Whether it is the very first time of use or if you use them on a regular occurrence, there are a number of things to consider when using rotating IP addresses and proxies. We have listed some of these below in detail so that you can spend some time to consider each in detail and adopt these in your own strategies.
Use elite proxies if possible
It is not the case that all proxies are equal. With there being so many different types it may be difficult to know which one(s) to use. The three most common types are elite proxies, anonymous proxies, and transparent proxies. Although each of them have their own unique qualities, it is an elite proxy that you should try and use if and where possible.
This is because with an elite proxy, only a REMOTE_ADDR header is sent out, whilst all other headers remain empty. As a result, this gives you the appearance of a normal Internet user and not someone that is using any sort of Internet proxy. With this in place you are easily able to pass right through any Internet restrictions that may be in place, as well as protecting your own privacy.
Do not use sequenced IP addresses
The most rudimental of web scraping protection plugins are capable of detecting when one is being used. This is because the requests to do so typically all come from the same range of IP addresses or ones that run in sequence, such as 56.300.150.0, 56.300.150.1, 56.300.150.2 etc.
To make doubly sure of blocking out unwanted web scrapers, some websites have gone to the extreme length of blocking requests from certain countries and from specific Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
Avoid rotating IP address when using sessions
When logging into a website, you should not use a rotating IP address. This is because the website knows exactly who you are as a result of the session cookies that it sets during the process of logging in. In order to remain logged into the website, you are required to keep passing the session ID that is in the cookies header. You can be easily identified as a bot if multiple different IP addresses are coming from the same cookie session.
In these instances, it is simply best to use just one IP address, whilst maintaining the similar request headers for each and every unique login that you make.
If reading this has inspired you to go out there and build a simple proxy rotator for yourself, then the following link will most definitely be of use. For anyone that has the required coding knowledge and skill, doing this is not the most difficult of tasks to perform, and is of course much cheaper than purchasing an off the shelf one. However, there are perks to using these types of products, but that is a matter for you to decide if it is a route that you want to go down.