and businesses started working online. However, working and sealing deals online is very challenging. You must check on your competitors and stay updated with consumer demands to excel.
Proper market research is responsible for the success of any business. Therefore, you should use the internet carefully and collect as much data as possible.
More data means more information but also clutter and security alerts. These security alerts can harm your business, bringing unknown traffic. Also, check various cybersecurity threats.
That’s where we need proxies in market research. You can reach more content anonymously through proxies without revealing your IP address. Sounds fantastic, right? This article will focus on how proxies can be used in market research. So, let’s dig further!
What is a Proxy?
A proxy is a pathway between the users and the internet or website. It’s more like a filter. The proxies filter out harmful traffic from the data before it reaches you. This harmful traffic can be anything, from hackers to other cybersecurity attackers.
Moreover, using proxies means your IP address is hidden from everyone. This way, you can access more data and websites that aren’t available in your region.
Ways Proxies Can Be Used in Market Research
Proxies help your business make better sales and revenue. You can target maximum audiences and do better offers’ exposure using proxies. You can create multiple accounts through proxies, and each account will target a specific product.
Although various proxies are available, the rotating residential proxy is the most popular. Let’s quickly look at several ways to use proxies in market research.
Better Content Generation
As a marketer, you must seek ways to generate better content. For this purpose, you need to assess your audience’s needs thoroughly. Gather relevant information and provide them with what they are looking for. Here’s how you can use proxies for a better content generation:
- Search engine optimization proxies help in checking the performance of your content. You can use them to make necessary changes in the content through web scraping. The proxy hides your IP address. So, you can explore related websites without your IP getting blocked.
- Proxies also allow us to do keyword research. You can find out the most used keywords and audience intent with proxies. Also, you can monitor your competitors and see what keywords are working well for them.
Understand Your Competitor’s Business
We all know that you should go ahead of your competitors to make a business successful. How is it possible? You need to collect data on their products and what they sell. Also, check their selling prices and adjust your rates accordingly. However, do you know doing this can unveil your identity to your competitors?
Of course, you don’t want to know your competitors about your research. That’s where proxies help you. Proxies hide your identity and IP address. So, you can easily carry on with your research without worrying about your IP getting blocked. Isn’t it great?
Manage Content Distribution Networks
Other than the competition, the online world brings many opportunities for marketers. You can use various promotion platforms and techniques to reach your audience. First, select a micro-niche, work on it, and create relevant content using proxies.
After that, work on accurate content distribution. Use a marketing proxy for this purpose. It helps you in posting and reposting content. You don’t have to manage the task manuals. The marketing proxy will manage everything, increasing your sales and audiences.
Hurdle-Free Data Crawling
As we discussed earlier, you need your competitors’ data as a marketer. However, sometimes your competitors may be using firewalls. These walls don’t allow any data crawling, stopping you from data collection. The websites can pinpoint your IP and block you from doing any activity on their site. Hence, the use of proxies in market research becomes mandatory.
You can use a rotating proxy for a Hurdle-Free data crawling. The rotating proxy will issue you a different IP address every time you visit their website. So, the network providers are unable to detect any specific IP. You can collect data penetrating those firewalls anonymously.
Helps in Market Expansion
If you are a new marketer, you may also want to excel in the international market. However, geoblocks may stop you from doing that. Don’t know what geoblocks are and how they work? Geoblocn restrains you from accessing overseas content or websites. For example, if you are a cloth seller in America and want to target the Chinese Market, the geoblocks won’t let you.
There are multiple ways to use proxies in market research. Besides promoting content in the local market, proxies help you enter overseas markets. Yes, you heard it right. You can post ads from the same local region with proxies. The geoblocks won’t detect your activity. Hence, you can grow your business without any hustle.
Promotes Viral Marketing
The most fantastic benefit of using proxies in market research is viral marketing. Nothing boosts your sales like this marketing technique. In this technique, the product users share their experiences related to the product. The experience is shared on their existing social media accounts.
This helps other people and audiences to believe in your product or services. However, if you are new, you may have to do it yourself. For example: if you are a new organic hair oil seller, you may need to post through your social media accounts. In this way you can get maximum audiences.
Now you must be thinking about how to do it with the same IP address? That’s where proxies help you. You can operate many accounts using proxies as you get different IP addresses each time. Also, Instagram is a good platform for this. It allows five accounts on the same IP address. So, you can create as many accounts using proxies. Instagram reports 1.21 billion monthly active users. Thus, your product will excel in it.
Types of Proxies
You can use various types of proxies in market research. The selection of a proxy depends upon your needs and team requirements. Let’s have a quick look at a few types:
Forward Proxy
The most commonly used proxy type is this forward proxy. A forward proxy is a gateway between the computer and the internet through a firewall. When the sender sends a request, the proxy server assesses the information in it. If the data is appropriate, it is shared further. Otherwise, the server blocks the requests. Mostly, internal networks use forward proxies for data transmission.
Residential Proxy
In a residential proxy, the user gets an IP address issued by the ISPs. This IP address leads to a specific physical device. These IP addresses are location-based. However, it is tough to detect these proxies. That’s why residential proxies are best to secure your villa network.
Anonymous Proxy
The purpose of using an anonymous proxy is to conceal your identity. For example, users conceal their IP address and computer origin from external sources. The anonymous proxy allows you to reach blocked websites keeping you anonymous.
Transparent Proxy
A transparent proxy sits between the user and the internet. It intercepts the user requests and performs various functions. These include redirecting and catching data. It is used in organisations where owners don’t want the employees to know about the proxy. However, this type of proxy is very vulnerable to attacks. For example, SYN Flood Denial of service attack hurts this proxy.
Rotating Proxy
The most fantastic type of proxy is this rotating proxy. You get a different IP address every time you visit the same website. For example, if you send 20,000 requests to a site, the proxy will generate 20,000 different IP addresses.
This enables you to visit a site as many times as you want. The owner of the site or network providers will not be able to detect your activity. So, you can easily collect relevant competitors’ information for efficient marketing.
Private Proxy
Although the name indicates something related to privacy, it’s not. Private proxy means only one person or client can use this proxy at a time. However, people name it differently. Some call these proxies dedicated proxies, but it’s not true. Multiple clients can use dedicated proxies at a time. This is something that private proxy doesn’t offer.
Shared Proxy
Different clients use a shared proxy at once. This proxy type is the cheapest among all as the cost is divided among group members. Thus, people can also buy and use other proxies in market research. The shared proxy needs a robust network. That’s because it must intervene with many server requests at once.
Conclusion
You need proper marketing research tools and strategies to excel online. Running campaigns and promoting your product on social media isn’t easy. You may face malware or cyberattacks and data restrictions. That’s where you can use proxies, and your business will increase. We hope this article gives you a detailed insight into the usage of proxies in market research.
